Happy anniversary to Mysterious Skin, which had many screenings beginning in 2004, had its wide US release on June 24, 2005.

I previously shared this on my blog, but many years ago, I happened to grab a copy of the novel, Mysterious Skin, after being intrigued by those fruit loops on the front and the author pic on the back. It quickly became one of my all-time favorite books, and Scott Heim became one of my all-time favorite authors, especially after reading his follow up book, In Awe. Maybe it was because we're both from the midwest, or the love of horror movies, or both, but I always have a real connection to his work.

When I heard they were making a movie, I was aghast as I really felt it was unfilmable. But with Gregg Araki in the director’s chair and Scott writing the script, I had hope. I was pleasantly surprised by the result and commend them on retaining the soul and flavor of the novel. Plus they had Joseph Gordon Levitt, how could they go wrong?

Anyways, the movie takes place in Kansas and unsurprisingly was mostly shot in Los Angeles. I decided to hunt down a couple key locations several years ago.

First up is the Halloween house, better known as Vernita Green’s house in Kill Bill. It is located at 5500 Atlas Street in Los Angeles.

Most of the park and baseball scenes were shot at Balboa Sports Center at 17015 Burbank Boulevard in Encino, California. The old and dangerous playground equipment is long gone, but you can see the awnings in the back are the same. (I couldn’t get good shots as there were lots of kids around!)

This is the same park, but closer to the baseball fields.

Next to the baseball fields are a few buildings seen in the film.

The reverse shot….

Neil’s house is located at 19220 Ingomar Street in Reseda, California.

I got these shots before a big privacy fence was put in.

The house seen across the street is at 19215 Ingomar Street.

Back to the baseball stand…

The bus leaves from right in front of the baseball stand, looking towards Balboa Boulevard. (The front of the bus stop is at the park but in a completely different location.)

The coach’s house is located at 8417 Shirley Avenue.

UPDATE: I finally tracked down the apartment, which is supposed to be in Brighton Beach according to an establishing shot, but of course it is filmed in Los Angeles. It is located at 2910 Leeward Avenue.