How ‘Warfare’ Created the IED Explosion Scene, Military Flyover and Gruesome Injuries With Real-Life Soldiers on Set

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Caution: This conversation includes details that reveal plot points from Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s “Warfare,” which is currently playing in cinemas.

The secret behind effectively creating “Warfare,” the latest war movie directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, was to make it as authentic as possible, drawing from Mendoza’s personal experiences and those of his fellow American Navy SEALs during a perilous 2006 mission in Iraq.

The sentiment couldn’t be more accurate, especially during the harrowing and emotionally devastating IED explosion sequence where a troop of soldiers are seen battling for survival following an explosion that erupted as they exited their base. Remarkably, the team went to the Czech Republic to capture authentic sounds like gunfire and bullets in real life for this scene.

According to Glenn Freemantle, a multiple award-winning sound designer, we received some insights from Ray regarding the varying sounds of explosions, with some producing a crack and others a booming noise. Ray also discussed the rush of air accompanying these sounds, emphasizing the need for maximum power in this aspect. It’s not just about amplifying the sound, but ensuring all essential components are properly aligned.

Upon the blast, Garland swiftly shifts viewpoints as the men are sent sprawling onto the ground, frantically trying to comprehend their new environment. “Some of them heard nothing at all,” Freemantle explains, “while others experienced a ringing sensation known as tinnitus. Others still could hear the cracking and popping of their eardrums.

During this critical scene, the movie reaches its peak volume with a thunderous explosion, sandwiched between the impressive military flyover and Joseph Quinn’s heart-rending shrieks. For both Freemantle and senior sound editor Ben Barker, it was crucial not only to amplify the action but also to subtly emphasize the tense quietness that precedes disaster. As Freemantle remembers, “Ray noted that it was so silent you could hear the scratching of heads and the tapping of pens on notepads.

Mark Digby, the production designer, breathed life into the sequence by constructing a 360-degree set at Bovingdon Airfield Studios, utilizing images from Google Earth and Ray’s personal memories as references. This set encompassed the exterior street where the initial explosion occurs, as well as the interior of the house, specifically the kitchen, where wounded soldiers are carried in while the battalion seeks shelter.

Digby explains, “Rather than constructing the street exterior as a backlot and then moving into a studio once we enter a house, we chose to create a single structure both inside and out. This decision was made for practical reasons like timing and resources, but also to enhance realism in our performances.

Given that the movie was primarily filmed sequentially and all sets had to be ready by Day 1, Digby found himself under pressure to create the wreckage from the explosions, complete with debris and blood, as quickly as possible after Garland requested several distinct perspectives of those particular scenes.

Digby explained that to recreate our damaged wall, we made a mold of it before it was harmed, took it away, and rebuilt it using plaster. Immediately after the explosion, we removed the undamaged section of the wall and replaced it with our pre-prepared damaged one. It felt like building with a lego set.

For the award-winning prosthetics designer Tristan Versluis, the intense explosion scene served as a pivotal point for the makeup team. One particularly gruesome instance occurs when one of the soldiers, Cosmo Jarvis portraying Elliott Miller, suffers a severe leg injury in the blast.

To design the silicon leg, Versluis and his team first obtained a 3D model of the actors using digital scanning. Subsequently, they added skin textures and details. To make it realistic, they used photographs of Elliott’s actual injuries as a reference, essentially working from the injury images back towards creating the prosthetic leg.

At one point, they needed to round a corner to enter the house, and Elliott’s prosthetic leg got caught on the brick wall’s edge,” Versluis explains. “To make it appear twisted, we had to snap the silicone leg at the correct spot and bend it at the ankle. Afterward, we created a fake body and moved it. It was quite disturbing.

Because Versluis and Digby had previously teamed up for “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” working with Garland seemed like a seamless continuation, given the necessity of accommodating each other’s requirements. For instance, Versluis mentioned: “Given the prosthetic legs, we had to make sure there was an opening in the set so that the actor’s legs could be visible.

Despite being accustomed to working with Mendoza on set and drawing upon his expertise, Versluis points out that even months later, the crew vividly remembers the “impactful” encounter when Miller joined them on set.

Upon arriving on set, everyone seemed tense and slightly apprehensive, as if to ask, ‘Are we doing this correctly?’ Moreover, it was emotionally challenging because it marked the first time he returned to that particular moment,” Versluis explains. “The unique aspect of having an actual soldier revisit such a terrible day – I’ve never encountered anything like it before. It was a one-time experience.

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2025-04-12 20:47