The Netflix movie Spiderhead was filmed entirely in Queensland, Australia.
The Whitsunday Islands, a well-known tourist destination, served as the setting for the futuristic prison, while the picturesque Gold Coast region of Australia gave the movie its tropical appearance.
The first movie to shoot in the Gold Coast Convention Centre in 2020 is Spiderhead, according to Gabrielle Jones, the City of Gold Coast's advisor on film and television. On Australia's Gold Coast, additional filming for the science fiction thriller took place. Cast and crew filmed sequences in stunning, verdant landscapes at Hinze Dam and Tallebudgera Valley.
The science-fiction thriller Spiderhead, directed by Joseph Kosinski and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, is based on the George Saunders short story “Escape from Spiderhead” and stars Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, Jurnee Smollett, and others in a tale of two prisoners stranded in a facility that subjects inmates to emotional experimentations.
Speaking of making movies in his native country, Chris Hemsworth said: "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.’" He added, "To the credit of Netflix and the production team, they pivoted and built the sets in Queensland, turned the (Gold Coast) Convention Centre into a studio, and we shot the film in five weeks or something, which is unheard of for a film of this size."
How did Spiderhead develop and film?
The New Yorker first featured "Escape from Spiderhead" in 2010, and the short story anthology "Tenth of December" by author George Saunders featured it in 2013. In February 2019, a movie based on the book was announced, with Joseph Kosinski scheduled to direct from a screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, and Jurnee Smollett joined the cast in September 2020.
Following a AUD 21.58 million investment from the Australian Government, which was combined with the production of "Pieces of Her" to support the national economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, principal photography began in Queensland, Australia, in early November 2020. According to Queensland Premier Annastacia Paaszczuk, the output will bring in about AUD 47 million and provide local employment.
Spiderhead's tropical aesthetic was inspired by the Gold Coast region of Australia as well as the popular tourist destinations of the Whitsundays and Darlington in The Lost World Valley. Hinze Dam and the Tallebudgera Valley in the hinterland of the Gold Coast provided the production with stunning expanses of water and verdant hills to enrich the film's backdrop. The Spiderhead Prison, which gave the Netflix movie its dystopian elements, was located on the Whitsunday Islands.
What is the plot of Spiderhead (without spoilers)?
Modern prison Spiderhead tests the effects of substances used in scientific studies. The study aims to shorten the sentences of the test subjects, who are officially state prisoners. The empathetic and hospitable Steve Abnesti and his assistant Mark are in charge of running the program. The inmates live in their own quarters, perform tasks, and have unrestricted freedom of movement. Every day, the individuals are put through drug tests that change their emotions and how they perceive their surroundings.
Inmate Jeff, still in shock after killing his friend while driving drunk, is administered N-40, a "love drug," which clouds his judgment and compels him to engage in sexual activity with two other prisoners. He is asked by Steve to decide which of them should receive Darkenfloxx, a medication that causes extreme terror and psychological suffering. He refuses to make a decision, claiming that after the effects of the love drug wear off, he has no strong feelings for either of them. Mark assists Steve in giving himself some N-40.
What happens next will give away spoilers, so in a nutshell, convicted criminals are exploited as "guinea pigs" by pharmaceutical companies, which create new synthetic medications. In this movie, the drugs used to make these criminals feel a variety of emotions, but primarily "love," are the main subject. One patient in particular suffers from these emotions and wonders if they are all in his brain. So he sets out on the road to discover the truth.
How was the critical reception of Spiderhead?
39% of 150 reviews by critics have good ratings on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with an overall rating of 5.2/10. “Spiderhead’s top-shelf cast and well-written source material are almost enough to compensate for its periodic failure to live up to its potential," the website's consensus states.
The weighted average review site Metacritic gave the movie a score of 54 out of 100 based on reviews from 34 critics, classifying the reviews as "mixed or average." It received a 2 out of 4 star rating from Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com, who said that while "it starts with promise," it is instead "pseudo-heady sci-fi drivel that treats its more intriguing components like an afterthought."
FAQs
Q. What is Netflix's Spiderhead based on?
A. The Netflix movie Spiderhead is based on “Escape from Spiderhead” a dystopian short story by George Saunders.
Q. Where was Spiderhead's inspiration published first?
A. Escape from Spiderhead by George Saunders was first published in The New Yorker.
Q. When was Netflix's Spiderhead released?
A. The film Spiderhead had its Sydney premiere on June 11, 2022, and was made available on Netflix on June 17.
