Wake Up Dead Man was filmed in an Essex church – here’s where if you want to visit

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If you’ve seen Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – whether in theaters or on Netflix – and found yourself asking where it was filmed, we have the answer for you.

In the third installment featuring detective Benoit Blanc, a murder takes place in a New York church. Surprisingly, director Rian Johnson chose to film the movie on location halfway around the world.

The Holy Innocents Church, located in High Beach within Epping Forest, Essex, typically has around 60 people attend its services.

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Last year, the location welcomed a host of famous actors, including Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, and Josh Brolin, along with a large film crew.

With so many movies and TV shows being filmed in London, location manager Rachel Hyde told BBC News it’s good to increasingly utilize areas outside the city, in the Home Counties.

This marks the first major production to be filmed in the church, which has previously only been used for student projects. The surrounding area is steeped in history and folklore, with tales of ghosts – including those of famous figures like Dick Turpin and Boudicca – said to roam the forest. The paranormal investigation show Most Haunted even explored these stories back in the early 2000s.

“I don’t know if the cast and Rian knew anything, it was more just us on the periphery,” Hyde said.

Reverend Jane Yeadon shared some amusing stories from the filming process. She insisted on being present during shoots to protect the graves and, as a perk, was allowed to sit with the director, Johnson, to observe how the church was being filmed.

Mila Kunis mistakenly thought she was meeting a background actor when she first met Yeadon, and ended up being the more embarrassed of the two.

It makes sense, considering the film was shot in a church with many priests present. However, the actress seemed very embarrassed and repeatedly apologized for something,” the vicar explained.

Johnson revealed to her on the final day that she’d already encountered the killer, but wouldn’t say who it was, forcing her to wait eighteen months to learn the truth!

We don’t know exactly how much the church was paid for letting filmmakers use its property, but the payment was significant enough to cover the costs of repairing the church wall and restoring the organ.

The Essex Film Office estimates that filming brought over £1.3 million to the local economy and hopes it will attract future film projects to the area.

Wake Up Dead Man is available to stream on Netflix now.

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2025-12-14 18:19