In the short film, the male lead character is in his twenties. For the feature film, Jamie Dack increased the age gap between Lea and Tom to emphasize the power imbalance between the two.
Jamie Dack was inspired to expand her short film to a feature when the MeToo movement prompted her to reevaluate a relationship she had as a teenager.
Before Jonathan Tucker was cast, multiple actors passed on the role of Tom, citing their discomfort with playing a predator.
The movie shares its title with a 2004 album of the same name by the band Sugarcult, though the film is not associated with the music group.
The film took nine months to find distribution after its 2022 Sundance Film Festival premiere because of its controversial subject matter, as well as the festival taking place virtually due to the COVID surge.