Gold

Two lone travelers drift across a sunbaked desert when fortune seems to smile and then threaten them. They discover an enormous gold nugget that promises life changing wealth and draws them into a risky plan to recover what lies beneath the surface. To execute it, one man heads off to secure the tools while the other stays behind to guard the prize. As the hours pass, the desert tests them with blistering heat, shifting dunes, and the danger of wild animals. A creeping paranoia takes root as they band together and then drift apart, and the quiet becomes louder than any shout. The man left with the gold must decide what he will endure for the chance of a fortune.

Directed by Anthony Hayes with Polly Smyth co writing, Gold is an Australian survival thriller built around a stark desert premise. It stars Zac Efron as Virgil and Anthony Hayes as Keith, debuting in 2022 after production in remote locations.

The project grossed around 176,048 dollars worldwide, a fraction of its 6.5 million budget, underscoring its limited release and niche appeal. It found its audience mainly among genre fans and viewers on select streaming platforms, drawing attention in arthouse circuits.

Among thriller fans the film earned attention for its austere tone and raw performances, particularly Efron's stoic fixation on the prize. Its stark desert imagery sparked conversations about wealth, trust, and the moral cost of desire in extreme conditions, and it has a modest footprint in chatter and viewing circles.

Critics describe Gold as a lean and tense survival fable that foregrounds greed and loneliness under relentless sun. The film examines how easy wealth corrupts judgment and how trust frays when survival hinges on keeping secrets. The restrained pace and practical visuals reinforce the narrative stakes without heavy exposition throughout.