A Cry in the Dark (1988) on Netflix
On a camping holiday near Ayers Rock, Lindy Chamberlain hears a cry and goes to the tent, where she sees a dingo carrying something off. Her baby daughter Azaria is missing.
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- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.9/1012,276 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes94%
Trailer
Plot summary
Michael Chamberlain, a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, and his wife Lindy are on holiday in the Australian Outback with their children, the youngest a baby named Azaria, nine weeks old. After a visit to Ayers Rock, the family joins other campers for a barbecue while Azaria sleeps in their tent. A cry is heard, and Lindy goes to check. She is certain she sees a dingo carrying something off, and the baby is gone. The campers search without success. An inquest accepts her account, but public opinion turns against her. Her composure is read as coldness, and the family's beliefs, uncommon in the country, feed gossip that her daughter's name means a sacrifice in the wilderness. Police collect new witnesses and circumstantial evidence, reopen the case and charge Lindy with murder.
Cast
- Neil Fitzpatrickas Phillips
- Jason Reasonas Aidan, 11 years
- Dale Reevesas Aidan, 6 years
- Michael Wetteras Reagan, 4 years
- Kane Bartonas Reagan, 6 years
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about A Cry in the Dark (1988)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Lindy Chamberlain's real cry, "the dingo's got my baby," is often misquoted as "a dingo ate my baby," a line that entered pop culture through references on Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Frasier, Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Baby Daddy, Tropic Thunder and The Rugrats Movie.
- Film rights to John Bryson's book Evil Angels were bought by Verity Lambert, Robert Caswell wrote the script and Fred Schepisi agreed to direct; the result was one of the most expensive and elaborate films ever shot in Australia, with 350 speaking cast and 4,000 extras.
- The film reached cinemas less than two months after the real Chamberlains were exonerated by the Northern Territory Court of Appeals of all the charges filed against them.
- Despite Meryl Streep earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and generally favorable reviews, the film flopped commercially, taking in just $6.9 million against a $15 million budget.
- In June 2008 the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten Top Ten", the best ten films in ten classic American film genres, after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community; Evil Angels was acknowledged as ninth best in the courtroom drama genre.
