BEAST OF WAR: A Solid Slab of Sharksploitation

BEAST OF WAR (Blu-ray)

2025 / 87 min

Well Go USA

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Bigger Boat😸

Ah…another day, another low budget shark movie.

I generally don’t mind reviewing these things, because even the bad ones (which is most of ‘em) are usually good for a few shits & giggles, often at their own expense. And like many of you, I never go in expecting another Jaws because that’s never gonna happen.

Beast of War hails from Australia and purports to be “based on a true story.” Fans of ferocious fish probably don’t care how much of the “true” part ends up in the movie, as long as there’s plenty of shark action, which this one eventually serves up in abundance.

I say eventually because the first act takes time to introduce its main characters. Set during World War II, a squad of new recruits are training for an upcoming mission. Leo (David Coles Smith) is an indigenous Australian haunted by a past tragedy involving a shark, Will (Joel Nankervis) is a smart but inexperienced young man who Leo takes under his wing, and Des (Sam Delich) is a racist, self-aggrandizing bully. Though other characters mostly exist to be fish food, the narrative does an excellent job fleshing out these three, assuring that we’re invested in their survival…or horrible deaths. 

A Farewell to Arm.

On the way to the mission, the troop’s ship is torpedoed by Japanese forces and sinks, stranding a half-dozen survivors on a slab of debris in the middle of the Pacific. They have little food and no fresh water, but their more immediate concern lurks under the surface: a great white shark that might just be the hungriest fish in movie history, relentlessly stalking these guys and putting the bitedown on anyone unfortunate enough to end up in the water.

Because bad shark movies far outweigh the good ones, I kept waiting for Beast of War to descend into silliness or stupidity, but it never does. Though there are lapses in plausibility, it was around the halfway point that I found myself thinking, Hey, this is actually pretty good. Sometimes really good, in fact. In addition to engaging characters and decent overall performances, writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner manages to create plenty of tension and atmosphere despite obvious budgetary limitations. Best of all, this one doesn’t appear to rely too much on CGI. The shark isn’t always convincing, but at least we feel it’s physically sharing the screen with the cast. Additionally, the attack scenes are brutal and bloody, punctuated by pretty realistic gore effects. 

I don’t know much much of this true story is actually true, nor do I care. What ultimately matters is that Beast of War is a surprisingly solid slab of sharksploitation. Running a lean 87 minutes, it benefits from a brisk pace, and other than an amusing aside depicting how these guys manage to solve their thirst problem, a mostly serious approach to its premise.