Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,’ the death of a priest under impossible circumstances leads the local police to reach out to Benoit Blanc. The seasoned detective confesses that the crime seems to have been executed to such perfection that it would be challenging, if not impossible, to catch the killer. As he familiarises himself with the suspects, the church, Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude, which is also the crime scene, becomes an important piece of the puzzle. It’s not just the murder, but also the grandness of the place that makes it such an interesting addition to the movie. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Fictional New York Church is Brought to Life by an Anglican Church
While the events of ‘Wake Up Dead Man’ take place in a town in rural New York, the filming for the movie primarily took place in England. Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude is entirely fictional, but it remains a crucial part of the story. Production designer Rick Heinrichs revealed that when they began searching for a church in England, they aimed to ensure it felt authentically American. The search ended with the Holy Innocents Church in High Beach, which was “just old enough to give the right feel, but not so old that it looked decrepit and un-American.” Located at High Beach Church Lane, High Beach, Loughton, Essex, the English church was built in 1873. Its setting in the heart of the Epping Forest gives it the exact vibe that the filmmakers wanted. The church, its graveyard, and the surrounding woods were used for filming. To lend a more gothic and spooky aura to the location, the cast and crew discovered that the forest is known for its ghost stories.
Reportedly, the locals told them stories of ghosts of highwaymen, such as Dick Turpin and Queen Boudicca, haunting the woods. While the filmmakers utilized the exceptional location for a significant portion of the film, they still required custom sets to expand the scope of the church and, consequently, the murder mystery. So, they turned towards the Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden on Warner Drive in Watford, Hertfordshire. The crew constructed the interiors of the church here, keeping in mind the architecture of the Holy Innocents Church, to maintain continuity. Reportedly, the stage allowed the use of a space that was twice as large as the real space inside the church. To keep in sync with the Gothic setting, they added a hammer-beam ceiling with carved angels at the end and created the iconic pulpit from which Wicks gives sermons to his loyal flock.
It was given the shape of a ship’s bow as an ode to John Huston’s adaptation of Moby Dick, and the eagle in the front was representative of “power and the potential for misuse of power.” For Heinrichs, the idea was to present the priest as a captain of the ship, who is in command at the wheel, with the power to shift the ship in whatever direction he wants. Heinrichs felt that this way, the church could be a representation of “something that is speaking to a big cultural thing that is happening in the U.S. now.” More than that, it was about bringing director Rian Johnson’s idea to life. The production designer wanted the location to be in sync with the film’s themes, so he aimed to create “divine spaces, spaces that evoke awe and even fear.” As mentioned in the movie, it is all about storytelling, and the church itself becomes a storyteller, with each detail presenting a different side of the tale.
Read More: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery Ending Explained: Who is the Killer?
