Filming began in Charlotte, North Carolina, in February 2017. Many of the scenes were filmed on campus at Davidson College.[8][9][10][11] The title comes from Eric Borsuk's memoir, which derives its name from a passage in On the Origin of Species, one of the books stolen by the gang, about animals dwelling in the cave systems of Kentucky;[12] this quote is featured at the beginning of the film.
The film blurs elements of fiction and documentary, with the real-life versions of people depicted occasionally appearing alongside the actors in scripted scenes, and different versions of the same scene shown to reflect different accounts of events by the participants.
