The Coober Pedy location was a dangerous one. Coober Pedy is known for its underground mines, which many tourists have died falling into. No crew members were hurt, although extra care was taken to avoid the gaping holes in the ground, some of which were the size of a car. During night scenes the crew was instructed to never walk around without a partner.
The location where Kye finds a sleep pod, as well as the underground caves, were used during the filming of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.
Arrowhead has had a complicated journey to the screen. In 2013 the filmmakers tried to crowdfund a $40,000 version using their $600 short film Arrowhead: Signal, but failed to raise their goal. Still, the short garnered attention and was seen by the network executives at SF, Australia's premiere science fiction channel, who were impressed by the production value achieved at such a low budget, and offered to fund the feature length version. Months into preproduction, SF lost its contract with the cable network Foxtel, so a broadcast was no longer guaranteed. SF committed to funding the film, even flying to Coober Pedy from Sydney to visit the set, and Arrowhead was essentially made as an independent feature.
A Makerbot Replicator 2 3D printer was used to create the prisoners' muzzles and Kye's wrist-link device. A custom design for Reef's 'head' was planned as a 3D printed prop, but the machine malfunctioned, so the art department created it using old vacuum cleaner parts. Reef as a whole is made from an electronic typewriter, vacuum pieces, and rubbish bin lids.
There was only one prop for Kye's hero gun, and one combat suit costume. Both were constantly damaged and repaired on set, as the budget did not allow for backup duplicates.