Wake in Fright

In a two-building town in the Australian desert, a young schoolteacher, John (Gary Bond) orders a beer in an otherwise empty bar. He’s waiting for the afternoon train that will take him on to the next town, from which he plans to travel home to Sydney for the summer holidays. 

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 (Donald Pleasence, Jack Thompson and Peter Whittle), who constantly ply him with alcohol and force him to participate in a gruesome kangaroo hunt.  

Over the course of just a few days, John loses his money, inhibitions, self-respect – and almost his life. 

‘One of the greatest Aussie films of all time’ – ABC Radio 

See more films in our Hot Aussie Summer program

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