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5.4 Locations
"Heavenly Creatures" is based on a true story and as such, Jackson felt it important to shoot the movie on location in Christchurch, New Zealand where the actual events took place. Christchurch is located a little more than halfway up the larger South Island of New Zealand, at Pegasus Bay on its east coast. The city is built on a plain, just north of an outcrop of hills (Banks Peninsula) which jut into the sea, with countless inlets, harbours and estuaries. In Christchurch, main roads radiate from central Cathedral Square, with minor roads forming a web inbetween, in a manner reminiscent of old British market towns such as Oxford. The Avon River cuts the town in half as it meanders eastward to the sea. There are countless streams and rivers in the area. Christchurch is flat, very conducive to biking and biking was a common way to get around at that time. "Christchurch has always regarded itself as the most English city outside England. The city's founding in the 19th century by the offspring of English gentry was an attempt to recreate a little bit of England in the Southern Hemisphere. There is a River Avon, a cathedral facing the square and English-style architecture in whose shelter the traditions and rituals of upper-middle-class English life were (and to some extent are) maintained." G. O'Brien, NY Times, Nov. 13, 1994. p. H15.
