The film, based on a book series by Australian writer John Marsden, was predominantly filmed in the Hunter and heavily features King Street, Raymond Terrace.

According to director Stuart Beattie the cast and crew loved filming the movie in such a ‘special’ part of the country.

‘‘We loved it the locals loved us and loved watching to see how the set got made and watching as we turned their streets into a battle zone,’’ he said.

‘‘We trashed a few streets but I made sure we cleaned them up.’’

He is referring to King Street which was transformed into a battle zone for the film and without giving too much away the street is the setting for some very action packed driving by leading lady Caitlin Stasey.

The film premiered in Newcastle recently and the audience was full of gasps, laughs and applause.

Actress Phoebe Tonkin said the reaction has been positive both on and off set.

‘‘We didn’t see anything while we were filming it so the first time I saw it I was really excited and I’m really happy, really happy,’’ she said.

As for more films Beattie said it’s up to audiences but if he can lock in more he would love to return to locations such as Raymond Terrace to film them.

For a detailed review see the Examiner’s film section.