Wake in Fright (2012)

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

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.

I had no clue what to expect of this movie. Despite its age, it holds up pretty well as a psycological study of the perception of your POV of your life vs. how it truly is no regardless of how mundane it may seem. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

A lot of films have tried to capture the isolation and expanse of the Australian landscape, but few have laid it bare as raw and honestly as this film does.Made in the year of my birth, it shows an older Australia, which, for the most part, is no longer visible to the naked eye in the capital cities, yet still lingers at it's core.This should be added to the national curriculum to show how far we've come, and how much we don't want to lose.At it's heart it shows the struggle between the haves and have nots, in an environment of Australian (class-less) egalitarianism.

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.

im Australian, and this is the best Aussie movie ever made, i love it, its so unsettling, i cant believe it was made in 1971, as it has not aged one bit, i have read that the candian director ted kotcheff has said it is his best film. he directs this movie in a way, that shows Australia in a light that is not seen very often, i don't think a lot of people in the Australian film industry liked this movie when it came out, the movie has been very hard to get, until the last 10 years, it is now considered a cult classic. im 36 and can remember chasing this movie down when i was in my early 20's, i couldn't stand the rambo movies, but was told that first blood was different, and it sure was, i was really impressed, and could not believe how such a great movie could spawn such crap. so i looked up the director and thats how i found wake in fright...........it all made sense then. kotcheff uses Australia as another medium for horror, great film making. it would be great too see some more Aussie films like this one. please no more WOLF CREEK........