Gold is a 2022 Australian survival thriller film directed by Anthony Hayes. It stars Zac Efron, Susie Porter, and Anthony Hayes. The film received a limited theatrical on 13 January 2022, before making its debut on streaming service Stan on 26 January 2022. It received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

In a dystopian near-future, a lone traveller named Virgil arrives at an outpost and pays local man Keith to transport him to an area known as The Compound. Travelling through an inhospitable desert, the two eventually discover an enormous gold nugget in a remote area. After failing to extract it with their basic tools and truck, Virgil agrees to stay with the gold whilst Keith leaves to try and find an excavator. Left alone in the desert with limited food, water, and radio contact, Virgil begins to deteriorate both physically and mentally as paranoia sets in. He makes himself a shelter from the sun using pieces from a crashed plane.

After several days awaiting Keith s return, Virgil encounters a lone woman scavenging nearby. After the woman becomes suspicious, Virgil kills her and buries her body. A day later, a sandstorm leaves Virgil wounded. He encounters another female scavenger who claims to be the earlier woman s sister. Virgil makes contact with Keith via radio, who informs Virgil he is close by. Critically injured, Virgil is attacked and killed by a pack of wild dogs. Keith is revealed to be watching nearby, waiting with the excavation equipment. As he moves in to extract the gold, Keith is shot in the chest with an arrow.

Cast

• Zac Efron as Virgil (credited as man one )
• Anthony Hayes as Keith (credited as man two )
• Susie Porter as the Stranger and the Stranger s sister
• Andreas Sobik as an outpost attendant
• Hayden Fein as man three

Production

In November 2020 it was announced that Zac Efron had signed on to the film, to be directed by Anthony Hayes, who would also play one of the major roles. The screenplay was co-written by Hayes and Polly Smyth, while the film was produced by Hayes along with John Schwartz and Michael Schwarz. It was later announced that Susie Porter had joined the cast, with the film set to play on Stan in Australia as a Stan Original with Stan backing the film, after Madman Entertainment had theatrically distributed it in Australia. Altitude Film Entertainment were responsible for international sales.

Principal photography began in November 2020 in outback South Australia, in the Flinders Ranges and the town of Leigh Creek. The film includes a desert sandstorm scene, for which fans and sand were transported to the desert location. However a real sandstorm began in the region and the actors agreed to shoot in it instead. Efron broke a bone in his hand halfway through the shoot, but concealed it from the crew to avoid stalling production.

Release

In June 2021, Screen Media Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film in a bidding war. In June 2021, Altitude Films announced it had sold the film to all but two territories around the world.

Reception

In Australia, the film grossed $2,741 from ten theatres in its opening weekend.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 65% of 51 critics reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating mixed or average reviews . A 3 out of 5 star review in The Guardian praised the cinematography and Efron s performance, but found the plot sparse.

Year	2022
ReleaseDate	2022-03-18
RuntimeMins	97
RuntimeStr	1h 37min
Plot	In the not too distant future, a drifter (Zac Efron) travelling through the desert discovers the largest gold nugget ever found. He must guard it from thieves amid harsh conditions and wild dogs while waiting for his partner to re…
Awards	Awards, 1 nomination
Directors	Anthony Hayes
Writers	Anthony Hayes, Polly Smyth
Stars	Zac Efron, Akuol Ngot, Thiik Biar
Produced by	Samantha Allwinton,Julie Byrne,Will Clarke,Nick Cole,Christelle Conan,Nick Forward,Anthony Hayes,Nelson Khoury,Shana Levine,Nadine Luque,Andrew Mann,Andy Mayson,Simone McCullagh,Mike Runagall,Silvio Salom,John Schwarz,Michael Schwarz,Peter Touche,Paul Wiegard,Simon Williams
Music by	Antony Partos
Cinematography by	Ross Giardina
Film Editing by	Sean Lahiff
Production Design by	Sam Hobbs
Art Direction by	Sam Wilde
Costume Design by	Anna Borghesi
Makeup Department	Beth Halsted,Jennifer Lamphee
Production Management	Bettina Hamilton,Carly Maple,Marty Pepper,Daniel J. Phillips
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Kristan Dowsing,Julian Ryan
Art Department	Elana Avery,Alex Heath,Kayla Pacenka,Anthony Robinson,Michael Wolff
Sound Department	Frank Lipson,Andy Neil,Paul Pirola,Angus Robertson,Sam Rogers,Tim Ryan,Ryan Squires
Visual Effects by	Jessica Boan,Jack Mason,Sundae
Stunts	Aidan Gillett,Darius Googe,Jackie Murray
Camera and Electrical Department	Peter Barta,Aden Beaver,Tom Doyle,Tony Driver,Cameron Dunn,Sally Eccleston,Thomas Hayes,Jani Häkli,Josh Koster,Ella Kroning,Monique Miller,Alanna Raif,Matthew Richardson,Ian Routledge,Isabelle Senior,Richard Wilmot
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Kata Fodor
Editorial Department	Veronica Buhagiar,Trish Cahill,John Erasmus,Marty Pepper,Jade Robinson,Suriyna Sivashanker
Music Department	Sophie Haydon,Benjamin Hayes,Evan McHugh,Felix Partos,Roxy Withers
Script and Continuity Department	John Duong
Additional Crew	Aaron Bush,Agar Forjan,Darius Googe,Ria Kelly,Charlie Kemball,Lewis Kennedy,Gursharn Khaira,Ashleigh Knott,Nadine Luque,Maryada Rehling,Stuart Talman,Helen Varty,Jennifer White,Tegan Zekirovski
Thanks	Marty Pepper
Genres	Action, Thriller
Companies	Rogue Star Productions, Deeper Water, Ingenious Media
Countries	Australia
Languages	English
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	5.4
ImDbRatingVotes	8775
MetacriticRating	48
Keywords	psychological drama,south australian desert,drifter,gold nugget,excavate