Russian film “Attraction 2: Invasion” was filmed under complete secrecy

Last year, Attraction 2: Invasion, an epic science-fiction action film, was released in Russia and the rest of the world. The film, a direct sequel to Attraction (2017), takes place three years after the events of the first movie and stars Irina Starshenbaum as Julia, a woman develops unusual abilities after having her life saved by extraterrestrial technology.

The film, which was directed by celebrated director Fyodor Bondarchuk, came out in Russia on January 1, 2020. It was released in the United States a month later on February 9. Produced by Bondarchuk’s production company Art Pictures Studio and Vodorod, “Invasion” was the second-highest rated film at the Russian box office in 2020, surpassing even mega-blockbuster “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”. The film grossed $16.6 million on a $8.3 million budget.

Much of the film was shot in Russia by two crews who were sworn to complete secrecy. For one sequence, an entire portion of Moscow was cordoned off at night while eight cameras and a helicopter were used to film a chase sequence. This took place on Orlikov Lane and the neighboring streets.

However, while much of the filming was done in Russia where the film takes place, a large portion of “Invasion” was actually shot and produced elsewhere. Members of the production traveled to Kaliningrad, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and Hungary to finish the film.

Many scenes were filmed on sound stages at ORIGO Studios in Budapest. Complex underwater sequences, including one that features 400+ actors performing in a gigantic mobile stage, were shot at MAFILM in a special water tank fueled by fire hydrants. A to-scale 9-story building was constructed and immersed underwater in one of the scenes of the film, and actress Irina Starshenbaum had to study diving for two months before shooting. All of this—including Starshenbaum’s personal record of 15 hours filming underwater in one day—was shot in Budapest.

The special effects team of “Attraction 2: Invasion” was also Hungarian, and have previously worked on films and television series such as “Gemini Man” (2019), “Blade Runner 2049” (2017), “The Witcher” (2019), “Outside the Wire” (2021), and “Hercules” (2014). The team is said to have been particularly proud of the sequence in the film where Artyom (Julia’s boyfriend played by Alexander Petrova) battles against a Kamov Ka-52.

Art Pictures Studio has been back in the news recently with the success of “Sputnik”, another blockbuster science fiction film that has been making waves in the last year. “Attraction 2: Invasion” is available to watch around the world now.