Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Kim Ryberg This movie is absolutely incredible. The constant sense of dread is palpable, from its opening sequence depicting the desolation and dust of the Outback to the ominous train ride to the nightmare that is the Yabba at night. Truly a masterpiece of cinematography and storytelling, and the most real "horror" movie that you will ever see. If you've ever been to the outback, the desolation seems to press in you from all sides, because as Jock claims "there's nowhere else to go." Through showing John Grant's slow slide into depravity and terror, the director highlights the brutality in human nature and the price of various different vices. You can sense John turning from an intelligent, sensitive man into a careless brute, all the while fueled by enormous amounts of alcohol and peer pressure. Some of the most moving scenes put onto camera. For the animal lovers, yes, the kangaroo scene is brutal, yes, real kangaroos died, but the POINT of their death is to showcase the glee with which these men ruthlessly kill these animals. A descent into hell on Earth that leaves you spellbound and terrified. 10/10, a must see!

sharky_55 Wake in Fright depicts the Australian outback as a hazardous hellhole that swallows up any urban foreigner that wanders through and spits out another of the stereotypical, almost caricatured Aussie battlers. The rural citizen, the blokey larrikin, the ever-drinking womaniser that addresses any problems with a "You'll be right mate", a pat on the shoulder and a cold one. They don't seem to ever do an ounce of work. Most of their vehicles lie in shambles; Grant rationalises this as there being no need to leave once you have settled here, and feels the bonds tighten claustrophobically over his body. All in all, the film's treatment is a little dated. These stereotypes still exist in smaller and less outward forms, but Australia as a whole has become more urbanised, more multicultural, and more diversified. Men are no longer evaluated solely on the sweat on their brow or the amount they can drink (although VB certainly wishes to return to those times, judging by the state of their ads), and homosexuality isn't treated as some sort of terrifying moral degeneracy that is only found when you retreat from the urban into the treacherous rural outback. The style of course treats it like so. The opening shot swivels around 360 and emphasises the never-ending plains, the absence of civilisation and therefore rationality and order. Grant becomes delirious in the gambling den; the edits cycle through a cacophony of men laughing and mocking him, the ceiling lamp's glare beats down on his furiously like the sun, the whole room seems to spin around him. From behind doors eerie red glows reinforced the hellish atmosphere. When he mistakenly hitches a ride back to The Yabba, the soundtrack all but jeers at him before ushering a welcoming arm. For Grant it is the haunted house that has no exit.

Scott LeBrun The stunning "Wake in Fright" is generally regarded as an important film in the annals of Australian cinema, and is a convincing and disconcerting experience, to boot. Canadian born director Ted Kotcheff ("First Blood") does a fine job at drawing us into this environment slowly but surely. It may not be too tourist-friendly, but it does expose those of us from around the world to this culture & atmosphere.Gary Bond stars as bonded schoolteacher John Grant, who teaches in a tiny berg in the Australian outback. As Christmas vacation starts, he travels to the town of Bundanyabba, intending to merely stopover there. But he comes down with gambling fever and soon loses all of his money. With not much else to do, he falls in with local hooligans - a drunken, trouble making lot, with the ever cheerful Doc Tydon (Donald Pleasence) not much better than the majority of them.Strikingly photographed (by Brian West) on picturesque locations, this is a fairly chilling story (Evan Jones scripted, based on the Novel by Kenneth Cook) of one reserved urban mans' descent into moral degradation. Bond is somewhat aloof, which may not allow for all viewers to fully get involved in his plight as he struggles to get along with his new comrades.The actors all feel completely authentic, with a standout performance by a wild eyed Pleasence. Also excellent are Chips Rafferty as amiable cop Jock Crawford, Sylvia Kay as the promiscuous Janette Hynes, recognizable character actor Jack Thompson as the swaggering Dick, John Meillon as bartender Charlie, and Al Thomas as the solicitous Tim Hynes.Although deliberately paced, "Wake in Fright" manages to be consistently uneasy, and it has a very memorable sequence that depicts the slaughter of kangaroos, which should be hard to stomach for some in the audience.Absolutely essential viewing for new and old aficionados of the "Ozploitation" genre.Eight out of 10.

MrsHenry I am utterly perplexed by the high praise lavished on the re-issue of this film in 2014. The cinematography is not bad at times - the bar scenes, the gambling and the kangaroo hunt are all quite well done; and the music is effective. Otherwise this film is marred by bad acting, unconvincing episodes, overlong and repetitive scenes and, above all, the lack of interesting or engaging characters. Do we really care what happens to John Grant? Are we allowed any insights into his character, or any of the other stereotypes he meets? Most puzzling is the lack of tension or threat. Wake in fright? - fright of what? At no time is John Grant in any real jeopardy. In sum: of interest as a portrayal of boorish and drunken male culture in 1970s Australia, but of very little value otherwise.