Eli Roth signed on to produce the film in September 2012. He described the film as "West's first mainstream movie". Swanberg, Bowen, Audley, Seimetz, and Jones were announced to have joined the cast in October 2012, as it went into production. The parts were written specifically for the actors, as Roth gave West full creative control. Swanberg doubled as cameraman for parts of the film, as West trusted his background as a filmmaker to shoot the scenes without supervision. West described the film as his most horrific film yet, and said that he wanted the film's violence to be upsetting. When West cast Jones as cult leader Father, he wanted to make sure that Father seemed like a genuine, well-meaning person who nonetheless was driven to evil by his paranoia. The film was shot outside of Savannah, Georgia.
