Trivia: While filming the toy clown attacking Robbie, the clown's arms were wrapped tightly around Oliver's neck. He immediately said he couldn't breathe but Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper both thought that he was ad-libbing. When Spielberg saw Oliver's face turning purple, he realised that he really was being asphyxiated and ran over to remove the arms from his neck.
Trivia: The TV edit of the film differs widely from the theatrical release - lots of footage was purposely edited out, such as when the dead Norwegian on the table blinks, and there is also a narration. Director John Carpenter has publicly stated that he finds the TV edit embarrassing and a disgrace to his movie.
Trivia: The notice board when the killer is drilling the door through to get to Linda, has a deliberate joke pinned up on it. A sign reads "Join the Drill Team." This is a reference to the killer.
Trivia: In almost every story told in the movie, there is an ashtray that is used as an ashtray, as a soap dish and as a place you can put lose change, rings etc. This is done deliberately by the director, it has become his personal trademark.
Trivia: Craig T. Nelson was originally cast as Carla's boyfriend, Jerry, but his casting was vetoed by producer Harold Schneider, despite director Sidney J. Furie's insistence. Nelson instead famously starred in contemporaneous supernatural hit Poltergeist (1982).
