Horror_Movies_BeastofWar
- soshruggedarlas
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Who doesn't love shark week, Chili's margarita specials, summer fun, and so many shark movies to dig your sharp little teeth into? Of course I'm a little late but honestly by this point in my life no one expects me to be on time. One movie I had been procrastinating watching until my sister came over (who by the way is a staunch shark week/horror lover) was Beast Of War. Let me say it did not disappoint and stands as a testament to modern shark films, thank you director Kiah Roache-Turner. It stands as a sort of unofficial, not really linked but inspired by, prequel to Jaws. It tells the story of a band of Australian soldiers headed to the big WWII via ship after completing their basic training. The ship they are on is sunk by bombers in the middle of the ocean before they make their destination. As you may recall in Jaws Robert Shaw's' character Captain Quint drunkenly reminisces about surviving the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. Well what happens in Beast of War is a mix of that but with Auzzies, and some sprinkled in added nightmare fuel of one single scary big ass shark (oh also and the divisive nature of self serving racism as well). Trust me this shark is one #bigsumbitch. I will someday reveal my scales of measurements, but that day of revelation is not today, just know that means the sharks huge,
The film follows a group of soldiers from basic training to their ships sinking and fight for survival against one hyper obsessive and large shark on a makeshift raft and a shit ton of creepy fog. I mean this shark is massive and always lurking, I'm unsure if I mentioned how big it was before, not like MEG size but still big. It stalks these guys on their raft with the fury of a woman scorned or at the very least someone they owe a very large sum of money to. Every toe tipped in the water induces the anxiety and anticipation of this monster fish re-emerging and chomping another unlucky soldiers limb off. Now might be a great time to mention I am a huge Jeremy Wade fan and I don't believe there is a single fish real or fiction that could best him except maybe the one in this movie.
Oh also the main character played by Mark Coles Smith, Leo, has to watch his back from the other Australian soldiers who believe because of their racism and his Aboriginal descent that he is less than and they often act counterintuitively to his survival. Like bruh a shark wasn't enough now I also have to deal with racists? One guy in particular just generally makes everything worse... okay maybe two guys... alright maybe at least three. Leo also deals with the trauma and memories of losing his brother to a shark when he was younger, and those memories occur throughout the movie as well.
Not to mention the damn shark has this wailing, broken, alert siren from the sunken ship that one of it's victims stabbed into it. This broken alarm sounds off in the distance of the fog when it starts to get closer like a terrifying band of banshees coming to collect souls. The teeth were terrifying, but let us also make this sharks approach known with the creepiest of sounds we could think of. Honestly, the first time I heard it in the movie I was like WTF is this movie trynna make this thing like a ghost/demon shark, but the explanation kept it creepy and moderately realistic and didn't over extend the suspension of belief.
Anyways the guys are trying to survive on their makeshift raft while having no food, no water, hella injuries, and the worst person ever complicating everyone's life. I know the deal, you gotta always have that one guy with like no redeeming qualities, but fuck me this guy was annoying. Played by Sam Delich (great job being that guy), Des is the primary racist and antagonist (other than the shark) who will do whatever he can to prolong his own life even if it's only by mere moments. He does eventually redeem himself, but before that he decides to sleep with an active grenade (pulling the clip and unsecuring the spoon like who trained this fucking guy) which rolls out of his hands during his restful slumber, into the middle of the raft and an injured comrade lays on the grenade to save the others. Yeah, he's a dick.
The film was done with quite a bit of practical effect and it really shows in the quality of the finished product. The sharks design is big, nasty, mean, and scary just the way it should be. BloodyDisgusting did a cool interview with the director regarding this design, his inspiration, and the company that helped bring this nightmare to life. In the article Formation Effects, lead by Steve Boyle is credited with creating 3 separate sections of shark as well as a puppet shark that a diver controls from the water. A quick IMDB search show Steve Boyle has a very impressive SFX career working on blockbuster movies as well as smaller horror classics. The director also mentions building a submarine with a huge fin on it to get the water movement just right, now that's fucking craftsmanship!
All in all I liked the film, was its a masterpiece of dialogue in cinema not exactly, but was it fun and entertaining hell yeah! I love sharks and the design on this one was pretty fucking scary. Trust me I've seen way worse by far. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a movie night with some gore and not intense character building. You know what you need to know about these characters now watch this friggin' shark do shark things. The effort put into the practical effects shines in this movie and you legitimately fear the water for what monster lurk beneath. Maybe I'm a softy but I'd give it 4/5 fins.
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