Summary
- Reptile, the Netflix murder mystery film, keeps viewers guessing with its twists and turns, leaving them constantly questioning the truth and the killer's identity.
- The filming locations for Reptile primarily took place in Atlanta, Georgia, with various spots in the metropolitan area used to depict different settings in the movie.
- Although most of the filming occurred in Atlanta, the cast and crew also traveled to parts of New England, potentially including Scarborough, Maine, where the movie is set, to capture certain exterior shots and make the story more authentic.
Reptile centers around the baffling murder of a young real estate agent and the complicated life of the detective on the case, and the cast and crew utilized a few cities on the East Coast to capture the movie's story. The Netflix murder mystery film, which premiered on September 29 on the streaming service, takes plenty of twists and turns, leaving viewers constantly guessing what the truth is and who brutally killed Summer Elswick. As the movie's synopsis suggests, nothing is as it seems in the crime thriller.
The large cast of Reptile includes Benicio del Toro as Tom Nichols, Justin Timberlake as Will Grady, Alicia Silverstone as Judy Nichols, Eric Bogosian as Captain Robert Allen, Ato Essandoh as Dan Cleary, Domenick Lombardozzi as Detective Wally, Michael Pitt as Eli Phillips, Karl Glusman as Sam Gifford, Matilda Lutz as Summer Elswick, Mike Pniewski as Chief Marty Graeber, Thad Luckinbill as Peter, Sky Ferreira as Renee, Owen Teague as Rudy Rackozy, Frances Fisher as Camille Grady, and Catherine Dyer as Deena Allen. Almost everyone is a suspect — the boyfriend, the best friend, the ex-husband, etc. However, nothing can prepare the audience for what happened in the ending of Reptile.
Atlanta, Georgia
According to Ready Steady Cut, the primary filming location for Grant Singer's Reptile was the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. Principal photography on the Netflix thriller film occurred from August 2021 to November of the same year, and the cast and crew spent most of their time in the Peach State, even though the movie takes place in Scarborough, Maine, which is a real town. However, Atlanta has become a hub for plenty of film and television show productions, so it is understandable why the Netflix movie chose the Georgia city as its central filming location rather than committing to shooting the entirety of the project in the New England town.
Atlas of Wonders reported many of the Atlanta metropolitan area locations used in the film, including the Peachtree Battle Alliance neighborhood, the Cabernet Steakhouse, the Inn at Stone Mountain Park, the Westview Abbey Mausoleum, Accuformance Motors, and the Bigelow's nightclub. It seems as though the producers were determined to strictly use on-location spots for the movie, as opposed to shooting the majority of Reptile in a film production studio. All the reports regarding the Netflix crime thriller's filming locations suggest that production studios were not a part of principal photography.
The Peachtree Battle Alliance neighborhood was used for the house scenes. The Cabernet Steakhouse can be spotted in a couple of sequences when the characters go to a restaurant. The Inn at Stone Mountain Park was utilized for Justin Timberlake's Will Grady's conference scene at the film's beginning. The Westview Abbey Mausoleum was the backdrop for Summer Elswick's funeral. The auto repair shop Accuformance Motors can also be spotted in one scene. Lastly, the location of Bigelow's nightclub was used for the sequence where Benicio del Toro's Detective Tom Nichols and Ato Essandoh's Dan Cleary interview Sky Ferreira's Renee, aka the victim's best friend.
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Marietta, Georgia
The cast and crew of Reptile also heavily utilized Marietta, Georgia, another city just outside of Atlanta, for shooting significant scenes in the film. The primary location set in Marietta was the Manley Firm Law Offices, which doubled as the Grady Real Estate company offices where the victim, Summer Elswick, worked in the Netflix murder mystery film. However, the production team also took advantage of numerous spots in Marietta for their movie. But the most important one was undoubtedly the law office building since it was significant to the case in Reptile.
New England
Although most of the principal photography for Reptile took place in and around Atlanta, George, The Cinemaholic reported that the cast and crew also traveled to some parts of New England to capture a handful of shots for the movie. It would make sense if the production team shot various exterior scenes in the region in the Northeastern United States since that is where the 2023 Netflix crime thriller takes place. Unfortunately, specific New England locations used for the movie are unknown. However, it is possible that the crew went to Scarborough, Maine, the exact location of Reptile, to film specific sequences to make it more believable that the movie's events transpire in the town.
Sources: Ready Steady Cut, Atlas of Wonders, The Cinemaholic
