Wake in Fright

If you thought that “The Hangover” was depicting a fairly crazy drunken night, you need to watch Wake in Fright: this classic from the 70’s is getting a restoration and a new release. It is also about too much drinking and how things can get out of control but it is far more authentic, violent and scary than anything you have ever seen before.

Directed by Ted Kotcheff and based on Kenneth Cook’s best-selling novel, Wake in Fright tells the story of John Grant. He is a teacher on his way home for the Christmas holidays. He has to transit in the arid and unforgiving town of Bundanyabba before catching a flight to Sydney.
John decides to go to a local pub to get a drink. Soon, he drinks more and more and ends up losing all his money on betting. Broke, drunk, unable to get out of the Yabba, the well-educated teacher is going to turn into a proper savage, destroying himself to the point of no return.

Set in Australia, the film transpires the heat, the sweat and the filth. It accompanies the teacher into his own distress and destruction. The film is violent, dirty and the footages from the kangaroo’s hunt absolutely unbearable to watch. Wake in Fright will put you in a state of utter disgust while you dive into a drunken coma with John Grant. The ending is shocking and you cannot help but wonder how the teacher is going to get back to his everyday routine after those crazy few days in the Yabba.

Definitely interesting, the film addresses a warned audience, eager to confront the reality of a brutal land filled with brutal people. A must-see…if your stomach can handle it!