Trucks full of nitroglycerine drive through the desert in The Wages of Fear trailer

The Wages of Fear is a 1950 novel by Georges Arnaud. It has been adapted for film on several occasions – Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear (1953), Howard W. Koch’s Violent Road (aka Hell’s Highway) (1958), and my favourite, William Friedkin’s Sorcerer (1977).

In the middle of the desert, near a refugee camp, an oil well catches fire, directly threatening the lives of the population. Dispatching experts to the site, the company operating the well realizes that it has only one solution to avert the catastrophe: detonate the oil well with nitroglycerin within 24 hours. Against a large sum of money, a powerhouse team is then sent 800 km away to transport 200 kg of explosives in two trucks. The team now has less than 20 hours to reach the oil well. And 20 hours to traverse hostile zones controlled by armed rebels, cross minefields, and drive two trucks loaded with nitroglycerin over rough terrain!. The race against the clock has begun…

This new Netflix film adaptation is directed by Julien Leclercq (Chrysalis, The Assault, Gibraltar, The Crew), and stars Franck Gastambide, Alban Lenoir, Sofiane Zermani, and Ana Girardot.

The new film hits Netflix on 29th March 2024.