The Alibi stands as a gritty homage to the 1970s neo-noir thrillers Daryl Della and Ray Revello adored, filtered through the scrappy, DIY ethos that defined the company’s middle years. Written by Hank Della, the script was an adaptation of a story he had originally penned during his own high school years in the 70s. Intended to weave directly into the expanding Dead Right universe, the project was designed to be a hard-boiled revenge tale, though the execution carried the distinct, chaotic fingerprint of a Dollars & Donuts production.

The casting process was a mix of strategic pivots and inside jokes. Chris Cairo took on the lead role of Chico Mendez, a character written as a hulking Charles Bronson type. Since Cairo didn’t exactly fit the physical mold, the inside joke was that he had eaten too much ramen while in prison. He was pitted against Chris Ross as the relentless Detective Hickey—a casting curveball given Ross’s previous role as a hitman in the same universe—and Christy Moxley as Detective Murphy, a role originally written for a man but reimagined to broaden the ensemble. Rounding out the cast were Krystal Gong, brought in at Mitch Martin’s suggestion, and Ray Revello as Lance Louie, the nervous, gun-twirling accomplice whose "lucky streak" serves as the film’s dark comedic engine.

Filming took place over the 2013 holiday season, stretching into early 2014, but the post-production phase became a grueling odyssey. Following a move back to his parents' house after years in LA, Daryl found himself battling the stress of a cramped living situation, which pushed him into bad habits and procrastination. The edit dragged on for an entire year, overlapping with the production of After the Jack, before Daryl finally pulled the film together for its debut at Premiere Night 2014. Despite the delays, the production values were deceptively high; Daryl covertly "borrowed" a Canon C300 from his workplace at Wikia, allowing the crew to shoot high-quality night scenes on the streets of San Francisco without permits or elaborate lighting rigs.

The film’s sonic landscape proved to be another major hurdle. Arbel Bedak provided the original score, but the production made it clear this would be his final collaboration with Dollars & Donuts. The process was fraught with friction; as Daryl found it increasingly difficult to steer the music toward the specific tone he envisioned. This creative impasse left a lingering dissatisfaction with the film that persisted for over a decade.

It wasn't until the 2025 Redux Edition that the film finally sounded the way Daryl had always imagined. In a move characteristic of the studio's modern tech-forward approach, Daryl utilized Suno to completely overhaul the soundtrack. This AI-assisted score finally bridged the gap between concept and execution, injecting the film with the driving, stylistic punch it had been missing for eleven years.

In true guerrilla fashion, the film’s most explosive moment—Lance Louie’s accidental suicide—required the construction of a false wall inside Jonathan Cairo’s apartment to catch the practical blood splatter, sparing the crew a security deposit nightmare. The film was inextricably linked to the lore of the Dead Right universe, designed as a direct setup for Dead Right: Part Three, a prequel intended to feature the Trenton Brothers crossing paths with Chico and Louie to explain how Jack Lewkowitz’s Rooker lost his hand. While the crew did eventually film Rooker’s dismemberment for Dead Right: Part Three, the script was heavily trimmed and rewritten to exclude Chico. The Alibi found its true final form years later; thanks to the visual and musical overhaul of the 2025 Redux, The Alibi finally earned its place as the stylish thriller it was always meant to be.