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| Where Was Her Private Hell Filmed? Every Stunning Shooting Location Behind the 2026 Sci-Fi Horror. (Photo: IMDb) |
The haunting world of Her Private Hell has left audiences wondering whether its eerie futuristic city actually exists. The 2026 sci-fi horror thriller, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, blends neon-lit luxury with bleak post-war imagery so convincingly that many viewers assumed the production travelled across Asia. In reality, the film achieved much of its dreamlike atmosphere much closer to home, relying on carefully constructed studio environments rather than real-world cityscapes.
The heart of production was Copenhagen, Denmark, where the creative team transformed soundstages into the film's unsettling parallel worlds. Instead of searching endlessly for locations that only existed in imagination, Refn decided to build them from scratch.
That approach allowed every corridor, towering wall and glowing room to reflect the emotional state of the characters rather than imitate reality. It also explains why the environments feel more like vivid dreams than recognisable places.
One of the film's standout settings is the vast Infinite High-Rise Hotel, constructed entirely inside Copenhagen studios. This lavish environment serves as the backdrop for Elle's journey through a wealthy but emotionally hollow society.
The enormous gold-draped interiors, oversized classical statues and relentless pink-and-blue neon lighting create a space that is both luxurious and strangely lifeless. It resembles the sort of hotel where even the wallpaper seems to be judging your life choices.
Another major production environment recreated the film's haunting Tokyo underworld, also built inside Danish studios. Rather than replicating modern Tokyo, the designers created an abstract city swallowed by chemical-like fog, deserted alleyways and endless concrete corridors.
Deep crimson lighting cuts through the darkness, while practical smoke effects make every street appear suspended somewhere between reality and nightmare. The result feels intentionally disconnected from geography, matching the film's surreal storytelling.
The unsettling dress shop featured throughout the film became another memorable set. Designed as a lonely, liminal space hidden within the fog-covered city, it combines minimalist architecture with eerie silence.
Every empty display and narrow passage contributes to the growing sense that something is never quite right. It is the kind of shop where nobody asks whether you need help because everyone already knows you should probably leave.
Production also utilised several Tokyo, Japan exterior pick-up locations to complement the studio-built environments. Carefully selected city streets and urban details were captured to provide authentic visual textures before being blended seamlessly with the Copenhagen sets during post-production.
These brief exterior shots help ground the film's imaginary world without taking attention away from its deliberately stylised production design. Several sequences also incorporated exterior filming around Shibuya, Tokyo, where distinctive urban lighting and modern streets added subtle visual layers to the futuristic cityscape.
Rather than dominating the story, these shots provide flashes of recognisable city life before audiences are pulled back into the film's surreal architecture. Another recognisable backdrop came from Shinjuku, Tokyo, whose glowing streets and towering buildings offered additional atmospheric inserts.
Although only glimpsed briefly, these scenes help bridge the gap between the real Japanese capital and the fictional city created inside the studio, giving viewers just enough familiarity before everything slips back into dream logic.
Principal photography reportedly took place across a compact 57-day schedule between May and July 2025. In keeping with Nicolas Winding Refn's minimalist working style, the production remained remarkably small, with fewer than 30 cast and crew members on set at any one time.
That streamlined approach allowed the filmmakers to focus on carefully crafted visuals instead of managing enormous production units. Not every filming location connected to the production was publicly disclosed while cameras were rolling.
Keeping certain working locations private helped minimise unwanted interruptions and allowed filming to continue smoothly without attracting large crowds of curious fans. It is a common approach on productions where secrecy and controlled set conditions are especially important.
Fans have reacted to the filming locations with plenty of enthusiasm. Some were genuinely surprised that such an enormous futuristic world emerged almost entirely from studio construction rather than extensive international filming.
Others admitted they had spent half the film trying to work out which part of Tokyo looked so strangely beautiful before discovering most of it never existed outside a soundstage. That's movie magic for you—sometimes the most convincing city on screen is one built between four studio walls.
Whether you're fascinated by cinematic production design or simply want to understand how Her Private Hell created its unforgettable atmosphere, the film offers a masterclass in imaginative world-building. Which location impressed you the most—the dazzling neon hotel, the haunting underworld streets or the eerie dress shop? Share your thoughts and let us know which setting you would most like to step into, even if only for a few minutes.