Another remake of classic – make that two classics – is headed to Netflix, as the streaming giant has just released the teaser for The Wages of Fear, first made in 1953 and later most notably remade by William Friedkin with 1977’s Sorcerer.
In the trailer, we see an explosion and the chaos of the aftermath, with a voice saying, “There is a gas pocket feeding the flames. To put it out, we need to blow it up.” This sets up the plot of The Wages of Fear, which finds a team driving to the location in trucks filled with nitro…and they’re on a timeline of just 24 hours.
Helmed by action director Julien Leclercq (Sentinel, the Jean Claude Van Damme-starring The Bouncer), The Wages of Fear looks to bring a lot more of his trademark action to the screen than its predecessors. Henri-Georges Clouzot’s original The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la peur) is, as far as I’m concerned, one of the most suspenseful films ever, a sometimes overwhelmingly intense work that, along with Les Diabolique two years later, made Clouzot the “French Hitchcock”.
William Friedkin’s version of The Wages of Fear, Sorcerer, is a masterpiece in its own right and one we have been championing for years. While I don’t think it stands up to Clouzot’s version and it was a box office failure, it most definitely has developed a strong cult following since. But the first (unofficial) remake was 1958’s Violent Road, a capable if ultimately tepid take on the story. And we can probably also count Liam Neeson’s The Ice Road as being inspired as well…
Netflix’s The Wages of Fear has a more modern feel to it, which could work to draw in an audience looking for something both tense and explosive. And considering Leclercq does have a good eye for action, he’s a good choice for this direction. The remake stars Franck Gastambide (Medellin), Ana Girardot (Someone, Somewhere), Alban Lenoir (the Lost Bullet movies), and Sofiane Zermani (Savages).
The Wages of Fear comes to Netflix on March 29th.
What did you think of the teaser for The Wages of Fear? Will you check it out? Are you a fan of the other versions? Let us know below.