Wake in Fright

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Wake in Fright

R

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1h 39m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

After finishing up the school term in a remote outback town, teacher John Grant (Gary Bond) looks forward to spending his holiday with his girlfriend in Sydney. But John gets waylaid in a mining town where a gambling spree leaves him completely broke. He quickly falls in with the hard-drinking locals, who constantly ply him with alcohol and force him to participate in a gruesome kangaroo hunt. Disgusted, John tries to hitchhike out of town and, when that fails, begins to contemplate suicide.

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Critics Consensus

A disquieting classic of Australian cinema, Wake in Fright surveys a landscape both sun-drenched and ruthlessly dark.

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Tom Milne

Financial Times

[Has some] fine photography of the Australian wilds, but also veers into melodrama.

Mar 19, 2020

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Derek Malcolm

Guardian

[It] will will not please the Australian Tourist Board. It may not even please Australians. But it ranks, along with Nicholas Roeg's Walkabout, as the most impressive piece of special pleading about the country I've seen.

Mar 19, 2020

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Margaret Hinxman

Daily Telegraph (UK)

It's a remarkable film and I'm not at all happy with it.

Mar 19, 2020

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Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

Reaches a level of anxiety-inducing terror that few other films have achieved.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 24, 2022

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Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Wake in Fright is searing condemnation on masculinity, urban vs rural divides and alcohol abuse that traps its audience in toxic cycles as much as its lead character. The real life animal abuse is unforgivable, though

Rated: 4/5

May 18, 2022

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Travis Johnson

Blunt Magazine

If anything, the film has become more potent, more poignant, even more capable of shocking and disturbing.

Jun 29, 2021

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Krent A

One of the finest films ever made and a total 70's classic. Brilliant acting, characters, and a subtle, ambiguous script that avoids cliches at every turn. I can't think another film that captures masculine culture better.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/27/25

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Harry M

You'll never forget this movie. Be warned!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/11/25

Full Review

Dave S

While it never really lives up to its reputation and the associated hype, Ted Kotcheff’s Wake in Fright is certainly effective in creating an atmosphere. Set in the Australian Outback, a schoolteacher returning home for the Christmas holidays finds himself stranded in a remote town and soon finds himself sliding into alcohol-fueled debauchery, eventually leading to the controversial (and bloody) kangaroo hunt that gave the movie such notoriety. Beautifully shot, the cinematography effectively captures the essence of the Outback – you can almost taste the dust and feel the sweat. To its detriment, Wake in Fright grinds to a bit of a halt at the midway point as images of beer-drunk Aussies begin to get more than a little repetitive.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/04/25

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Revolver 0

Just superb classic.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/25

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Scott M

Story about a man who goes on holiday in a nearby city of Yabba, where he meets a cast of characters who love to drink a lot. And I mean a lot. Somehow he ends up naked with Donald Pleasence, and decides to end his life. I would to.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/04/24

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Ace R

A 2 HOUR FOSTERS ADVERTISMENT FILM

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/03/24

Full Review

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Synopsis

After finishing up the school term in a remote outback town, teacher John Grant (Gary Bond) looks forward to spending his holiday with his girlfriend in Sydney. But John gets waylaid in a mining town where a gambling spree leaves him completely broke. He quickly falls in with the hard-drinking locals, who constantly ply him with alcohol and force him to participate in a gruesome kangaroo hunt. Disgusted, John tries to hitchhike out of town and, when that fails, begins to contemplate suicide.

Director: Ted Kotcheff
Producer: George Willoughby
Screenwriter: Evan Jones
Production Co: Group W Films, NLT Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 22, 1971, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $15.5K
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)