Get Behind The Scenes of THE RAID (SERBUAN MAUT)

[We'll have proper production stills soon but, in the meantime, our behind the scenes gallery has been updated with four new shots plus a video walk through on the set.]

Rather than heading home at the end of the Hong Kong Filmart I instead hopped on a plane heading south for a few days visiting Jakarta and the set of The Raid (Serbuan Maut). The sophomore effort from the team that created Indonesian martial arts film Merantau, The Raid reunites writer-director Gareth Huw Evans with stars Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian along with some new faces in what promises to be a high energy, non-stop action piece. Here's the official synopsis:

A swat team arrives at a rundown apartment block with a mission to remove its owner, a notorious drug lord named Tama. The building has never been raided before, never been touched by police. Seen as a no go zone it has since become a sanctuary to killers, gangs, rapists and thieves seeking accommodation in the one place they know they cannot be touched.

Making their move in the break of dawn the swat team work their way up the building under cover of silence. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and with news of their assault traveling to Tama in his penthouse suite the building is locked down with all lights out and all exits blocked.

Stranded on the 6th floor the swat team must fight their way through every floor and every room not just to complete their mission but to survive.

I arrived to set late in the shooting day, winding through the hallways of the apartment to find Merantau veteran Yayan Ruhian - he played Eric in the previous film - in bad guy mode facing off with a new face, Indonesian judo champion Joe Taslim. Guys were getting pretty bruised up at this point, Taslim taking a few kicks to the face to get the shot just right.

We'll be having more material from The Raid turn up on ScreenAnarchy as the film makes its way through production but below you'll find an initial trio of behind the scenes shots snapped on my iPhone featuring Taslim in his SWAT gear, Iko Uwais in fight choreographer mode watching over the action, and Evans walking the team through a scene before shooting.