 Filming happened mostly in Los Angeles , including location shooting at Sunset Strip , Silver Lake , Pacific Palisades , the Hollywood Hills and the <unk> Hotel . <unk> Club , the nightclub featured in the film , was built within Hollywood 's <unk> Theater , while the hills above <unk> Stadium near <unk> Park were used for the car chase and crash where Sil fakes her death . For the opening scenes in Utah , the <unk> Army Depot dubbed as the outside of the research facility — the interiors were shot at the <unk> International Corporation laboratory in California — and a Victorian @-@ era train station in <unk> City was part of Sil 's escape . Other locations included the Santa Monica Pier and the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico . The most complex sets involved the sewer complex and a tar @-@ filled granite cavern where the ending occurs . Donaldson wanted a maze quality for the sewers , which had traces of realism ( such as tree roots breaking through from the ceiling ) and artistic licenses . Production designer John <unk> intentionally designed the sewers wider and taller than real ones , as well as with <unk> , but nevertheless aiming for a <unk> and realistic atmosphere . The underground tunnels were built out of structural steel , metal rod , plaster and concrete to endure the fire effects , and had its design based on the La <unk> Tar <unk> , with <unk> describing them as " just the sort of place in which a creature from another planet might feel at home . " 
