True to the setting of the story in 1984, Michael C. Hall's character can be heard watching the premiere of the short-lived 1984 television series The Master (AKA Master Ninja) on his living room television in one scene. Lee Van Cleef can be heard talking to the bartender.
Director Jim Mickle was influenced by Road House and the Korean drama Memories of Murder. After exploring feminist themes in We Are What We Are, Mickle wanted to explore more masculine themes in Cold in July. Mickle called Cold in July "the other side of the coin" to We Are What We Are; and a film about being "sucked into your own kind of action movie." Mickle tried to work in many 1980s themes and references to John Carpenter's work from that period.
In September 2013, Sam Shepard, Don Johnson, and Vinessa Shaw joined Michael C. Hall, who had already been cast. Because he played a killer on Dexter, Hall said that the script quieted any concerns he had about being typecast. Cold in July was filmed after Dexter ended, and Hall was drawn to the role based on his desire to play a more normal character; Hall called the role therapeutic, as it allowed him to move on from playing the iconic serial killer Dexter Morgan. The role further appealed to Hall for his character's lack of control over his own life, which contrasted strongly with the self-assured and in-control Dexter.
Lansdale said that he saw all the revisions of the script except for the last and "felt respected through the entire process."