Here’s How They Pulled Off the ‘Extraction 2’ Prison Sequence

Extraction 2, the sequel to Netflix’s action sensation starring Chris Hemsworth brings back Tyler Rake for even more deranged violent delights, and this time, director Sam Hargrave has been explaining the impressive lengths that the production team went to in order to achieve new heights, as he sat down for an in-depth conversation with Collider’s Steve Weintraub.

There had been considerable hype in the build-up to the film over the speculation that it would include another “oner”—an unbroken shot with no camera switches— which lasted 21 minutes, in an attempt to one-up a previous shot in the first film, which included a one-shot escape sequence, which encompassed a shootout in Dhaka. By the time the film was released, it was the latter that the film’s production team had decided on.

When asked by Weintraub about the logistics, and the length of time it took to film the prison sequence, Hargrave revealed during his answer that the team had actually taken inspiration from the opening of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which saw Tom Cruise open the movie with a daring prison escape. What’s more, Hargrave soon released why their own prison looked familiar!

“Well, the prison sequence, in my mind, comprises a couple of different parts, and it was actually a couple of different locations. So once Tyler Rake goes into that prison and pulls the family out, there’s a little scene in the cell and it was a couple of different locations. One was actually where they shot Mission: Impossible 5 [sic] when Tom Cruise goes in to pull Yuri, the Russian guy, out of the prison, we filmed in that same location, which I didn’t even know until I rewatched that Mission: Impossible, and was like, “Wait, I know those doors!” Anyway, so we shot there. That was where the corridors were, that was where we got the family out and we started the first part of the sequence where he’s running up and down stairs and he’s fighting guys in his room.”

RELATED: ‘Extraction 2’ Director Breaks Down How They Set Chris Hemsworth on Fire for The 21-Minute Oner

The Logistics of One-Shot Cinema

Hargrave admitted, due to the layout of the sequence and how it would play out, the shot would include hidden edits which would allow location switches without the audience noticing – something necessary to suspend the disbelief, as well as allowing for a more exciting sequence. The director revealed they found an underground tunnel system from the Second World War as part of their location scouting which ended up becoming part of the prison.

“Then when he goes down and into the darkness, into the tunnels that lead up to the coal shoots, that was in one of our hidden edits. We moved locations, went many, many miles away to another location, which used to be a storage facility for grain during World War II, and so they had this crazy courtyard, which ended up being the courtyard portion of the prison. And the underground tunnel system was amazing, so we really wanted to take advantage of that. So that’s part of my process with scouting, you find these places that might work, and then you see, like, “Oh, that’s really cool. Let’s add this, or find a way to work this in.” So we did.”

Hargrave then confirmed that the shot took them around “five or six” days to complete, which Weintraub admitted was a surprise, stating he thought it would take much more time to pull off. He then asked Hargrave if that length of time was trimmed down due to the extensive rehearsals for extreme action scenes that would be required for it. Hargrave responded that in addition to the rehearsals, the technical nature of the shot in some ways was easier to produce due to only having to cover the one angle, as opposed to from multiple positions. He explained, “Well, extensive rehearsals, and there’s a certain pace that you have to get with the stitches right. So you look at it broken down, kind of like a shot list, and, for example, on the first movie, we averaged between three and five stitches, or pieces that we put together, per day. And with this one, it was like twice as long, so we did have a little bit longer to shoot. I think, all in with the train, the car chase, the prison, I think we had 27 days, or something like that, which some people could film an entire movie in that time, maybe two, you know.” Before he went on to say:

“Once you rehearse it and design it and get it how you like it, once you’ve got it and it works with the next piece, you move on. Whereas, if you’re traditionally covering something, you look at it one direction, you’re there for whatever, like a couple of hours a day, that’s great. Now you’ve got to turn around and get the other side so that you have the other coverage. But with the oner, you’re covering all of it, it’s all in one shot, and so once you have that piece, you don’t go back to it, so you just keep moving. So it does, in some ways, allow you to move a little faster because you don’t have to go back and recover things to get the inserts, it’s all in one. So, yeah, it was about six days for that”

Extraction 2 is now streaming on Netflix. You can watch the trailer below and look for more from our exclusive interview with Hargrave soon.