Shubhabrata Dutta
Written and directed by Gareth Evans, Netflix’s ‘Havoc’ is an action thriller movie that centers on homicide detective Walker, who needs to find the estranged son of a corrupt politician before either the authorities or the bad people shoot him dead. The young man seems to have started a gang war after compromising a drug deal. With all the cops and criminals desperately searching for him, Walker must find the kid as soon as possible and get him out of the city. It, however, turns out tougher than expected as he finds himself navigating the city’s dark underbelly of corruption, conspiracy, and chaos. In order to depict the tension in the narrative, the crew opted for appropriate backdrops and settings, adding color to the movie’s visual canvas in the process.
Havoc Filming Locations
While the story of ‘Havoc’ is set in an unnamed US city, filming of ‘Havoc’ took place entirely in the United Kingdom, particularly in Wales. Principal photography began in July 2021, and continued for over a couple of months before wrapping up in October of the same year. However, the required additional photography was delayed due to scheduling conflicts, the COVID pandemic, and the writers’ strike, and it ultimately took place from July 8 to July 20, 2024.
The production team resorted to real locations and custom-built sets to ensure that the viewers get an immersive experience of the action, whether close-quarter or long-range. “I started going around, like, Swansea, Port Talbot, Cardiff and Newport, looking for any little bit of architecture that I could find that might pass as a little bit Americana,” Evans, who grew up in Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and still lives in Wales, told the BBC.
Cardiff, Wales
Cardiff, the capital of Wales, became the base for the production. The crew used studios and real locations around the city to capture indoor and outdoor scenes. The Great Point Studios, AKA Seren Stiwdios (formerly Pinewood Studio Wales), located at Wentloog Avenue in St. Mellons, was used to film various indoor scenes involving the shady characters. Many scenes involving characters in cars were also shot using green screens.
On the other hand, Cardiff Bay’s Bute Street, linking Cardiff Bay and Butetown with Cardiff city centre, was transformed into an American Boulevard. Fake snow was used to depict winter, with American road signs, police cars, and a fire engine also placed within the frame. Structures resembling the base of a bridge were built on a pavement and near the late 19th-century Customs House, at 56 Bute Street. A car park nearby and the Corys Building, at 57 Bute Street, were also accessed to build sets. Large blue screens were set up in the background, which were digitally altered in post-production to resemble American backdrops. Before filming began, Netflix sent letters to the residents and the business owners there to inform them about the 4-night shoot between September 27 and September 30, 2021.
The iconic Pierhead Building, located across Cardiff Bay, was used to capture several scenes. The Grade I listed building was built to serve as the new headquarters of the Bute Dock Company in 1897 after the old one burned down in 1892. The crew also used the Associated British Port in Cardiff Bay as a setting for various illegal activities and shady meetings. Located at Queen Alexandra House on Cargo Road, the well-known port is used for transferring materials and by passengers and cruise ships.
To constantly remind the viewers of the story being set in America, the team cleverly opted for roads and streets that resembled those in the US. These include the Trade Street, which is a 5-minute walk from the Cardiff Central Station, and the Crockherbtown Lane, right behind the shops near Park Place, north of Queen Street. Their naked appearance further adds a layer of isolation to the narrative. Other than all the filming, a lot of post-production work also went into changing Wales to the US, all of which took place in Cardiff.
Swansea, Wales
Swansea, the second biggest city in Wales, located on the south coast, became the second base for all the action in ‘Havoc.’ The Swansea Guildhall, which serves as one of the main office buildings of the Swansea Council, doubled as a US police station in the movie. With its neoclassical style, the Grade I listed building offers a compelling semi-urban indoor backdrop, which helps establish a cold and unemotional mood.
On the other hand, the exterior of the Brangwyn Hall and the area around it served as the setting for shots featuring the outside of the police precinct. Situated at Guildhall Road South, the hall is a concert venue named after artist Frank Brangwyn, whose British Empire Panels, a set of 16 paintings commemorating World War I, can be found there. Moreover, Swansea University, located at Singleton Park in Sketty, was also used for many exterior shots, including the Bay Campus, where an ambush scene was filmed.
While these are the major locations that the crew opted for in Swansea, it also used the Strand, a well-known and heavily used stretch of road dating back to the medieval period, for an additional shoot on July 11 and July 12, 2024. Traffic management was put in place to control and reroute traffic. The areas around the Kon-Tiki Bar, located at 10 Strand, the Proud Mary pub (currently the Bonnie Rogues pub), at 0 Wind Street, and the Evening Post Cambrian House (which reportedly shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2021) were also used as backdrops for various scenes acknowledging the gritty underworld of the movie.
Bridgend, Wales
In Bridgend, a county borough in the south-east of Wales, the production team accessed the large spaces of the Dragon Studios, located at Pencoed, to build sets for various indoor scenes in the show. It was previously used for the filming of shows like ‘Doctor Who,’ ‘The Bastard Executioner,’ and ‘Merlin.’ The team also used the county for outdoor scenes, shifting to Candleston Woods, a campsite in the gorgeous village of Merthyr Mawr, 2-and-a-half miles south-west of Bridgend town, where they built a fishing shack.
The decision to use a village as the backdrop provides a satisfying change in the aesthetic from urban to rural. While talking to BBC, Aram Tertzakian, co-founder of the US production company XYZ Films that worked on the movie, spoke about his experience, stating how the crew showed “a lot of dedication and love for the game. You get some amazing locations, both interiors and exteriors, and we had a blast.”
Barry Island, South Wales
The Barry Island Pleasure Park, located on the coast at Barry Island in the Vale of Glamorgan, 10 miles southwest of Cardiff, was used to film various outdoor scenes. Owned by showman Henry Danter, the park is home to as many as 24 attractions and is one of the oldest parks, if not the oldest park, in Wales, having been established in 1897. Reportedly, the park also served as a respite for the cast, especially lead actor Tom Hardy, who plays Waller.
Sully, Wales
The production team also used the picturesque village of Sully, in the Sully and Lavernock community, in the Vale of Glamorgan, to capture many shots. They included the residential street of Lynmouth Drive, overlooking Sully Bay. Located only 7 miles away from Cardiff, Sully is home to the St John Baptist Church, AKA Sully Church, and the Bendricks, a stretch of coastline known for its fossils. The place also featured in the hit sitcom ‘Gavin & Stacey.’
Baglan, Wales
The crew shot the climax of the movie at the Baglan Train Station in the village of Baglan, which, along with Margam and Aberafan, forms the town of Port Talbot in Neath Port Talbot County Borough. Baglan offers a mesmerizing mix of urban and rural backdrops, with hills and moors surrounding its civilization. The station itself is a new one, having opened in 1996. The choice to film the climax here may have resulted from the motive to give the viewers a contrasting setting that highlights the movie’s peak moment.
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