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When it comes to action, nothing quite beats the cinematic thrill of watching an A-lister battling to survive in the wild. From Leo’s brutal bear encounter in The Revenant to Meryl Streep whitewater action-thriller The River Wild, it’s a genre that delivers white-knuckle thrills by the barrel load.
Now, Netflix’s new outdoor survival thriller Apex is here to up the ante. Starring Charlize Theron as Sasha, an adrenaline junkie recovering from a tragic loss, who heads into the Aussie wilderness in the hopes of finding healing. Awaiting her, is Taron Egerton’s (Rocketman) crossbow-wielding serial killer Ben who pursues her through the gorges, caverns and white waters of one of the most secluded corners of the world.
Director Baltasar Kormákur is no stranger to the genre, having helmed action-adventure flicks Adrift, Everest and Beast, each traversing difficult terrain – from the open seas, Mount Everest and a South African game reserve – in epic fights for survival. For his latest film, Australia wasn’t the original plan.
“We needed to shoot in a warm climate at a specific time of year, so the Southern Hemisphere came into play,” Kormákur said.
“Then, for economic reasons, Australia became one of the options. As I started looking into it, I felt it was actually a great idea to locate the film here and really use Australian nature, which is unique, and build the film around that more. That choice took us down a very particular path.”
Those particular paths led him to New South Wales and Canberra where the film came together.
Where was Apex filmed?
Grand Canyon Walking Track, Blue Mountains National Park, NSW
Though the production took place all over NSW, many scenes were filmed in the Blue Mountains World Heritage-listed National Park including the gripping final showdown. Just a 90-minute drive from Sydney, the lush terrain of the Blue Mountains boasts some of the most breathtaking geological formations, gorges and waterfalls. One particular location used was the Grand Canyon walking track, a 6.5km loop that takes you down into the canyon, followed by a tiring hike back up. The region is also no stranger to film sets, with the grand gardens of Mount Wilson dressed up as the decadent world of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.
General Store and Post Office, Bowning, NSW
Sasha and Ben first meet at the general store and post office in the historic town of Bowning. Situated along the Murray River, this small town (which has a population under 1,000) is country-town quiet and best known for its artistic community and historic roots. It also makes for a great pitstop on your way to Yass where wine and fine dining await.
The Needles, Engadine, NSW
During a tense scene where Sasha is trying to evade a trap set by Ben, she is seen trying to sneak by in a canoe before it capsizes. This scene, and most of the riverwork, was filmed at the wild swimming hole The Needles. Fringed by the Royal National Park and the Sutherland Shire’s bushland, the remote location requires a short walk to access but is well worth the effort, especially if you catch it empty and under the sun.
Ginninderra Falls, Wallaroo, NSW
The production also ventured down to Ginninderra Falls near the border of ACT, where Sasha’s cliff jump sequence was filmed. The spectacular waterfall drops more than 60km into a deep gorge. While it is currently privately owned and closed to the public, it was once a popular destination for picnicking, hiking, wildlife-spotting and swimming.
If you’re keen to track down some of these locations yourself, be warned: they’re not all easy to access. During location scouting, Kormákur wasn’t deterred by remote and hard-to-reach terrain.
“There were caves in the Grand Canyon [in Australia’s Blue Mountains National Park] that were really hard to get to. Even just to scout them, we had to swim; there’s no other way in.”
The hardest part, Kormákur says, was convincing everyone else that it was worth it: “The obstacle is what you’re looking for; the rub between your idea and the obstacle is often where art is created. When you don’t have obstacles, filmmaking becomes too contrived, too easy, and nothing feels real. For this level of filmmaking, you need technical solutions and some studio work to achieve certain things. But by starting the film out in nature, the hardship the actors and crew go through lives in them.”
That sense of realism carries through in Theron and Egerton’s gripping performances, elevating their relentless cat-and-mouse pursuit. The result? A high-stakes thriller that is sure to rival some of the best.
Apex is playing on Netflix from April 24. Read our review here.
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