In a desert filled with lethal threats, a crew of Parisians must secure two truckloads of explosives to save hundreds of lives — in just 24 hours. Based on Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Palme d’Or–winning thriller of the same name, The Wages of Fear is directed by Julien Leclercq and co-written by Leclercq and Hamid Hlioua (Ganglands). The high-intensity remake stars Franck Gastambide, Alban Lenoir, and Ana Girardot. 

When will The Wages of Fear be released?

Stream it now.

Where can I find the trailer for The Wages of Fear?

Check it out at the top of this page. 

Ana Girardot in The Wages of Fear

Reda Laaroussi/Netflix

Who’s in the cast of The Wages of Fear?

• Franck Gastambide (Restless) as Fred, a man with a criminal past
• Ana Girardot (Totems) as Clara, a vaccine transporter for World Wide Health, an NGO 
• Alban Lenoir (AKA) as Alex, Fred’s brother, a demolitions expert 
• Astrid Whettnall (Road to Istanbul) as Anne Marchand, the oil company’s head of security 
• Sofiane Zermani (No Limit) as Gauthier, Anne’s bodyguard
• Bakary Diombera (Ganglands) as Djibril, Clara’s teammate at World Wide Health
• Sarah Afchain (November) as Assia, Alex’s wife
• Alka Matewa (Ganglands) as Alka, Gauthier’s colleague

Franck Gastambide and Sofiane Zermani in The Wages of Fear

What happens in The Wages of Fear?

Mercenary Fred (Gastambide) is desperate to get out of the war-torn country he lives in and back home to Paris. But he needs money. So when oil company security director Anne (Whettnall) offers Fred $1 million to take on a risky mission, he’s quick to agree. 

Except… the gig she’s offering him is a bit complicated. Fred is tasked with putting out the constantly burning fire at the oil well that just exploded. The only way to stop it — and prevent a bigger, more devastating explosion that’ll decimate a nearby refugee camp — is to deliberately blow it up with more than 200 pounds of nitroglycerin. And, with hundreds of innocent lives at stake, Fred only has 24 hours before it’s too late. 

But first, he has to secure the nitro by driving 500 miles to retrieve it from a solar plant, then driving it right back. He’s hesitant, but then Anne says she’ll free Fred’s incarcerated brother, Alex (Lenoir), an explosives expert, so he can join the mission. It’s a treacherous, tense situation — the route to the solar plant is filled with armed rebels and minefields at every turn — and it’s made even more so by the presence of aid organization worker Clara (Girardot), the woman Fred’s been having a steamy affair with. Can Fred and his crew beat the clock, avert disaster, and get Alex’s family back to Paris safe and sound? 

Franck Gastambide and Alban Lenoir in The Wages of Fear

Reda Laaroussi/Netflix

Is The Wages of Fear based on a book? Is it a remake?

Yes. It’s a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Palme d’Or–winning 1953 film The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur), which was based on the novel of the same name by Georges Arnaud.

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