Where Was Netflix’s ‘Lou’ Filmed?

Allison Janney has officially entered her Liam Neeson era with Lou on Netflix, a new action thriller that began streaming on Friday.

Directed by Anna Foerster, with a screenplay by Maggie Cohn and Jack Stanley, Lou stars Janney as the titular character, an ex-CIA agent living a quiet, remote life. Or at least, she was, until her neighbor, Hannah’s (Jurnee Smollett) daughter is kidnapped by her unstable father, and the two women team up to him track down. A huge storm prevents them from calling the police or going for help, but, thankfully, Lou has a particular set of skills acquired over a long career that will help her rescue this little girl on her own.

Most of the film takes place outside in the rain and wilderness. Janney and Smollet stomp through dirt and mud, climbing under rocks and over trees, all while soaking wet. In a recent interview with Decider, Janney spoke about getting into the headspace for such a physically intense shoot, saying, ” I met with the director Anna Foerster, and we really talked cold turkey about what this was going to entail. Anna said, ‘It’s going to be dark and dirty and wet. It’s not going to be easy. Are you willing to go to these places?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely. I’m terrified, but I want to and I know I’m up for the challenge.’”

But where were those places, exactly? Read on to learn more about the Lou filming locations.

WHERE WAS LOU FILMED?

Lou was filmed in Vancouver, Canada, and in the surrounding British Columbia area. The production was filmed in June and July 2021, and, according to a recent interview with Allison Janney for Screen Rant, it was in the middle of a heatwave in the area. Luckily, because so much of the movie takes place during a rain storm, the actors were kept cool—by being drenched.

“I also appreciated that there was a huge heat wave going on in Vancouver, where we shot this, so being wet felt kind of great,” Janney said. “There were times when we were freezing, but most of the time during the day, it was like, ‘Thank God. Turn the water on.’ It was really nice.”

Based on photos Janney posted on her Instagram, it wasn’t exactly a glamorous set, but it certainly was interesting.

For the big finale sequence along the coast, as well as for the downtown scenes at the hardware store, Lou filmed on the Ucluelet Pennisula, per a report from Victoria News. According to the report, Ucluelet’s Pioneer Boatworks was converted into a hardware store, while The Crow’s Nest, Ucluelet’s longest-running store, was turned into a bank.

There you have it! If you ever find yourself in the Vancouver or Ucluelet area, be sure to pay your respects to the Lou filming locations.