I especially don’t like the “trapped with sharks” sub-genre, as I don’t have sympathy for those in that situation, as it is their own damn fault for getting out there with a shark in the first place. And I certainly don’t want to be trapped with them for the duration of the running time. Beast of War still won me over, and I would watch it again gladly, on as big a screen as possible. That is because Roache-Turner employs superior cinematic storytelling that will hypnotize the audience into following every move that is taken with awe.
The film has the look of an old-school Hollywood epic. It swims with dynamic visuals that pour electricity over the screen like an overflow of blood into the ocean. Every frame catches the action in the grandest fashion possible, with the crackerjack editing making sure each shot joins the others with the intensity of a bar fight.
“…superior cinematic storytelling that will hypnotize the audience…”
Roache-Turner’s screenplay is just as high-powered as his visuals. The emotional hooks in the script get planted hard in record time, forcing your interest despite the fact that it takes place in 1942. The dramatic interplay between the characters is distinct, which increases the impact when some of them get eaten. What really puts this higher for me than the vast majority of war pictures is that Roache-Turner does an outstanding job of showcasing the horror of war. Instead of dates and statistics, the audience is shown how regular people participated in what essentially was an international 24-hour slasher film.
The fear of being slaughtered out of nowhere at any minute is omnipresent throughout the running time. So Beast of War is definitely a horror picture as opposed to a traditional war film. It is also a horror film as opposed to a traditional shark film. This is because the shark is used sparingly in comparison to what usually clogs the shark market. This seems to be done out of sophistication rather than budget, because the great white looks truly great when we get it. There are several choice cuts of shark shots that will have you wetting your seat. Also, hats off for making sure to work in the actual old Jaws full frontal teeth angle. So if you consume your shark meat by the pound, there is plenty of that out there. But if you want to see the shark device used with the precision of a scalpel, watch Beast of War. It is knock-out entertainment with many rows of teeth that won’t let go,
"…swims with dynamic visuals that pours electricity over the screen"
