Shark movie 'Beast of War' echoes JAWS character's personal tragedy

Shark movies have always carried a primal terror — the sense that in the open ocean, we are no longer the apex predator. The upcoming Beast of War taps into this fear but grounds it in a wartime setting: a group of young soldiers, fresh out of boot camp, find themselves adrift on a raft after their ship is sunk by the enemy. With no land in sight and supplies dwindling, they face not only the horrors of war but the merciless hunger of a giant great white shark.

The premise immediately calls to mind one of the most chilling monologues in cinema: Quint’s story in Jaws. His recounting of the USS Indianapolis disaster — when hundreds of sailors were cast into shark-infested waters after their ship was torpedoed in World War II — is a haunting reminder that sharks have been more than just movie monsters; they are woven into real maritime tragedies. Spielberg never showed that attack on screen, but Robert Shaw’s performance painted the horror vividly enough to etch itself into movie history.

Beast of War seems to take that historical terror and put it front and center. Where Jaws only gave us a ghost story of the Indianapolis, this film brings audiences into a similar nightmare scenario, forcing us to watch young soldiers endure the same harrowing blend of human conflict and nature’s cruelty.

In doing so, the film promises to blur the line between war story and shark horror — exploring not just the fight for survival, but the fragility of youth and innocence thrown into both man-made and natural battlefields. If it captures even a fraction of the tension Quint’s tale evoked, Beast of War could earn its place as a worthy descendant in the lineage of shark cinema.

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Watch our JAWS 50th anniversary interview with Robert Shaw’s son, Ian Shaw

Presented by Stern Pinball, Ian Shaw’s interview is available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts