The film is made as a genre thriller for the same reasons that studios made film noir in the 1940's and 1950's but with an updated spin on the twisted character traits and style of classic hard-boiled literature, pulps and film noir. The director, Thomas Konkle, wanted to make something that was a homage to the films Out of The Past, The Big Combo and The Maltese Falcon in the same way that Raiders of the Lost Ark was a nod to the serials that George Lucas and Steven Spielberg enjoyed. The director of Trouble has studied filmmaking and acting and used his technical abilities and understanding of what actors needed to give their best to make much of what he had to work with in the production. All visual effects were done in house at Lumen Actus.
One of the characters is named Lew MacDonald, paying homage to one of the greats of crime noir, Ross MacDonald and his PI character Lew Archer.
Nods to Out of the Past in several shots and even the movie marquee in the background of a street scene is Build My Gallows High the book the film was based on. Nods to Raymond Chandler and his Marlowe mysteries as well.