Wake in Fright

School is out for the Christmas holiday, and teacher, John Grant (Gary Bond) has six weeks before the next term. So, he leaves his rented room in Tiboonda, Australia, hops a train, and heads for Sydney. Along the way, Grant stops off in the town of Bundayabba for a night. Here, he discovers what just might be the answer to his secret prayers.

Since he's not really fond of teaching anyway, Grant believes he's found an easy way to pay off his government debt, thereby escaping his job. It all comes down to the toss of two coins, which appears to be the biggest excitement in town. That, and consuming incredible amounts of alcohol.

Unfortunately, Grant finds himself skint, and constantly delayed and drawn in by the "hospitality" of the inebriated, crackpot locals. Not surprisingly, this includes his consuming oceans of beer. The longer he stays in the Yabba, the deeper he falls into stupor and depravity.

WAKE IN FRIGHT is an increasingly frenzied spin into drunken madness. Disturbing, nightmarish, and fascinating, this movie takes the viewer on Grant's dark journey to near oblivion. The opening and closing shots establish the desolation between them, showing the utterly barren landscape that seems to stretch on forever. By the end, Grant has gone through torment and desperation, and makes one wonder what will become of him.

Co-stars the vastly underrated Donald Pleasence as the unassumingly low-key, Doc Tydon, and Sylvia Kay as the palpably bitter, Janette Hynes. Chips Rafferty also puts in a great performance as the gleefully corrupt cop, Jock Crawford.

ANIMAL LOVERS BEWARE: The infamous kangaroo hunt is truly terrible, as well as lengthy. Although it is explained in the disclaimer, it's still difficult to watch...