Tyler A.M. considers this to be one of the worst films ever made.
Tyler A.M. was doing a study-project on filmmaking at his school for a semester when he made Petals. A.M. saw the school project as an opportunity to direct a feature film, having access to a school for locations and its students for cast members.
Over 50 cuts were made of the movie, ranging from 45 minutes to about 100 minutes, before the final cut was made.
The seven sin murders, seen as the bulk of the movie, actually take up less than half of the film's running time.
Petals is based around a variety of poems and short stories Tyler A.M. had written throughout sixth and seventh grade of which showed heavy inspiration from The Divine Comedy; A.M. has stated that the main concept for Petals is similar to the concept of Dante's Purgatorio.