Beast of War

When an Australian warship is sunk by Japanese fighter jets, the surviving soldiers are thrown into an all-out battle for survival against a giant shark. Leo (Mark Coles Smith, We Bury the Dead, MIFF 2025), the only Indigenous soldier on an Australian World War II corvette, bonds with 17-year-old Will (Joel Nankervis) after each have been subjected to the bullying of other troops. As the ship heads across the Timor Sea, ready to join the frontlines, it’s suddenly attacked by Japanese warplanes. Amid the floating wreckage, those lucky enough to survive face an even more deadly foe: a great white shark that can smell blood in the water. Inspired by the true story of the sinking of the HMAS Armidale in 1942, the latest film by Kiah Roache-Turner – maestro filmmaker of the popular Wyrmwood action-horror franchise – is both a sincere tribute to fallen soldiers and a rollicking monster movie. Employing practical effects for its killer shark and impressively lensed by cinematographer Mark Wareham (Boy Swallows Universe), Beast of War is a heart-stopping cinematic experience. It may take due influence from classics such as Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, but this thriller is very much its own beast.