--- title: "Wake in Fright: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/wake-in-fright/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/wake-in-fright" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 20 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Wake in Fright (1971): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 20 reviews: 20 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews agree that Wake in Fright remains a disturbing psychological thriller, with all 20 giving it a positive assessment. Praise centres on the oppressive outback heat, the sun-bleached photography and Ted Kotcheff’s handling of drunkenness, violence and aggressive camaraderie. Donald Pleasence draws repeated notice for an unsettling performance that makes the doctor both seductive and repellent. Most critics see the film’s horror as firmly rooted in human behaviour, particularly the pressure to join in with destructive rituals of masculinity. The differences are chiefly in enthusiasm rather than verdict, ranging from measured admiration to fervent praise. Little White Lies finds the treatment of toxic masculinity slightly schematic, while the Evening Standard notes minor dated elements. Neither reservation substantially weakens those reviews’ approval. Elsewhere, critics differ in emphasis: some stress the bruising physical ordeal, while others value the precise social observation and small details beneath the brutality. ## The AV Club — Scott Tobias Rating A. 23 January 2013. A still-shocking 1971 Australian cult discovery that straddles New Wave and Ozploitation, it is trash art of the highest order with beautiful, textured images and a sophisticated examination of civilization and savagery amid a crude assault on the senses. The critic singles out the cold-sweat visceral nightmare framing of the hero's journey and the yellow-orange haze of the sun-baked cinematography. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/wake-in-fright-1798175569) ## Los Angeles Times — Robert Abele Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 18 October 2012. The critic calls the restored film raw, unsettling and mesmerizing, a grimly propulsive work that merits attention as classic psychological horror. He singles out the vicious kangaroo slaughter sequence and the gut-sock portrait of destructive masculinity through vivid photography, thrilling editing and complex performances. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-oct-18-la-et-mn-wake-in-fright-20121019-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 October 2012. The critic calls the restored 1971 film powerful, genuinely shocking and rather amazing, with all horror being human and brutally realistic. He singles out its raw, uncompromised portrayal of outback life, brilliant photography and editing, and the inclusion of real kangaroo hunt footage. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/wake-in-fright-2012) ## The Hollywood Reporter — THR Staff Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 5 October 2012. The restored film is fresh and frightening, a strong arthouse contender with potent, distinctive creepiness that firmly establishes its place in the Aussie film renaissance. The critic singles out the thoroughly convincing sense of place and Donald Pleasence's memorably unsettling performance. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/wake-in-fright-film-review-376741/) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 March 2014. The review calls the re-released cult classic a psychological thriller offering a jolting study of machismo and snobbery through a teacher's dark week in the outback. It singles out the real footage of kangaroo slaughter and Pleasence's performance for their lasting impact while noting minor dated elements. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/wake-in-fright-film-review-9175615.html) ## Slant Magazine — John Semley Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 22 June 2026. Ted Kotcheff’s unsettling film receives a stunning new 4K transfer; one of the sweatiest films ever committed to celluloid, it offers a bleaker vision of masculine self-sufficiency built around elemental violence with boozy Buñuelian surrealism. The critic singles out Donald Pleasence’s complex, magnetic characterization of the doctor as equally seductive and repugnant. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/wake-in-fright-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-ted-kotcheff/) ## The Guardian — Mark Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 9 March 2014. The critic hails the re-release of this lost 1971 thriller as electrifying, praising its bleak portrait of a schoolteacher's descent into outback drinking, gambling and violence. He singles out Donald Pleasence's standout performance as the alcoholic doctor for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/09/wake-in-fright-kermode-kotcheff) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 27 February 2014. The critic describes the restored 1971 film as a vivid Australian nightmare in which a buttoned-down protagonist's single misstep leads to collapse amid sinister locals. Kotcheff is praised for conveying the sweaty heat, with Pleasence singled out as a standout in this matey yet ruinous community. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/wake-fright-review/) ## Little White Lies — Mark Asch Rating 4/4/4. 6 March 2014. The critic praises the restoration of this cult classic about a teacher's descent into outback hell, noting its dehydrating, sweaty atmosphere and exploration of toxic masculinity, while finding it slightly schematic. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/wake-in-fright/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 March 2014. The critic praises the 1971 film's re-release as a dark psychological drama about a British teacher's moral and physical disintegration in the Australian outback. Kotcheff's direction is highlighted for its menacing quality and striking depiction of the sweltering landscape and its inhabitants' emptiness. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/wake-in-fright-film-review-dark-psychological-drama-about-a-brit-in-oz-9174794.html) ## The Telegraph Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2026. The review describes the restored 1971 film as a deranged treatise on binge-drinking and aggressive mateship that retains its shocking power, noting the real kangaroo hunt sequence and its role in launching the Australian new wave. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2026/05/17/kangaroo-killing-cult-thriller-gave-aussies-nightmares/) ## Film Comment — Maitland McDonagh Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2013. The critic portrays the film as a fever dream of heat, drunkenness, blood, rutting, and macho brutality that serves as the sure antidote to Crocodile Dundee fantasies. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/wake-in-fright-ted-kotcheff-dvd-review/) ## The New Yorker — James Guida Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 2012. The critic describes the film as routinely and justifiably disturbing, praising its subtlety alongside brutality through casually eloquent details. He singles out the shrewd depiction of mateship, aggression patterns, and the way it magnifies one side of life to dissect it accurately. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/wake-in-fright-prepare-to-be-disturbed-mate) ## The New York Times — Nicolas Rapold Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 October 2012. The critic highlights the restored film's heightened picture of outback life as a herald of the Australian New Wave, noting its visceral, lived-in feel and nomination for the Palme d’Or at Cannes. He singles out the director's eye for detail and tonal balance that avoids exploitation while capturing the setting's intensity. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/movies/wake-in-fright-and-australian-new-wave.html) ## Time Out — Nigel Floyd Rating 4 out of 5 stars. 4 March 2014. The critic highlights this nightmarish vision of Aussie manhood and the hell of drunkenness, gambling and enforced blokiness in a remote mining town, noting the power of its hallucinatory images. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/wake-in-fright) ## The Skinny — Lewis Porteous Rating 5/5. 23 February 2015. Festival review. The critic calls it a rarely seen gem and undisputed benchmark of Australian cinema that stands as the director's most enduring critical success, praising its depiction of aggressive camaraderie and kangaroo hunts as a dusty, sun-bleached masterpiece now stunningly restored. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/wake-in-fright) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating A. 26 September 2012. Festival review. The critic hails it as a genuine lost Ozploitation classic and a harrowing journey, praising its bruising portrait of the Australian wilderness, the performances especially Donald Pleasence, and the intense kangaroo hunt sequence. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/fantastic-fest-review-wake-in-fright-is-a-genuine-lost-ozploitation-classic-20120926/) ## Eye for Film — Andrew Robertson Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 March 2010. The review calls it a shocking, visceral masterwork that has not lost its power after forty years, describing it as existentially terrifying. It singles out the dazzling opening shot and the raw depiction of the outback town and its inhabitants for praise. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/wake-in-fright-film-review-by-andrew-robertson) ## Collider — Jacob Slankard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 30 May 2024. The piece positions Wake in Fright as the most unhinged Ozploitation film, an underground cult classic that exposes the nightmare of toxic conformity, oppressive masculinity, and moral descent in the Australian outback. It singles out the real kangaroo hunt sequence for its documentary realism and lasting controversy as the film's most horrifying and thematically central element. [Read the review](https://collider.com/wake-in-fright/) ## HeyUGuys — Adam Lowes Rating 4/5. 6 March 2014. The critic praises the film's depiction of a man's descent into savagery in the outback, highlighting its disturbing atmosphere, black humor, and indictment of Australian culture. They single out the expert direction and the unsettling portrayal of the effects of alcohol and machismo. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/rerelease-wake-fright-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/wake-in-fright.md