Behind the Scenes of ‘Verity’: How Production Designers Transformed New York into a Gothic Vermont Nightmare

When author Verity Crawford’s imposing, secluded Vermont home appears on screen in the new thriller Verity, it functions as far more than just a backdrop; it is a central, breathing character in its own right. The film, a cinematic adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s New York Times bestselling novel, stars Anne Hathaway as the enigmatic titular author and Dakota Johnson as Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer hired to complete Verity’s book series following a grave injury. As the story unfolds, Lowen is pulled from the familiar, bustling streets of New York City into the haunting isolation of the Vermont woods, where the line between fiction and reality—or “verity,” as the film playfully notes—begins to blur into a terrifying nightmare.

The production of Verity faced a unique creative challenge: how to capture the chilling, atmospheric dread of a remote Vermont mountain retreat without actually filming in the state. To solve this, location manager Elizabeth Krekel and production designer Amy Williams embarked on an exhaustive search for a “villain’s lair” that could convey the requisite modern, ominous, and isolating feel. Their search led them not to the rural expanses of New England, but to Westchester County, New York.

According to the production notes, the team sought a space that felt both sophisticated and unsettling. While the book provides a haunting narrative, it leaves the specific architectural details of the home largely to the reader’s imagination. This lack of explicit description proved to be both a hurdle and an opportunity for the design team. Williams admitted that there was a degree of apprehension about how fans of the novel would react to the film’s interpretation of the space, fearing that the audience might have envisioned something more traditional. Ultimately, the team decided to take a “big swing” with a bold, modern aesthetic, a choice that Williams credits for defining the film’s distinctive visual language.

The house itself, known as the "Beckoning Path," is a sprawling modern property in Armonk, New York, originally designed by Danish sculptor and designer Jens Quinsgaard. Known for its angular architecture and dramatic, V-shaped windows—a visual nod to the name “Verity”—the property serves as a private wellness retreat in real life, complete with a swimming pool and a dedicated tai chi studio. Williams recalls that when director Michael Showalter’s assistant first shared photographs of the home with her, she was immediately sold, going so far as to clear her schedule to ensure she could work on the project. The house possessed a quality that Williams described as “like a shipwreck at sea,” a metaphor that carries heavy, multifaceted implications for those familiar with the source material.

To bridge the gap between the real-world property and the needs of the narrative, the production team undertook extensive redecorating. They added walls and custom bookshelves to infuse the space with the lived-in, intellectual warmth of an author’s sanctuary. While the production utilized the home’s actual kitchen and various living areas, key set pieces like Verity’s office were constructed on a sound stage to allow for greater creative control.

The design of the office was a collaborative effort involving both Showalter and Anne Hathaway, who also served as a producer on the film. The team aimed for a space that felt simultaneously womb-like, feminine, and glitzy—a perfect reflection of Verity’s complex character. Williams selected a palette of soft pinks for the carpets and desks, ensuring the colors popped against Hathaway’s complexion, while strategically placing mirrors that, upon closer inspection, opened to reveal hidden bookcases. It was a design choice that perfectly mirrored the secretive, layered nature of the character herself.

The film’s geographical journey begins long before Lowen arrives in the woods, starting in the dense, urban fabric of New York City. The production team leaned into the authenticity of the setting, utilizing real-world locations that ground the film’s early, more grounded scenes. The bookstore where we first encounter Lowen—a struggling writer seeking validation—is Books Are Magic in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. The choice was a deliberate nod to local literary culture, providing a familiar anchor for viewers.

The film’s tone shifts toward the ominous during a chance encounter between Lowen and Jeremy Crawford (played by Josh Hartnett). After receiving a life-changing call from her literary agent, Corey, Lowen finds herself at the intersection of Park Avenue and East 41st Street, just a block from Grand Central Station. The scene is marked by a sudden, fatal car crash—a moment of intense devastation that serves as the catalyst for the pair’s meeting. Williams noted that this was one of the busiest and least “film-friendly” locations in the city, which naturally drew the attention of paparazzi and onlookers. Despite the chaos of filming in such a high-traffic area, the team felt it was the only place that could truly convey the frantic, high-stakes energy of the Midtown hustle.

In the aftermath of the crash, the narrative moves to the offices of the Hachette Book Group. In a stroke of industry cooperation, the publisher granted the production team access to their actual offices, a rare occurrence that added a layer of realism to the scene. The team redecorated the space, covering the walls in fictional book jackets of Verity Crawford’s works. Sharp-eyed fans of Colleen Hoover will also spot the author herself, who makes a special cameo appearance as the office receptionist.

The film continues to weave through New York’s diverse neighborhoods to establish its aesthetic. A professional meeting between Lowen and her agent is set at Rolo’s in Ridgewood, Queens, a popular local establishment known for its wood-fired cuisine. Later, during the flashback sequences that bring Verity’s past to life, the film visits the Beekman Hotel in the Financial District. The scene takes place in Laissez Faire, a high-end cocktail lounge whose historic, moody atmosphere provided the perfect backdrop for the initial meeting between Verity and Jeremy.

As the production transitioned from the city to the suburban and rural settings, the crew worked across several seasons, filming in upstate New York as well as across the boroughs. One of the more memorable transitions occurs when Jeremy takes Lowen out for her birthday at a local Bavarian restaurant. While the novel places this scene in an Italian establishment, the film crew opted for Zum Stammtisch in Glendale, Queens. The choice was born of convenience—it was located near the sound stage—but it provided a charming, historic environment that felt authentic to the story. The atmosphere was so convincing that even the director of photography joined in, appearing as a background waiter dressed in traditional lederhosen.

Throughout the nearly two-hour runtime, the juxtaposition between the claustrophobic, modern intensity of the Crawford home and the bustling, vibrant reality of New York City serves to heighten the sense of unease. By the time the story reaches its conclusion, the physical spaces occupied by the characters feel just as significant as their psychological developments. The production team’s commitment to finding and crafting locations that felt both grounded and eerie has resulted in a film that honors the source material while carving out a distinct visual identity of its own. Whether through the hidden, mirror-lined bookcases of an office or the busy, sun-drenched streets of a Brooklyn neighborhood, every location in Verity works to pull the audience deeper into a world where, as the film suggests, the truth is often the most terrifying thing of all.