Casting features actors of African descent in roles matching the premise with no source material alterations or forced changes. Themes of racism from neighbors, immigration bureaucracy, and cultural dislocation appear as atmospheric backdrop to the horror rather than activist framing or central conflicts.

Director Remi Weekes emphasized personal human experiences of not fitting in over political messaging. Reviews note effective blending of haunted house tropes with refugee struggles but largely reject labels of it as overt commentary or agenda-driven; isolated viewer complaints about a mild political undertone exist without widespread backlash. Elements remain incidental to the core entertainment of psychological terror and do not drive narrative arcs or subplots as identity politics.