The opening quotations from the Indian Act were added to provide context for audiences unfamiliar with the Canadian system of residential schools for Native children.
Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013)'s depiction of the abuse of indigenous children and a mass grave at St. Dymphna's anticipated the 2015 report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which concluded that Canada's residential school system amounted to cultural genocide.
According to writer/director Jeff Barnaby, one of his inspirations was Conan the Barbarian (1982), another story about someone seeking vengeance against a cult that destroyed their family.