You’ve probably seen the headlines about Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega teaming up for a movie involving a mythical creature and a car accident. It’s an absurd premise. But when people start asking where was Death of a Unicorn filmed, they usually expect a sprawling Hollywood backlot or maybe a generic forest in Georgia.
They’re wrong.
The production for this A24 dark comedy actually took place in a very specific corner of the American Northeast. Specifically, the crew spent the summer of 2023 tucked away in the Hudson Valley and various parts of New York State. It wasn't just a random choice. The region has become a massive magnet for indie darlings lately because it offers that perfect mix of "wealthy isolated estate" and "spooky, overgrown woods."
When you see the film, the atmosphere feels thick. Heavy. That’s because it was shot during a period when the industry was basically at a standstill. Because A24 is an independent studio and agreed to the terms of the SAG-AFTRA strike at the time, they got an interim agreement. While the rest of Hollywood was dark, Rudd and Ortega were deep in the woods of New York, filming a story about a father and daughter who accidentally run over a unicorn.
The Hudson Valley: The Primary Hub for Death of a Unicorn
Most of the filming was centered in Dutchess County. If you aren't familiar with the area, it’s about two hours north of Manhattan. It’s where the ultra-wealthy go to hide their second homes, but it also has these jagged, ancient-looking forests that look like something out of a Grimm fairy tale.
The production specifically utilized locations in Poughkeepsie and Wappinger Falls.
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Honestly, the choice of the Hudson Valley makes a lot of sense for the narrative. The movie follows a billionaire (played by Richard E. Grant) who owns the unicorn—or at least wants its "healing properties." You need a setting that looks like old money. You need estates that feel impenetrable. The Hudson Valley provides that in spades. Local residents reported seeing production trailers near the Wappinger Creek area and around several private estates that are usually closed off to the public.
Why New York State?
It isn't just about the trees. New York offers a massive tax credit for film production, but for a movie like Death of a Unicorn, the physical geography was the selling point. They needed a road. A specific kind of winding, dark, two-lane road where a mythical creature could reasonably pop out of the brush and meet the bumper of a luxury car.
The crew worked through July and August of 2023. If you’ve ever been to upstate New York in July, you know it’s humid. The air is heavy. You can almost feel that sweat on screen. It adds to the claustrophobia of the plot, where a simple mistake turns into a surreal nightmare.
Breaking Down the Specific Sets and Scenes
While the majority of the "woods" scenes were shot on location in the Hudson Valley, there were whispers of work being done in more controlled environments nearby. New York has seen a boom in soundstage construction lately, but director Alex Scharfman seemed to lean heavily into the naturalistic, albeit weird, environment of the forest.
- The Roadside: The pivotal accident scene required a stretch of road that felt isolated. Location scouts looked for areas where the canopy of trees overhung the pavement, creating a tunnel effect.
- The Estate: The billionaire’s compound is a character in itself. Reports from the set suggest they used a mix of private residential property in the Mid-Hudson region to represent the home of Richard E. Grant's pharmaceutical mogul character.
- Local Businesses: Occasionally, film crews will take over a local diner or gas station. While most of Death of a Unicorn stays confined to the car and the estate, the production footprint was felt in small towns throughout Dutchess and Ulster counties.
The A24 Factor and the SAG-AFTRA Strike
It’s worth mentioning the context of how they were able to film this when they did. This wasn't a standard shoot. Because it was an "Interim Agreement" production, it was one of the very few high-profile projects filming in the U.S. during the 2023 strikes.
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This meant the atmosphere on set was likely very different from a standard blockbuster. The focus was tight. The locations were kept relatively private to avoid crowds, though fans in Poughkeepsie did manage to snag a few photos of Paul Rudd being his usual charming self at local coffee shops.
Jenna Ortega, who has basically become the queen of modern "weird" cinema between Wednesday and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, fits the Hudson Valley aesthetic perfectly. There’s a certain "dark academia" or "folk horror" vibe to that part of New York that matches her filmography.
Why Location Matters for This Movie
If they had filmed this in a studio in Atlanta, it wouldn't have worked. The "unicorn" in the movie is a puppet—a practical effect—and it needed to interact with real dirt, real leaves, and real moonlight.
The Hudson Valley has this specific lighting. It’s a bit desaturated, especially under the forest canopy. For a movie that blends "mortal dread" with "absurdist comedy," the location does a lot of the heavy lifting. You believe that something ancient could live in those woods. You also believe that a billionaire would build a high-tech fortress right in the middle of them.
What Most People Get Wrong About New York Filming
A lot of people assume "filmed in New York" means New York City. For Death of a Unicorn, the city is irrelevant. This is a "North of NYC" story. It’s about the isolation of the suburbs and the wilderness that still exists just outside the concrete jungle.
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The production also took advantage of the Empire State Film Production Tax Credit. This is a boring business detail, but it’s why so many A24 movies end up in New York. By filming in "Zone 2" (which is basically anything outside of the immediate NYC area), they get extra incentives. This allowed the budget to go toward things like that practical unicorn puppet and the high-profile cast rather than just paying for parking in Manhattan.
Real-World Locations You Can Visit
If you’re a film nerd and want to do a "Death of a Unicorn" road trip, you can actually visit the general areas where the movie was shot.
- Poughkeepsie: Check out the local parks. While the specific estates used are private, the general flora and "vibe" of the woods are accessible in places like Peach Hill Park.
- Wappinger Falls: This area has that classic small-town-meets-wild-nature look. The creek itself is beautiful and looks exactly like the kind of place a weird A24 movie would happen.
- The Hudson River Crossings: The drive up from the city, particularly across the Mid-Hudson Bridge, gives you a sense of the scale of the valley.
Final Practical Insights for Fans
Identifying where was Death of a Unicorn filmed gives you a much better appreciation for the film’s tone. It’s not a shiny, polished Hollywood product. It’s a grit-under-the-fingernails indie project that used the natural humidity and gloom of a New York summer to its advantage.
If you're planning to scout these locations yourself, keep a few things in mind:
- Respect Private Property: Most of the "estate" shots were done on private land. Don't go trespassing just to find a unicorn.
- Check the Seasons: To get the true "vibe" of the movie, visit in mid-to-late summer. The greenery is at its most aggressive then.
- Watch the Credits: Often, the "Special Thanks" section of the credits will list the specific towns or local businesses that helped the crew. It's the best way to find those hyper-specific spots.
The Hudson Valley continues to solidify itself as the "East Coast Hollywood," especially for genre-bending films like this one. Seeing how Alex Scharfman utilized the New York landscape tells us that the setting is just as much a character as the unicorn itself.
To get the most out of your movie-watching experience, pay attention to the background. Look at the way the light hits the trees in those Hudson Valley woods. It’s a specific kind of beauty that you can’t fake on a green screen. If you're looking for other filming locations in the area, research the productions of A Quiet Place or Severance, which utilized the same eerie, atmospheric New York backdrop to great effect.