Where Was ‘Boston Strangler’ Filmed? Director Matt Ruskin Explains How the Movie Transformed Modern Boston Into the 1960s

Boston Strangler on Hulu—which just began streaming today—is the perfect movie for anyone who loves journalism, true crime, and, of course, Boston.

Keira Knightley stars as journalist Loretta McLaughlin, who connects the dots between a series of horrific murders in 1960s Boston. Alongside fellow journalist Jean Cole (played by Carrie Coon in the movie), the two women broke the news of a serial killer on the loose in their city, and gave him his infamous name: The Boston Strangler.

The movie is, of course, based on the true story of the real Boston Strangler. And these infamous killings have already been adapted for the screen in the 1968 movie, The Boston Strangler, starring Tony Curtis. But the 2023 Boston Strangler, directed by Matt Ruskin, managed to find a new spin on this Boston horror story.

Ruskin, who is a Boston native himself, spoke to Decider in an interview about his experience going back to his hometown to film the movie. Read on to learn more about the Boston Strangler filming locations.

Where was Boston Strangler 2023 filmed?

Boston Strangler was filmed on location in Boston, Massachusetts, and the surrounding area in December 2021. “I was so grateful to get to go home to Boston and bring the film back there, and really shoot in and around some of these neighborhoods where this took place,” Ruskin said. “We brought all these old cars out from the 1950s, and early 60s, onto the streets in front of these beautiful old brownstones. It was amazing to see these neighborhoods transform.”

For the exterior of Loretta McLaughlin’s house, the team found a house in Belmont, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb, located at 47 Statler Road, while the Winn Brook Elementary School in Belmont was used as the exterior of the police station.

In Boston proper, Ruskin said, “We shot a lot in the South End. There are some beautiful old neighborhoods that haven’t changed much. And we shot the Back Bay, and, really, all over the place.” Specifically, several scenes in the South End were shot on Dwight Street between Tremont Street and Shawmut Avenue, and in the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, for more police station scenes.

But, Ruskin added, it was a challenge to transform the modern Boston into the Boston of the 1960s. “A lot of the city has changed,” he said. “It was a challenge trying to bring this time period back to life in a way that was authentic. We got to work with an incredible production designer and costume designer who were pulling from references from that period to try and do it in a way that was authentic, to transport people back to that period.”

So there you have it! Boston Strangler is a true Boston movie, through and through.