Movie picks from Down Under

A dark, uneasy and all too-real journey into a remote corner of the Australian outback, Wake in Fright (Australia/USA, 1971, United Artists) is the film that left Martin Scorsese speechless. Singer-songwriter Nick Cave calls it “the best and most terrifying film about Australia in existence.” Brilliantly unsettling, constantly uncomfortable and downright disturbing in the most perfect ways, its drunken debauchery, spiraling protagonist and unhinged locals will have you questioning their sanity…and then booking a flight.

Available on iTunes and Google Play

And for another trip into the remote outback that was the ’70s Aussie new-wave film movement, tackle Long Weekend (Australia, 1978, Roadshow Films), and watch wildlife itself fight back. When a couple with no regard for nature spoils, disrespects, and ultimately destroys the countryside as they see fit, the Australian wild rises up. Starting one animal at a time, the wilderness exacts its revenge and becomes the ill-fated couple’s befitting nightmare.

Available on Amazon Video

• Robb Rauen
• Film fanatic