We were joined on the Popternative show by director Kiah Roache Turner (Sting) to discuss his newest film, the shark thriller, Beast of War, which is set during World War II in Australia.
The film debuted in select theaters and on digital on October 10 and stars Mark Coles Smith (Mystery Road: Origin), Joel Nankervis (Single, Out), Sam Delich (Spiderhead), Lee Tiger Halley (Boy Swallows Universe), Sam Parsonson (Hacksaw Ridge), Maximillian Johnson (High Ground), Tristan McKinnon (Alfred J Hemlock), and Aswan Reid (The New Boy).
Beast of War follows a young troop of Australian soldiers during World War II when their boat is sunk while crossing the Timor Sea. They then need to find a way to survive the harsh seas on a quickly shrinking life raft. Hundreds of miles from anywhere, they must confront interpersonal conflicts, enemy attacks, and the advances of a great white shark.
Before the audiences get to the sinking boat scene that sets up the events for the rest of the film, it opens up with the troops at a boot camp set up for training which was an important part of the film for Kiah:
“I know that [they were] going to be stuck on a raft for like, 70 minutes, and it had a possibility of becoming a bit claustrophobic, so it was very important for us to start with this 10-15 minute sequence that really opens up the film. You’re running through these beautiful, lush landscapes, so I really wanted to start in the real world before we went into this kind of weird, hyper stylized fog bank in the middle of the ocean where you’re just in one place.”
Watch the full conversation with Kiah Roache Turner below.
Beast of War is available om digital.
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