There’s a moment in Steven Spielberg‘s Jaws that’s more terrifying than any dorsal fin. It’s Robert Shaw’s haunted, hollowed-out eyes as Quint recounts the fate of the USS Indianapolis. No shark, just a man, a boat, and a memory of hell. For nearly 50 years, that five-minute monologue—penned by the legendary John Milius—has stood as the ultimate shark movie, a story told, not shown. I’ve always wondered when someone would have the guts to actually make that film.
It turns out Kiah Roache-Turner was wondering the same thing.
The Australian director, a specialist in high-octane genre chaos with films like Wyrmwood and the recent creepy-crawly hit Sting, has now waded into those very same blood-red waters with Beast of War. The premise is brutally simple: during World War II, a group of Australian soldiers are stranded in the Pacific, hunted by both the Axis forces and the ocean’s apex predators. It’s a collision of two distinct subgenres—the war film and the shark survival horror. But in speaking with Roache-Turner, it becomes clear this isn’t just a high-concept mashup. It’s the fulfillment of a lifelong cinematic obsession.
“Most of my life, I’ve been waiting for somebody to do a riff on that,” Roache-Turner admits, referencing Quint’s speech. The opportunity came when a producer offered him a tantalizing asset: access to a giant water tank. “I tell him, ‘That’ll be the USS Indianapolis speech from Jaws, I reckon.'” A quick search led him not to the American tragedy, but to a chilling Australian parallel: the 1942 sinking of the HMAS Armidale. Hundreds of men went into the water. Many never came out. “That’s my inspiration,” the director states. And just like that, Beast of War was born.
Melding Monsters and Men
Making another shark movie is a dangerous game. For every The Shallows, there are a dozen forgettable, low-budget chum buckets. The key to rising above the fray isn’t the quality of the CGI fin, but the humanity of the people in the water. Roache-Turner seems to understand this in his bones. His goal wasn’t just to pair machine guns with shark bites; it was to find the intersection of historical trauma and creature-feature tension.
His cinematic recipe is surprisingly poetic. “I wanted to take… an Australian war film called Gallipoli by Peter Weir… and meld it with Jaws,” he explains, also name-dropping Neil Marshall‘s claustrophobic masterpiece, The Descent. That’s a hell of a trinity. Gallipoli is a heartbreaking look at youthful innocence being fed into the meat grinder of war. The Descent is a masterclass in using a sealed, monstrous location to expose the fractures within a group of characters.
This is where Beast of War reveals its true ambition. The horror isn’t just the shark; it’s being trapped on a raft with seven desperate men, each carrying his own baggage. “The way I did that was through character,” Roache-Turner says. The film’s anchor is Leo, an Indigenous soldier played by Mark Coles Smith. “He’s battling internal demons and racism, not to mention he’s in a war,” the director notes. Leo’s backstory involves a shark killing his brother, giving his fight for survival a deeply personal, almost mythical weight. He’s a man forced to confront his own past in the form of a relentless predator, all while navigating the social hostility of his own supposed allies.
Then there’s Will, a 17-year-old kid “scared out of his wits,” a stand-in for the boys chewed up by the war machine in films like Gallipoli. Casting him was a struggle, with the filmmakers searching for the right balance of naivete and latent strength. But for Leo, there was only one choice. “I wrote this part for Mark Coles Smith,” Roache-Turner reveals. “If we couldn’t get him, I don’t know who we would get. He’s the heart and soul of the film.” Luckily, they got him.
Beast of War is a war on two fronts—one against a visible enemy, the other against a primal force of nature. But the most compelling conflict might be the one happening on the raft. When you strip everything away, what are you left with? It’s a question that defines the best survival horror, and Roache-Turner seems determined to provide a harrowing, heartfelt answer.
What Makes Beast of War More Than Just ‘Jaws at War’?
- A Foundation in Real History: The film draws from the true, harrowing story of the HMAS Armidale, grounding its fantastic horror in the real-world trauma of World War II.
- Character-Driven Horror: Instead of focusing only on the shark, the narrative prioritizes the internal and interpersonal conflicts of the soldiers, inspired by character-focused dramas like Gallipoli.
- An Indigenous Protagonist: The lead character, Leo, brings a vital perspective on racism and personal history, adding layers of social and emotional depth rarely seen in the genre.
- A Hybrid Genre Vision: Director Kiah Roache-Turner intentionally blends the epic scope of war films with the claustrophobic tension of sealed-location horror like The Descent.
- Born from a Cinematic Legend: The entire project was sparked by Quint’s iconic USS Indianapolis monologue from Jaws, aiming to finally visualize that legendary tale of survival.
FAQ
Is Beast of War just another cheap Jaws knockoff?
Based on the director’s vision, no. By grounding the story in the real-life HMAS Armidale tragedy and focusing intensely on character drama, it aims for the psychological weight of films like Gallipoli and The Descent, not just creature-feature thrills.
Why blend a war movie with a shark movie?
The blend is intentional, creating two layers of survival horror. The soldiers are not only fighting an external enemy (the Axis) and a natural predator (the shark), but also their own internal demons and prejudices, amplifying the tension.
What makes the character of Leo so important?
Leo, an Indigenous soldier, is the film’s emotional core. His character introduces themes of racism and generational trauma, elevating the conflict beyond a simple man-versus-nature story into a more complex social and psychological drama.
Ultimately, Beast of War is a massive gamble. It’s a film that could easily collapse under the weight of its own ambition, becoming a messy soup of genres. And yet… there’s something thrilling about the attempt. Roache-Turner isn’t just chasing a trend; he’s chasing a ghost—the ghost of Quint’s story, a tale that has haunted cinema for decades.
The film is now available in theaters and on digital from Well Go USA Entertainment. For anyone who, like me, heard Robert Shaw’s chilling speech and thought, “I want to see that movie,” this might finally be our chance. Go see for yourself if the beast lives up to the legend.
