D-Tox

Universal Studios completed principal photography in 1999 under the working title "Detox," before negative responses at the first test screenings led the studio to shelve the feature temporarily. The production went through extensive rewrites, reshoots and multiple title changes, testing alternate cuts under the title "The Outpost" before the project was ultimately released as "D-Tox" and "Eye See You." Universal Studios delayed theatrical distribution for three years after the first cut was completed in 1999 because of continued negative feedback from subsequent test audiences. The original producer left the project before principal photography was finished, which shook the studio's confidence and sparked internal creative conflicts between the director and the studio over budget overruns. Producer Ron Howard personally intervened during post-production to oversee editing changes and stabilize the troubled project. Airport transportation crews greeting the cast on arrival carried signs reading "DETOX," which created the public impression that actors Sylvester Stallone, Kris Kristofferson and Tom Berenger were entering a rehabilitation facility rather than arriving at a film shoot.

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The promotional trailer contains the killer's speaking voice without the audio distortion applied in the final theatrical cut, revealing the identity of the antagonist ahead of the film's premiere.

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John Powell composed two different scores for the project because of initial studio dissatisfaction. Universal Pictures delayed its domestic theatrical release and distributed the film internationally under the alternate title D-Tox (2002) ahead of a limited North American run. Nick Glennie-Smith, William Ross and Geoff Zanelli composed additional music that replaced large portions of the original score.

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Actor Sylvester Stallone was 52 years old during the 1999 principal photography, although the narrative context established the main character as a younger FBI special agent.

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Ron Howard remained interested in directing the production during the early stages of development but instead dropped out of the project to direct How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000).

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Director Gillespie chose locations in Canada to simulate the isolated Wyoming setting required by the narrative.

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Early promotional and press materials listed Ron Howard and Brian Grazer as executive producers. These materials also listed the production company Imagine Entertainment. In the completed theatrical and home video cuts, all on-screen credits and logos for both the producers and the studio were removed.

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Theatrical marketing materials include deleted and alternate sequence footage featuring additional shots of Dina Meyer during a bathroom scene.

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Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson, John Travolta and Nicolas Cage were considered for the role of Jake Malloy before Sylvester Stallone was cast.

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Universal Pictures co-financed the production and initially planned to distribute it domestically, before shelving the project after negative test screenings and ultimately selling the United States distribution rights to DEJ Productions. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment included The Mummy (1999) and Snow Falling on Cedars (1999), along with a short clip of Sylvester Stallone holding a firearm, in a promotional montage of upcoming home video releases on various corporate DVDs issued between late 1999 and mid-2000.

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In October 1998, Universal Pictures optioned an original speculative thriller screenplay titled "Fatalis" from novelist Jeff Rovin. Rovin, who had previously written the official novelization for "Cliffhanger" (1993) and an unauthorized biography of Sylvester Stallone, conceived the project specifically as a starring vehicle for Stallone. The narrative centered on a pack of prehistoric sabre-toothed tigers awakened from an ancient ice age pit by climate changes caused by the El Niño hurricane. The apex predators then rampaged through the wilderness before invading Los Angeles. Stallone was to play anthropologist Jim Grand, who tries to capture the creatures alive to preserve an evolutionary link to the past and clashes with a local sheriff determined to destroy them. Universal Pictures ultimately abandoned development of the action-horror project after the poor box office performance of "D-Tox" (2002) and other contemporary Stallone films. Rovin later adapted his unproduced screenplay into an independent thriller novel of the same name. Rovin similarly turned "Vespers," an unproduced creature-themed screenplay about a swarm of killer bats attacking Manhattan, into a novel published in the same period. Stallone continues to hold the underlying story rights to "Fatalis," even though the project has not been produced.

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Director Jim Gillespie cast Sylvester Stallone as an absolute last choice for the lead role after learning of the actor's friction with the director of Judge Dredd (1995) and the production difficulties that followed. Gillespie accepted the casting arrangement after a notification from the actor's talent agency about the sudden production momentum of the script, then titled "Eye See You," which came about only because Stallone read the material and immediately expressed interest. Gillespie reported an extremely positive working relationship with Stallone during principal photography and concluded that earlier industry rumors had no validity. Production records indicate only a single day of creative disagreement between the director and Stallone across the entire 84-day shooting schedule. Gillespie later expressed his admiration for the lead actor during retrospective media coverage, saying: "If anyone tells you they are not a 'Stallone-fan,' they are lying."

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DEJ Productions distributed the film for a limited theatrical release in the United States on 20 September 2002 under the title "Eye See You" instead of its original name "D-Tox." Later domestic home video, cable television and streaming platform releases retained this alternate title profile.

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Robert Patrick and Sylvester Stallone had previously appeared together in Cop Land (1997).

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Robert Patrick and Robert Prosky had previously appeared together in Last Action Hero (1993).

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Robert Prosky was cast so that Sylvester Stallone would not be the oldest patient.

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Sylvester Stallone was 22 years older than Dina Meyer.

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Sean Patrick Flanery and Jeffrey Wright had previously worked together on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992).

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