BEAST OF WAR
In Theatres & On Digital: October 10, 2025
Director: Kiah Roache-Turner
Writer: Kiah Roache-Turner
Cast
Mark Coles Smith · Joel Nankervis · Sam Delich · Lee Tiger Halley ·
Sam Parsonson · Maximillian Johnson · Tristan McKinnon · Aswan Reid
Film Details
- Runtime: 87 minutes
- Rating: R
- Genre: Thriller
- Distributor: Well Go USA
From Kiah Roache-Turner (Wyrmwood, Sting), Beast of War delivers a gripping and uniquely terrifying survival thriller.
Australia has a thriving film industry with many a handful of writers/directors with a particular flavour. Kiah Roache-Turner is one of these Aussies to watch. He and his sibling have worked on the successful horror films Wyrmwood (2014), Nekrotronic (2018) and Wyrmwood: Apocalypse (2021). Over the last few years, Kiah has released a few films sans sibling, Sting (2024) and the upcoming Beast of War.
BEAST OF WAR is based on real events taking place during World War II. Deep in a battle in Australian waters (Timor Sea), soldiers are stuck drifting on a piece of their destroyed boat. Stranded on a shrinking life raft hundreds of miles from shore, they must endure brutal conditions, mounting tension among themselves, and enemy fire, while being stalked by a relentless, monstrous great white shark.
The first thing viewers will notice is that Beast of War isn’t a typical creature feature. The shark isn’t on screen enough to drive the film, and the story has a maturity that sets it apart from Kiah Roache-Turner’s earlier work. Still, the movie doesn’t shy away from gore; it’s packed with blood, body parts, and even a few moments of dark humour. While it’s not a film I’d rush to revisit, it’s certainly worth a watch.
As with his other projects, Turner leans heavily on Australian talent, and here he casts Mark Coles Smith, from Broome, as Leo, the soldier at the heart of the story. Smith does well as the lead, but the most memorable lines and moments often come from the supporting cast.
The film’s biggest challenge is its setting. With most of the action confined to a life raft adrift at sea, the soldiers spend a lot of time simply stuck, and the tension doesn’t always hold. When the shark and other dangers do appear, the energy spikes, but too often the story drags in between.
On the positive side, the shark effects are impressive and highly effective, just not used often enough. The bursts of action are gripping and deliver the kind of visceral thrills Turner’s fans expect. His previous film, Sting, balanced story and creature more successfully, while Beast of War struggles with pacing, perhaps because it’s rooted more in historical reality than in pure monster fantasy.
Ultimately, Beast of War isn’t sharksploitation so much as Australploitation. It’s more mature and restrained than Turner’s past films, with touches of dark humour, plenty of blood, and flashes of intensity. But when the threats fade from view, so does the film’s momentum. I enjoyed it overall, though it lacks the replay value of Turner’s stronger work.
In Theatres & On Digital: October 10, 2025
