Undertow Movie Filming in Myrtle Beach: Hollywood Comes to the Grand Strand

A Thriller Finds Its Stage on the Shore

The morning light off the Myrtle Beach coastline can fool you. It slides across the pier planks, catches the spray where the Atlantic breaks against the pilings, and makes everything look like a postcard. But for the past month, that same light has been doing double duty — illuminating something you do not see every spring along the Grand Strand. Film crews. Cameras mounted on rigs. Directors calling for quiet on a public beach where quiet almost never happens. The movie is called Undertow, and it has turned familiar stretches of sand and local landmarks into the backdrop of a Hollywood psychological thriller.

Director Adam Sigal brought the production to the Grand Strand after the script was originally slated to film in Ireland. The reason for the change was straightforward — South Carolina offered stronger financial incentives and, once the filmmakers scouted the coastline, the visual pull of this place did the rest. The South Carolina Film Commission confirmed that the creative team was so taken with what the Grand Strand offered that they rewrote the script to set the story here. That kind of pivot does not happen because of a tax break alone. It happens because a place looks right on camera and feels right in a story.

The production has been spotted at locations stretching from Garden City to North Myrtle Beach — surf shops, the boardwalk, a municipal aquatic center, even the police station. Beachgoers on spring break have walked into active film sets without realizing it. Local paddleboarders have been recruited for ocean scenes. The whole thing has had the feeling of a town discovering, in real time, that its everyday landscape is somebody else’s cinematic vision.

Grand Strand Filming Locations

What makes the Undertow production interesting from a local perspective is how widely the crew has spread across the region. This is not a case of a film company renting a single soundstage and calling it a day. Sigal and his team have used the entire Grand Strand as their set, and the result is a production deeply woven into the geography that visitors and residents know by heart.

Filming kicked off at Village Surf Shoppe in Garden City, a place that has been part of the beach culture down here for years. The historic surf shop closed its doors temporarily for interior and exterior scenes, and one of the film’s characters reportedly owns a surf shop in the story — a detail that fits Garden City’s vibe like a wetsuit in October. From there, the production moved north.

Pier 14 in Myrtle Beach served as another key location. Sitting directly over the Atlantic at 1306 North Ocean Boulevard, right along the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, Pier 14 has been a Grand Strand landmark since the mid-1980s. The pier’s position — jutting out over the waves with an unobstructed ocean horizon — gives it the kind of dramatic framing that directors look for without having to build anything. Scenes involving a search-and-rescue sequence were filmed near the pier, and local paddleboarders were even asked to participate in the shoot.

Up in North Myrtle Beach, the North Myrtle Beach Aquatic and Fitness Center on Second Avenue South became the site for controlled ocean sequences. A significant portion of the film takes place on a yacht, and the aquatic center’s pools allowed the crew to stage underwater chase scenes and swimming sequences in a safe, repeatable environment. It is the kind of creative problem-solving that makes location shooting work — using a municipal pool to simulate open water, surrounded by the same coastal town where the outdoor beach scenes are happening a few blocks away.

The production also filmed along the beach near Riptydz Oceanfront Grille and Rooftop Bar, where what appeared to be a wedding scene drew a crowd of onlookers from the nearby Myrtle Beach Boardwalk. Additional shooting took place at the Myrtle Beach International Airport, local restaurants, the city’s Chamber of Commerce offices, and the police station — which was temporarily shut down to accommodate filming.

The Cast and Crew Behind Undertow

Adam Sigal is a writer, director, and producer with more than twenty years in the industry. His path to filmmaking took an unusual route — he worked as a private investigator in Los Angeles before turning to screenwriting, a background that likely informs the kind of tension and suspicion that drives a thriller like Undertow. His previous directorial credits include Chariot (2022), starring John Malkovich and Rosa Salazar, and Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose (2023), which featured Simon Pegg, Minnie Driver, and Christopher Lloyd. Producer Joel Shapiro’s credits include Gunner (2024) and River Runs Red (2018).

The cast is headlined by Tania Raymonde, an actress whose face many viewers will recognize even if they cannot immediately place it. She played Alex Rousseau in the ABC phenomenon Lost, appeared as Cynthia Sanders on Fox’s Malcolm in the Middle, and starred alongside Billy Bob Thornton in the Amazon legal drama Goliath. Raymonde was spotted on set at Village Surf Shoppe in early March, and her involvement brought a visible level of industry credibility to the production. Additional cast and local extras have been involved throughout the shoot, though the full roster has not been publicly released.

The plot itself remains tightly guarded. What has been confirmed is that the story centers on a seaborne kidnapping — a woman is taken from the ocean, and the narrative unfolds from there. Sigal described a scenario involving a yacht, a pursuit through the water, and the kind of tension that builds when a character is trapped between the open sea and a threat that will not let go. The Myrtle Beach setting is not incidental to the story. It is the story. The coastline, the piers, the salt air — all of it feeds the atmosphere the film needs.

Why South Carolina Is Winning the Film Incentive Game

The reason Undertow ended up on the Grand Strand instead of the coast of Ireland comes down to money and momentum. South Carolina has built one of the more attractive film incentive packages in the Southeast, and productions are responding. The state’s Motion Picture Incentive program offers qualifying productions a cash rebate — not a tax credit that has to be brokered, but a direct check — of up to 25 percent on in-state crew wages and up to 30 percent on goods and services purchased from South Carolina suppliers. Productions need to spend at least one million dollars in the state to qualify for the main program.

That rebate structure is significant. Unlike states that offer tax credits requiring brokers and extended waiting periods, South Carolina reserves the estimated rebate funds upfront and cuts the check within 30 days of the final audit. For a production company managing cash flow across locations and schedules, that kind of certainty matters. The wage rebate is even assignable to a financial institution, meaning producers can use it to finance the production itself.

In 2025, South Carolina introduced the Local Filmmaker Incentive, a pilot program with two million dollars in annual funding aimed at smaller productions. This newer program lowered the spending threshold to $250,000, opening the door for independent filmmakers who previously could not hit the million-dollar mark. The requirement that at least one producer be a South Carolina native has helped ensure the program builds local industry talent rather than just importing it. Matt Storm of the South Carolina Film Commission has been instrumental in managing the state’s incentive program and guiding productions through the application process.

The state legislature is also considering Bill H.3832, which would increase the annual rebate cap from ten million dollars to thirty million dollars. If passed, the expanded cap would position South Carolina to compete even more aggressively with states like Georgia and Louisiana for major studio productions. The trajectory is clear — South Carolina is not just dipping a toe into the film industry. It is building infrastructure.

Film Tourism and the Grand Strand Economy

When a film crew sets up on a public beach and starts shooting, the first thing that happens is entirely predictable — people stop and watch. Spring breakers near Riptydz slowed their boardwalk strolls to a halt when they realized a movie was being made in front of them. Visitors from out of state tried to take photos before being told the set was closed. That kind of curiosity is the seed of something the tourism industry calls film-induced tourism, and the Grand Strand is positioned to benefit from it in ways that go well beyond the weeks of active production.

The economics are layered. During production, the film company spends money locally — hotels for the crew, meals at area restaurants, equipment rentals, location fees, and wages for local hires. That is the immediate impact. The longer-term value comes after the film is released, when audiences see the Grand Strand on screen and start thinking about visiting. The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, the beaches of Cherry Grove Beach and Ocean Drive, the pier at sunset — these are not just film backdrops. They are destinations, and seeing them in a movie makes them feel both familiar and aspirational to potential visitors.

South Carolina state officials have noted that productions like Undertow generate both direct revenue and tourism interest that extends well beyond the production schedule. The South Carolina Film Commission actively works to attract directors and production companies for exactly this reason — every film shot here is, in effect, a feature-length advertisement for the state’s coastline, communities, and culture.

Myrtle Beach’s Growing Film Legacy

Undertow is not an isolated event. It is the latest chapter in a story that has been building across South Carolina for years. More than 200 feature films, television series, and TV movies have been shot in the state, and the South Carolina Film Commission has signaled its intention to increase that number. The Grand Strand in particular has become a recurring location choice for productions that need a coastal setting with accessible infrastructure, cooperative local government, and a visual palette that ranges from quiet tidal creeks to wide public beaches to neon-lit commercial strips.

The appeal for filmmakers is practical as much as it is aesthetic. The Grand Strand offers a concentrated range of environments within a short drive — the marshlands and surf culture of Garden City, the boardwalk energy of downtown Myrtle Beach, the quieter residential feel of Crescent Beach and Windy Hill in North Myrtle Beach. A production does not have to relocate to find a different look. It just drives fifteen minutes up or down the coast.

Dan Rogers, Senior Project Manager at the South Carolina Film Commission, has spoken publicly about the growing interest from filmmakers in the Myrtle Beach region. The fact that the Undertow production rewrote its script to move the setting from Ireland to Myrtle Beach says something about the confidence the creative community is placing in this coastline. It is one thing to film here because the incentives are good. It is another thing entirely to change your story because the place itself demanded it.

Visit the Filming Locations Yourself

One of the best parts about a movie filmed on the Grand Strand is that every location the crew used is a place you can visit on your next vacation. You do not need a backstage pass or a studio tour. You just need to show up.

Walk the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and stop at Pier 14 for a seafood lunch over the Atlantic — the same pier where search-and-rescue scenes were filmed for Undertow. Head south to Garden City and browse Village Surf Shoppe, where the first scenes of the production were shot inside a real working surf shop that has been part of the local beach scene for decades. Drive up to North Myrtle Beach and explore the neighborhoods around the Aquatic and Fitness Center on Second Avenue South, where the controlled water sequences were staged.

And while you are in North Myrtle Beach, take some time to explore what the rest of the area has to offer beyond the film sets. Walk the wide, family-friendly sand at Cherry Grove Beach, where the marsh inlet meets the ocean and the fishing pier stretches out over the waves. Stroll through Ocean Drive, the birthplace of the Shag dance and the heart of North Myrtle Beach’s social scene. Settle into the quieter rhythm of Crescent Beach, or catch the sunset from Windy Hill, where the pace slows down and the ocean view widens. Whether you want a front-row seat to the waves from an oceanfront home or the convenience of an oceanfront condo, the Grand Strand has a rental that fits the trip you are planning.

When Undertow eventually hits screens, you will be able to watch it and say you have been to those places. You have walked that beach. You have eaten at that pier. That is the kind of connection a filmed-on-location movie gives you — and the Grand Strand has always been a place that rewards people who actually show up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Whether you are coming to walk the same beaches where Undertow was filmed, explore the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, or simply settle into a week of ocean air and slow mornings, Thomas Beach Vacations can help you find the perfect place to stay in North Myrtle Beach. Browse oceanfront homes and oceanfront condos across Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, and Windy Hill. Call us at (866) 249-2100 or visit northmyrtlebeachvacations.com to start planning your Grand Strand getaway.