Beast of War, the “clever” and “tense” survival thriller, has landed a new streaming home in the UK. Hailing from Australia, the film has been praised for its blend of historical events and creature-feature tropes.
The film, from writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner, takes place in Australia in 1942, with the action following a group of soldiers during World War II. As their boat is sunk while crossing the Timor Sea, the squad members are in deep trouble.
And that’s before they realise that a man-eating great white shark is on the prowl in the nearby waters. With nowhere to go and enemies of all sorts coming their way, the squad are locked into a battle for survival.
Though it only had a limited release last year, Beast of War is available to stream in the UK on both Sky Cinema and NOW. Both services require a subscription, with Sky Cinema being £10 per month for existing Sky TV customers, while NOW is £8.99 per month.
Featuring Mark Coles Smith and Lee Halley in central roles, the survival thriller has been praised by critics, with Rotten Tomatoes currently reporting an impressive approval rating of 89% from 35 reviews.
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“Beast of War comes in at a tight 87 minutes, which might not sound like a big deal but it’s essential to the film’s success,” wrote RogerEbert.com, who described it as “clever”, “lean” and “tense”.
“A slick action thriller that isn’t afraid to draw from atypical gothic horror influences, featuring a breathtaking animatronic shark,” said Bloody Disgusting, while The Sydney Morning Herald dubbed it a “good B-movie”.
The Guardian was also full of praise as they called it a “blast of oceanic mayhem”, writing: “Roache-Turner borrows from various genre playbooks but conjures a distinctive, gung-ho, atmosphere-oozing work that’s all his own.”
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“It’s perhaps more terrifying in how it compels the viewer to imagine being in the same situation than in how the subsequent shark attacks are actually staged; some viewers will likely be as disturbed by the claustrophobia as by the teeth,” wrote The Wall Street Journal.
If survival thrillers aren’t necessarily your thing, then Sky Cinema and NOW have you covered with plenty of other offerings, with historical thriller Nuremberg and acclaimed comedy-drama The Ballad of Wallis Island just some of the films to be recently added.
Beast of War is streaming on Sky Cinema and NOW.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. Â His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
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