Naman Shrestha
Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Netflix’s ‘Spiderhead’ is a sci-fi movie set in the near future that revolves around two convicts, Jeff and Lizzy, living out their sentence in a state-of-the-art penitentiary supervised by a visionary man named Steve Abnesti. What makes this facility unique is that it has a provision for prisoners to reduce their sentence time by becoming subjects for certain experiments involving emotion-altering drugs. When things go south while experimenting on Lizzy, Jeff comes to her rescue and tries his best to dodge all the experiments to save her.
The movie is based on George Saunders’ dystopian short story ‘Escape from Spiderhead.’ The thrilling narrative, coupled with brilliant performances by a star-studded cast ensemble, keeps the audience hooked on it from the beginning to the end. Meanwhile, the backdrop of the luxurious facility tends to make us wonder about the actual locations that appear in ‘Spiderhead.’ Well, we have gathered all the information about the same, so let’s get to know about them, shall we?
Spiderhead Filming Locations
‘Spiderhead’ was filmed entirely in Australia, particularly in several parts of Queensland. The principal photography for the sci-fi thriller seemingly commenced in early November 2020. Following several delays, the filming took place for about “five weeks or something” in total before getting wrapped up in January 2021. The Chris Hemsworth-starrer was originally slated to be lensed in the US but moved to Australia upon the actor’s insistence. Talking about it, the actor said, “The last three or four films I’ve done were supposed to shoot in Atlanta or the UK, and I said, ‘I’m not doing it unless it shoots here.’”
Chris added, “This was, I think, going to shoot in Atlanta, and I said: ‘Look, I really don’t want to leave home right now, I love shooting here, we have such brilliant crew and cast and talent to use, and locations…’” Interestingly, Queensland was a COVID-safe zone at the time, which further played a significant role in shifting the production to the land Down Under. Now, allow us to navigate you through the specific locations showcased in the film!
City of Gold Coast, Australia
Many pivotal sequences for ‘Spiderhead’ were lensed in the City of Gold Coast, a local government area that spans the Gold Coast and other surrounding areas in Queensland. The production team set up camp in the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, possibly to shoot most of the interior shots for the movie. It is located at 2684-2690 Gold Coast Highway in the Broadbeach suburb.
Several scenes were also recorded on location in Tallebudgera Valley, an outer locality in the City of Gold Coast. The cast and crew members utilized the Hinze Dam in the Gold Coast hinterland to tape more on-location shots for the movie. The dam impounds a reservoir named Advancetown Lake. Both of these above-mentioned sites are located just about 30-45 minutes from downtown Gold Coast.
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Located on the New South Wales border right next to Tweed Shire, the City of Gold Coast was established in 1948; however, its present form dates back to 2008. The Gold Coast is the major city within this government area, and it is not just a popular tourist destination but quite a prominent filming location as well. Over the years, many notable movies and TV shows have utilized the locales of the coastal city; some of them are ‘Scooby-Doo,’ ‘Kong: Skull Island,’ ‘A Perfect Pairing,’ and ‘Young Rock.’
Whitsunday Islands, Australia
In addition, the cast and crew members also set up camp in the ever-so-tourist destination, Whitsundays, specifically on the picturesque Hamilton Island, where they likely captured a few exterior sequences against suitable backdrops. Hamilton Island has been used for filming several productions, and you might be able to spot it in movies and TV shows such as ‘Fool’s Gold,’ ‘Dead Calm,’ ‘Muriel’s Wedding,’ and ‘The Starter Wife.’
Darlington, Australia
For shooting purposes, the production team of ‘Spiderhead’ even traveled to the rural Texas-esque locality of Darlington, in the Scenic Rim Region of South East Queensland, to tape some pivotal scenes. The countryside is known for its parks and hiking trails that help one connect with nature.
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