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Trivia: The climactic scene at Stu's house lasts 42 minutes and accounts for 40% of the movie's screen time (if you don't count the closing credits). It was shot at a real house over 21 days - an unusually long time to shoot in a single location for a film this size - and was reportedly so tedious to shoot that everyone in the cast and crew were given T-shirts that read "I survived scene 118" after it was finished. It has jokingly been referred to as "the longest night in horror history" by the cast.

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Trivia: The first major theatrical film scored by Marco Beltrami, who had previously only worked on small indie and television projects. Wes Craven and the studio wanted a new sound for the movie's score, and hired Beltrami based on a sample he provided. Beltrami ironically had never even seen a horror movie before, so he didn't approach the materially traditionally. Beltrami has since become an incredibly popular and prolific composer, with well over 100 credits to his name.

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Trivia: In what was then an odd move, the film was released around Christmas, with producer Bob Weinstein taking a gamble that horror fans wouldn't have anything else to watch, so they'd go see it. The movie underperformed its opening weekend, grossing only $6 million. However, strong reviews and excellent word of mouth caused ticket sales to spike in the following weeks, and it remained in the top-10 for over two months, eventually becoming a massive sleeper hit and grossing $100 million domestically.

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Trivia: Dewey was actually meant to be dead when he falls down after being stabbed in the back. The short coda of him being taken away in an ambulance was added in at the last minute. Director Wes Craven fell in love with the character and enjoyed working with David Arquette, and didn't want Dewey to die. So he decided to let the character live, so he could return for the sequels.

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Trivia: Liev Schreiber took the role of Cotton to help pay off some school debt. He was offered a small pay-day for a day's work where he basically just had to walk a short distance then get into a car. He figured it'd be a simple paycheck, and didn't realise his character would end up becoming a principal player in the sequel.

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Trivia: The school scenes were originally meant to be filmed in the Santa Rosa High School. However, right before filming began, the school officials pulled out of the project. The crew was forced to scramble to find another school at the last second. Director Wes Craven was furious at the school board, and decided to poke some fun at them in the credits. If you wait around long enough, you'll see the message "No thanks whatsoever to the Santa Rosa City School District Governing Board."

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