Anaconda: Where The Movie Was Actually Filmed

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Anaconda: Where The Movie Was Actually Filmed

Anaconda was shot in the same lush locale in which the movie takes place. The horror movie drops the documentary crew in the Amazon River, which is exactly where the majority of filming took place. Anaconda's authentic location brings legitimacy to a film that was largely ridiculed for its animatronic monster.

The movie follows filmmaker Terri (Jennifer Lopez) as her crew travels to the Amazon jungle to study a forgotten ancient tribe. They come across a man named Paul (Jon Voight) who was stranded on a riverbank. When they rescue him, he offers to help them find the tribe. But the crew soon finds out his ulterior motive — he wants to use them to track down a legendary and deadly anaconda.

The Amazonian backdrop provided challenges for both the characters on screen and the actors and crew members who brought them to life. So while the titular anaconda may have not been authentic, the characters' and actors' experience in the Amazon was realistic. Here's a look at how Anaconda's filming location affected the film.

Save for a few scenes filmed in the US, all of Anaconda's Amazon-based scenes were shot on location. The horror movie utilized the forest-covered state of Amazonas, Brazil for most of its shoot. Anaaconda shot additional scenes stateside in Las Vegas and various cities in California, such as Los Angeles, Pasadena and Arcadia. As the horror movie exclusively took place in the Amazon, the US locations were dressed up to look exotic.

The Amazon is a beautiful but uncomfortable—and sometimes dangerous—setting. The cast and crew had to deal with extreme temperatures and sloshing through water, making their reactions on screen as real as they could be. The real-life people behind Anaconda also experienced extreme danger as well. During a scene in which Terri was locked in battle with the anaconda, a mechanism failed on the animatronic snake. The anaconda almost seemed to take on a mind of its own and the snake started attacking Lopez. Due to the fact that both she and the mechanical snake were submerged in water, it was difficult for anyone to reach her, not to mention they'd risk electrocution by coming into water with a malfunctioning machine.

Anaconda's accurate Amazonian filming location heightened the atmosphere of the horror movie. Despite this commitment to authenticity by the movie's director and crew, Anaconda didn't get a lot right about snakes, so the comically large anaconda was anything but scary in the film's final cut. Because of that, the moments intended to be frightening didn't really pack a punch. However, the actors sold the emotions of the documentary crew portrayed on screen; they were often tired, hot, wet and sometimes even in danger. Anaconda never managed to capture the success of other killer animal movies, such as Spielberg's Jaws, but it wasn't a total loss. Due to the choice to film on location where similar movies would have likely compromised and moved production elsewhere, that aspect of Anaconda became one of its most positive, and likely was a contributing factor that saved the movie from being a complete flop. The setting allowed for some much-needed realism.