The screenplay is based on the 1972 novel
Malevil by
French science fiction writer
Robert Merle. Despite using the book's characters, the plot deviates almost entirely from the book. A different ending was also used in the film. Merle, who believed that the spirit of his novel had been misrepresented, asked for his name to be not mentioned in the credits. Instead, the film states the film was only inspired by the novel
Malevil (French:
inspiré librement du roman Malevil). ==External links==