Writer-director Kiah Roache-Turner surprises with “Beast of War”, a movie that slickly balances World War II and sharksploitation. Yep, “Beast of War” is indeed set during the Second World War. But at its core it’s a shark movie through and through. And a really good one at that. It’s all due to Roache-Turner’s firm grasp of his characters and the genres he’s working in. And he’s helped by strong, committed performances from an ensemble who know their assignment.

The first good sign comes in the film’s prologue. While it’s nothing profoundly original, Roache-Turner puts time into his characters, introducing them through their stint in boot camp. Set in 1942, a group of young and enthusiastic Australian soldiers are preparing to go to war. When not in weapons training or running drills, they crack jokes, get into scraps, play rugby, and flirt with the camp’s nurses. As we meet them, some dance a little close to caricature, but never enough to become an issue. Instead these early scenes add weight to the carnage to come.

Standing out in the ragtag unit is Leo (Mark Cole Smith), a strong and dutiful indigenous soldier who only gets one-third the pay the white soldiers get and endures constant jeering from the unit’s bigoted loudmouth Des (Sam Delich). But Leo quickly wins over the other troops with his humanity and fortitude. He has no problem taking up for himself, but his toughness is tempered with compassion that shows itself when he takes a struggling squadmate named Will (Joel Nankervis) under his wing.

Things ramp up once the soldiers are deployed. As they’re being transported across the Timor Sea, their battleship is suddenly attacked by Japanese planes and immediately sunk. Only eight soldiers survive, with three of them badly wounded. They end up floating on a small metal section of the ship’s hull, consumed by a dense fog bank. It’s here that the survival movie angle kicks into gear. But our eight soldiers soon learn they have more to worry about than food, water, and medical attention.

Led by Leo, the survivors begin putting together a plan. But they’re interrupted when a monstrous great white shark bursts from the water and chomps down on a soldier, pulling him into the water (a proudly obvious but effective tip of the hat to Spielberg’s “Jaws”). From there Roache-Turner leans into the sharksploitation, putting together one harrowing ‘man-vs-beast’ encounter after another.

To the film’s credit, it avoids turning into one vicious shark attack after another. In fact, despite being stranded on a piece of metal floating in the sea, Roache-Turner finds countless creative ways to off the soldiers. No two deaths happen the same way. And he doesn’t shy away from cranking up the B-movie gore. But it’s the practical effects that are so impressive, from the grisly carnage to the magnificent half-ton animatronic shark itself. It’s a choice that pays massive dividends.

The strikingly cinematic “Beast of War” delivers everything a genre-lover would want and expect. At the same time, Roache-Turner brings along his own playbook which keeps the movie from simply being more of the same. It’s strengthened by sturdy performances (especially from Smith), solid character work, and masterful practical effects. There are even bursts of unexpected humor, often from the most unexpected places. And it’s all packaged in a tight but fluid 87 minutes which keeps this lean, no-nonsense genre-bender focused and on point.

VERDICT – 4 STARS