Warning! This post contains spoilers for Netflix’s Rebel Ridge.
SinceRebel Ridgeprimarily unfolds its story in a small town setting, it becomes hard not to wonder if its central town is a real-world location or a fictional creation. Serving asdirector Jeremy Saulnier’s fifth feature film project,Rebel Ridgehooks a viewer from its opening scene itself, where a former marine, Terry Richmond, gets rammed off the road by two police officers. Instead of apologizing for their actions, the police officers seize his money on the grounds of civil asset forfeiture.
Despite knowing no one in the town, Richmond sets out on a stormy legal journey to acquire the seized money, which he wishes to use to bail his cousin out of prison. However, the undercurrent of corruption that runs through the town constantly tests his patience, eventually forcing him to resort to extreme measures. Since the setting alone is essential for drivingRebel Ridge’s narrative, many viewers must be curious about where its filming took place.
New Orleans
Louisiana
As confirmed (viaDecider) byRebel Ridge’s leading star, Aaron Pierre, New Orleans was the central hub for the movie’s filming. Not only was it the primary shooting spot for several scenes of the film, but director Saulnier had also rented a warehouse in the location for Aaron Pierre to train for the film’s fight choreography. Recalling his experience filming the movie in New Orleans, actor Aaron Pierre said he loves the city’s weather, food, culture, and community.
Here’s his full statement:
Our home base was in New Orleans, Louisiana. I love New Orleans. I love the weather, I love the food, I love the culture, the community. Jeremy [Saulnier] had set up a warehouse, which is where we created Terry. We had a wrestling mat. We had boxing bags. We had gloves, pads, wraps. We had weapons training, just outside the warehouse. We had pedal bike training. I knew how to ride a pedal bike—been riding one my whole life—but not the way Terry rides one! I needed to know how to be chasing buses and stuff—how to pick up speed in that level.
Vernon Parish Courthouse, Leesville
AlthoughRebel Ridgepresents its setting as a small town named Shelby Springs, it was primarily filmed in Leesville, which is a small city in Louisiana’s Vernon Parish. After his run-in with the police officers in the film’s opening arc, Terry Richmond heads to the town’s courthouse, hoping to find a resolution to get his cousin out of prison. The courthouse depicted in the opening and a few later scenes of the filmis the Vernon Parish Courthouse. A local news source (5Kalb) also reported spottingRebel Ridge’s castand crew near the courthouse in downtown Leesville.
Natalbany River Bridge, Tangipahoa Parish
In more than one scene,Rebel Ridgealso features a bridge. Towards the final arc of the film, where Terry Richmond loses his patience and sets out to wage war against the town’s police department, he ties up a police officer and leaves him in a car at the bridge. This bridge portrayed in the film is theNatalbany River Bridge, located in Louisiana’s Tangipahoa Parish.
Texas Street, Leesville
Although Richmond struggles to find any quick solutions to his dilemma, he meets a woman named Summer, who takes him to a nearby restaurant and helps him understand how the police officers legally acquired his money. The scenes where Summer and Terry walk along an empty street as Summer talks to him about what he can do to get his cousin out unfold in Leesville’s Texas Street. Viewers who have visited the street may spot several familiar stores and shops in the background.
Directed & Written by
2 hours 11 minutes
98%
Metacritic Score
78%
After talking to Summer, Terry reaches out to his previous employer, Mr. Liu, hoping he could lend him some more money. To his relief, Mr. Liu agrees to wire him more money to help him save his brother.The Merchant and Farmers Bank building can be spotted in the backgroundwhen he makes the call.
Los Angeles
California
Although most scenes fromRebel Ridgewere shot in Louisiana, reports suggest that Los Angeles also served as one of its secondary filming locations. Considering how Los Angeles has always been a major filming hub for several big and small productions, it is not surprising that it was chosen as one of the filming locations for the film. Other thanRebel Ridge, several other action thrillers, likeHeat,Chinatown, andL.A. Confidential,have also been shot in Los Angeles.
Rebel Ridge
Former Marine Terry Richmond travels to Shelby Springs to post bail for his cousin, only to find his savings unjustly seized by a corrupt local police force. With the help of court clerk Summer McBride, Terry uncovers a deep-seated conspiracy and vows to bring justice to the town.
