A Shark Film with Bite
Summary
Beast of War is one of the best shark films in years with a genuinely terrifying creature, a pervading sense of dread and even some fight scenes too.
Plot: A group of young soldiers, fresh out of boot camp, find themselves stranded on a raft in the middle of the ocean after their ship is sunk by the enemy and must battle for their lives against a giant hungry great white shark.
Review: There have been so many shark films over the years that it’s hard for them to stand out amongst the likes of Sharknado where sharks have kind of lost sense of threat. We all know in real life they are mostly gentle towards humans however, there have been times when they become our worst nightmare. Beast of War is inspired by a true story that takes place in Australia with a group of soldiers trapped on a raft with a deadly female shark circling beneath them.
The film gives the shark genre its bite back (sorry) with a terrifying creature that literally tears these poor men to shreds. This isn’t PG-13 either with some grisly kills and insides dropping all over the place. Beast of War also has some fight scenes with a highlight being when a crashed pilot faces off against what’s left of the men. There is a real sense of desperation to it, so it doesn’t look overly flashy but a genuine fight for survival.
At just under 90 minutes it’s well paced staring off establishing our main characters – Will (Joel Nankervis), Leo (Mark Coles Smith) and the hateful Des (Sam Delich). Towards the start of the film Will falls into a pit of mud and Leo is the only one who stops to help him. This establishes their bond so we know that they will spend the rest of the movie helping each other survive. Des is a racist piece of garbage who talks down to Leo due to the colour of his skin so we are counting down to him getting what he deserves. It doesn’t quite go the way you’d expect and that’s speaks for the film in general.
The visuals are stunning giving a dreamlike colour as the men drift into delirium the longer they are lost at sea. The score is also perfect without sounding like a rip off of Jaws.
Overall, Beast of War is one of the best shark movies I‘ve seen for several years. It has some grisly kills, a sense of tension and gorgeous visual style. It also has enough action to keep things moving during its brisk runtime.