YMMV / Wake in Fright

• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Despite its floundering box office returns in its homeland upon its original release, the film would have pretty succesful limited runs in both France and the United Kingdom.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The soundtrack features contributions by Rolf Harris, at the time a beloved and seemingly friendly, avuncular entertainer and icon of Australian culture, but since revealed to be a sexual deviant who was convicted in 2014 for four counts of sexual assault against minors. Considering that the film is about how seemingly friendly, avuncular Australians are possibly the worst people alive, the choice of Harris' wobbleboard is surprisingly fitting.
• Nightmare Fuel: The kangaroo hunting scene, where scenes of the actors are intercut with footage of a real-life hunt, meaning the animals are being killed for real. The behind-the-scenes details are equally horrifying — while the hunters the filmmakers hired were professionals, they were also heavily intoxicated, which affected their aim with gruesome results. This took a considerable emotional toll on the film crew, eventually leading them to sabotage the shoot by cutting power to the lighting.
• Retroactive Recognition: Jack Thompson^note no, not that one (star of Breaker Morant and Sunday Too Far Away, among others) has an early role as one of Doc's drunken friends.
• Values Dissonance: What the film runs on, particularly the kangaroo shooting scenes.
• Vindicated by History: Did okay critically, but completely bombed because of protests and limited release, it eventually became one of the most loved Australian films of all time and is now considered a pivotal film of the Australian New Wave movement.

---