Although Prisoners‘ white-knuckling mystery drama is set against the backdrop of a Pennsylvanian town, it was actually filmed in another state entirely. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman, Prisoners unfolds like a typical police procedural that gradually removes the tapestry around its overarching mysteries. However, beyond its bleak game of cat-and-mouse and labyrinth of plot twists, Prisoners meticulously studies its flawed characters whose moral dilemmas and ambiguities add even more heft to its narrative maze.
Prisoners‘ tense family drama is heightened by Roger Deakins’ immersive cinematography, involving purposefully dim lighting that highlights the grays in the movie’s otherwise black and white characters. Even Prisoners‘ Pennsylvanian setting is depicted in such a way, with an emphasis on dull and rainy backdrops, that it becomes a character in and of itself. Considering how the setting plays a crucial role in enhancing the emotions of Prisoners‘ characters (which also inspired Stranger Things) and the tone of its storyline, it is hard not to wonder where its filming took place. Here is everything we know about Prisoners‘ filming locations.
Keller Dover’s House – 700 Deering Rd SE, Conyers, Georgia, USA
A significant part of Prisoners‘ drama ensues at small-town carpenter Keller Dover’s house because Anna and Joy go missing while heading toward it from a neighboring home. Although the Dover home is located in Pennsylvania according to the Prisoners‘ storyline, its real location is in Conyers, Georgia. Street shots of other Conyers locations, such as Stanton Woods Drive Southeast, 674 Greenview Avenue Southeast, and 600 Almand Branch Road Southeast, can also be spotted in many scenes of the Jake Gyllenhaal crime drama.
Franklin Birch’s House – 2903 High Brook Way SE, Conyers, Georgia, USA
The home located at 2903 High Brook Way SE in Conyers, Georgia, was redesigned as Franklin Birch’s house in Prisoners, which is located down the street from Keller Dover’s home. Since Anna and Joy are last seen at the Birch’s home, it becomes central to Prisoners‘ police procedural. To gather evidence surrounding the abduction and Joy Birch’s pictures, Jake Gyllenhaal’s Detective Loki also shows up at the location later in the film.
Keller Dover’s Abandoned House – 651 James P Brawley Dr NW, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
After realizing he is running out of time, Keller Dover puts his morals on the line and decides to take justice into his own hands by abducting his daughter’s suspected kidnapper, Alex Jones (played by actor Paul Dano). He imprisons him in an abandoned home and brutally tortures him. Unlike the Birch and Dover homes, the filming for Keller Dover’s abandoned house took place in Georgia’s capital, Atlanta.
Holly Jones’ House – 1634 Phillips Rd, Lithonia, Georgia, USA
Holly Jones’s house, located at 1634 Phillips Rd, Lithonia, Georgia, first appears in Prisoners when Detective Loki visits Holly to ask her about her nephew, Alex. It is the same location where Loki finds Alex’s RV but finds no credible evidence inside it to convict him. Loki later visits the home again to interview Alex and Holly after Alex secretly makes a cold confession to Keller at the police station’s parking lot. Toward the end of Prisoners, Holly Jones’s house becomes the primary setting for the climatic showdown between Holly and Loki, which leads the detective to the final pieces of the overarching puzzle.
Police Station – 4916 N Royal Atlanta Dr, Tucker, Georgia, USA
Other than being the backdrop for Alex’s chilling confession to Keller, the police station in Prisoners is also used as a setting to depict Loki’s frustrations. When Alex is released from police custody because of a lack of evidence against him, the police station becomes a metaphorical prison for Loki because, despite his efforts, he initially makes little to no progress in the abduction case. Based on Prisoners‘ narrative, Loki works at the Conyers Police Department in the fictional city of Conyers, Pennsylvania. However, the police station scenes were actually filmed in Tucker, Georgia.
Chinese Restaurant – 5099 Memorial Dr, Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA
The Chinese restaurant where Loki (played by Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s Jake Gyllenhaal) sits and eats dinner in one of Prisoners‘ opening scenes was shot at 5099 Memorial Dr, Stone Mountain, Georgia. The location emphasizes Loki’s loneliness since he sits there all by himself on the evening of Thanksgiving. Later, Prisoners explains this loneliness by showing his commitment to his job and how much it bothers him when things do not go his way.
Hospital – Atlanta Medical Center At 1170 Cleveland Ave, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
The Birch and Dover families feel hopeful when Joy Birch is found wandering. However, things take a grim turn when Joy, in a drugged state, claims that she saw Keller Dover. This gives off the impression that Keller (played by Wolverine actor Hugh Jackman) probably had something to do with the abduction, and with what follows, Loki chases him out of the hospital. Although Loki is unable to catch him, it leads him to Keller’s abandoned home.
Liquor Store – 748 Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy NW, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Early in Prisoners, Keller uses a liquor store as a pawn after realizing that Detective Loki is following him. Keller leaves home to visit Alex at the abandoned house but changes his path to the liquor store after Loki starts tailing him. When confronted, Keller approaches Loki with a bottle of alcohol and claims it is his first drink in nine years.
Gas Station – Circle K, 1605 Troy Smith Rd, Monroe, Georgia, USA
Soon after the abduction, the police find Alex’s white RV parked near a gas station. When Loki tries questioning him, he attempts to flee but crashes into a nearby tree. Both pivotal scenes in director Denis Villeneuve‘s Prisoners, leading to Alex’s first arrest, were filmed in multiple locations around Monroe’s Troy Smith Road, also in Georgia.
