Heather Graham gained over 10 pounds and wore foam padding underneath her dresses and clothing throughout the film to give her a slightly overweight appearance due to her character's obsession with cooking and eating. As a result, she is never seen fully undressed, especially during her lovemaking scenes.
Originally set to shoot in 2009 with Marisa Tomei and Liv Tyler headlining, under the title of "10A/10B". Tomei was going to portray the role of Carrie-Anne Moss and Tyler was going to portray the role of Heather Graham.
This is the second collaboration of Carrie-Anne Moss and Heather Graham after 1995 movie Terrified (1995).
Compulsion is the winner of the best picture award (Sanese D'Oro) and the Critics Special Mention at the 2013 Terra di Siena International Film Festival, Italy.
In late May, 2012, Dimension Films announced that they acquired U.S. distribution rights to the movie, while the shooting was still going on in Ontario, Canada. However, the studio dropped the movie with no further public announcement in 2013. Phase 4 Films later acquired the distribution rights and the movie was released.