New psychological thriller Birdeater is a gen Z take on Aussie cult classic Wake in Fright

A group of friends gets together for a weekend in the country to celebrate one of their forthcoming nuptials. "The whole idea is: 'Let's partake in this bad behaviour together and thereby excuse all of us,'" Clark says. "It's … reflective of a national male identity that's perhaps in crisis," Clark says. Rather than a caricature of toxic masculinity, he's drawn from the filmmakers' thoughts, experiences and relationships — "our own worst mental gymnastics", as Clark puts it. An homage to 70s classic Wake in Fright Clark and Weir both first encountered the 1971 cult Australian horror film, Wake in Fright, while at the Australian Film Television and Radio School, where they met.