Between 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.
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David Fincher’s meticulous procedural about the hunt for the Zodiac killer is obsessive about accuracy – and shot across the real San Francisco Bay Area where the case unfolded, from newspaper offices to the genuine sites of the crimes.
Where was Zodiac filmed?
Zodiac was filmed across the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, with some interiors in Los Angeles.
Every Zodiac location, explained
1
The San Francisco Bay Area
The film used the real Bay Area – San Francisco, Vallejo and the surrounding towns – where the Zodiac case actually played out.
2
The newspaper offices
The San Francisco Chronicle newsroom scenes used period-dressed office buildings, with some interiors in Los Angeles.
3
The crime scenes
Fincher restaged several attacks at or near their genuine Northern California locations for authenticity.
4
Southern California interiors
Some interiors and stand-ins used the Los Angeles area, including university buildings.
Planning a visit
The San Francisco Bay Area is the film’s real backdrop – though several sites are ordinary towns and roads, the movie’s obsessive geography maps the true history of the case.
Zodiac Fun Facts
1
Obsessively accurate Fincher recreated real locations and events with painstaking, near-forensic precision.
2
Shot in the real Bay Area The film used the genuine San Francisco and Vallejo settings of the case.
3
An early all-digital shoot Fincher filmed Zodiac largely on early digital cameras.
4
Based on real books It draws on Robert Graysmith’s investigative books about the unsolved case.
5
The case is still unsolved The Zodiac killer was never definitively identified.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Zodiac based on a true story?
Yes – it dramatises the real, still-unsolved Zodiac killings and the hunt for the killer.
Did they film at the real crime scenes?
In several cases yes – Fincher restaged events at or near their genuine locations.
Where is Zodiac set?
In the San Francisco Bay Area, where the real case unfolded.
Who stars in Zodiac?
Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr.
