A welcome re-release of Ted Kotcheff’s controversial “Ozploitation” thriller, which played briefly in the UK under the name Outback before going missing in action back in the early 70s. Gary Bond is the schoolteacher who descends into an antipodean heart of darkness while stranded in a remote Australian town where drinking, fighting, fucking and gambling are the only distractions. Hailed by Nick Cave as “the best and most terrifying film about Australia in existence”, Kotcheff’s bleak and raggedy epic earned notoriety for its extended kangaroo-hunt set-piece, which blends staged re-enactments with documentary footage of senseless slaughter to extremely distressing effect. Donald Pleasence is electrifying as the alcoholic doctor whose erudite nihilism gives voice to the void. Lost for decades, the film has been handsomely restored from original negative elements with the support of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.