The original screenplay for the movie was written by producer Arthur Gorson and S.J. Smith. Monte Hellman disliked this screenplay however, and with Gorson's permission hired Rex Weiner to write a completely new screenplay. This was further revised by Hellman himself, his daughter Melissa Hellman, and Steven Gaydos. The rejected script by Gorson and Smith would subsequently form the basis of what eventually became Initiation: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 (1990).