Hello and welcome to this week’s unsettling edition of Movie Reviews 2025. Halloween is just around the corner, so this week’s selection of movies focus on sinister stories and twisted tales.
Speaking of which, there’s shark shenanigans in the Australian horror Beast of War; sci-fi suspense in The Astronaut; and psychological shocks in ‘90s cult classic Jacob’s Ladder. Plus the undead are unleashed in The Elixir, and there’s troubling times in the remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.
Does this sound dark and depraved enough for you? Great, then keep reading!
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Now streaming…
Beast of War (2025)
First up this week, in Beast of War the year is 1942 and a troop of Australian soldiers are sent off to fight in World War II. A short while into a journey across the Timor Sea, their boat is sunk by Japanese aircraft and the vast majority of the soldiers are killed instantly.
Reduced to just a handful of men, the survivors gather together on a raft and contemplate their next move. However, their chances of making it back home are reduced significantly when a great white shark begins to circle their raft.
Taking aspects of Lifeboat (1944), as well as elements of Jaws (1975), and mixing them together with a small dash of Tremors (1990), Beast of War is a film which has certainly existed before in some shape or form. This picture wears its influences on its sleeve, and if you’re a fan of horror films, war pictures, or shark movies, then you will feel as if you’re on familiar territory.
However, don’t be fooled into thinking Beast of War is just another run-of-the-mill shark flick, not worth your time. Far from it in fact, as this is a compelling little war-horror, which makes the most of a limited budget to bring blood, guts, and a fairly creepy shark to the screen.
Written and directed by Kiah Roache-Turner and featuring a cast which includes Mark Coles Smith, Joel Nankervis, Sam Delich, and Sam Parsonson, Beast of War takes a simple premise (soldiers at the mercy of a shark) and makes it into a tense fight for survival. This is achieved by solid staging, fantastic cinematography, and some rapid shark attacks which are quick and brutal!
The first of these attacks seems to come out of nowhere and is a marvellous way to properly introduce the antagonist. One minute everything is as good as it can be following a shipwreck, and the next minute CHOMP(!!!), the shark chooses its victim and feasts.
Subsequent attacks are equally as menacing, meaning there’s not a lot of messing about when it comes to the death scenes. But keen to ensure the attacks aren’t the only sinister aspect of the shark, filmmaker Kiah Roache-Turner also introduces a very clever use of sound to signal the beast’s arrival.
Shortly after the shipwreck, one of the soldiers uses a broken distress siren to signal attention. This siren later gets imbedded into the shark’s fin, so every time the shark is near it makes a sound akin to a banshee’s wail.
It’s an ingenious idea, which adds an extra dimension of ghostly horror. And similar to how John Williams’ score in Jaws created the presence of the shark without having to see the animal on screen, this too gives the creature the opportunity to have its presence felt when clearly the budget couldn’t always conjure the beast.
With a swift runtime, some impressive special effects (no CGI shite here), and a good cast, Beast of War is likeable stuff. It stands tall above the usual shark-attack dross which so often gets served up these days, and is perfect viewing for those who love a good old fashioned monster film.
Aussie horror has been on fine form lately (Bring Her Back, Dangerous Animals, Talk To Me, etc) and this film doesn’t let the side down. It’s simple stuff, but it’s well made simple stuff, and if you like shark films this is a no-brainer.
Should you wish to check out Beast of War, the movie is currently available to buy on video-on-demand platforms. If digital ain’t ya thing, the film is available on DVD and Blu-ray too!
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Now streaming…
The Astronaut (2025)
Sticking with video-on-demand for this next one, the dark sci-fi movie, The Astronaut. Written and directed by Jess Varley, and starring Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Luna, and Macy Gray, the film tells the story of an astronaut who is convinced an extra-terrestrial entity has followed her back to Earth.
In the movie, Mara plays Sam Walker, an astronaut who crashes back on Earth following a space mission. After a few days in hospital, Sam is sent to a swanky, high-tech house in a remote location, so she can recover from the lingering effects of being in orbit.
Over the coming days Sam begins to suffer from headaches, she experiences strange visions, and she sees objects floating in mid-air. But worst of all, she believes someone or something is watching her.
Watchable, but nothing out of this world, The Astronaut is a so-so sci-fi picture, which wants to be scary and suspenseful but it unfortunately falls short. The thrills are largely non-existent, while the sinister presence stalking Sam is somewhat of a damp squib.
That said, the big reveal at the end is the best part of the story. It’s just a shame the story isn’t all that to begin with.
On the plus side, Kate Mara gives it her best and there is a certain X-Files vibe to proceedings. Of course, if you actually want an X-Files vibe you’d be better off watching The X-Files, but then you’d be better off watching The X-Files over most things.
Anyway, The Astronaut isn’t awful, but don’t expect to be wowed. It has potential but doesn’t quite reach the heights it’s aiming for.
Should you wish to give The Astronaut your time and money, the movie is available to buy or rent on video-on-demand platforms.
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On disc…
Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
In Jacob’s Ladder, the year is 1975 and Jacob Singer is a postal worker living in Brooklyn with his girlfriend. But flash back to four years ago, and things were very different, as Jacob was an infantryman deployed in Vietnam.
Those days are seemingly behind him now, but in recent times Jacob has begun to suffer from visions of the past. He also sees terrible, demonic images wherever he goes, which he can’t explain.
As Jacob tries to make sense of the world around him, his time in Vietnam appears to be a significant sticking point. Specifically a period in which his division was under attack and he was injured.
Is this key to what’s going on now? And why is his world suddenly being turned upside down?
With a twisting narrative, as well as a standout performance from lead star Tim Robbins, director Adrian Lyne’s Jacob’s Ladder is a weird headf**k of a movie. One which at times seems nonsensical, but in reality it is a clever, crazy, fever dream of a film particularly suited to those who favour psychological thrills.
Its dark imagery is unsettling; its narrative compelling; and its surrealist nature quite enticing. Jacob’s Ladder isn’t an easy watch (not the first time around, anyway), but it’s certainly something different and different is good.
When Jacob’s Ladder was originally released back in 1990, it flopped at the box office, barely making back its production budget. However, in the years since its release, the movie has developed a cult following and rightly so.
Jacob’s Ladder offers up a mesmerising tale, and one which is visually arresting. It isn’t for everyone, but those who gel with Lyne’s film will find much to sink into.
Should you wish to watch Jacob’s Ladder, the movie is now available to buy on Blu-ray and 4K UHD as part of StudioCanal’s Cult Classics range. The Blu-ray is priced at £14.99, while the 4K UHD release is a limited edition steelbook which will set you back £29.99.
Both the Blu-ray and the 4K come packaged with four art cards. The special features include a documentary titled On the Rungs of Jacob’s Ladder, as well as a 2025 trailer.
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Now streaming…
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (2025)
Back to streaming for this next movie, the dark thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. Directed by Michelle Garza Cervera, and starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe, the movie focuses on a family who fall victim to a psychotic nanny.
In the movie, Caitlyn and Miguel Morales hire Polly Murphy to be the nanny of their two young children. Polly proves to be a godsend for Caitlyn, ticking all the right boxes, and this helps her out greatly.
When it seems as if Polly will need to move out of the area, Caitlyn invites her to become a live-in nanny. This seems like the perfect solution to keep Polly in the job which she excels in.
However, this soon proves to be a mistake when Polly begins to act out of character. This in turn puts Caitlyn on edge, makes her paranoid, and deeply impacts her mental health.
Now, if the title of this film sounds familiar it’s because The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a remake of a 1992 film of the same name. The original movie – which starred Annabella Sciorra and Rebecca De Mornay – was a big hit back in the ‘90s and was a damn good movie too.
This latest iteration does not fare so well. Slow, uninspired, meandering, and mostly just underwhelming, 2025’s The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a dud.
There’s little suspense and no real tension. In fact, the only time the film comes close to tension is during a scene in which Caitlyn is frantically cutting up some chicken and there’s the brief hint she might lop off her fingers!
Yep, this is about as exciting as this film gets. Other than this, the movie just drags from one scene to the next.
The whole thing feels sterile and lifeless. There is living, breathing human beings on screen, and they are doing the best they can with what they are given to do, but there’s just no life.
Remakes aren’t always a bad thing, and some can be better than the original, but this simply isn’t the case here. The whole thing feels uninspired, and it smacks of Disney just remaking yet another title in its portfolio.
And want to know the worst thing? This new version of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is streaming on Hulu in the US and on Hulu on Disney+ everywhere else – which is the same Disney+ that streams the original.
So you can literally just watch the original film instead of this new one. You don’t even need to switch streaming services, it’s right there!!!
Do yourself a favour and watch the original. This new film will come and go and will be forgotten about very soon.
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Now streaming…
The Elixir (2025)
And finally, remaining with streaming for the new Indonesian zombie movie, The Elixir (aka Abadi Nan Jaya). Directed by Kimo Stamboel, and featuring a cast which includes Eva Celia, Marthino Lio, Dimas Anggara, and Varen Arianda Calief, this little slice of horror is available on Netflix and focuses on a sudden zombie outbreak.
In the movie, a new wonder drug is set to hit the market which is designed to make the consumer look younger. And do you know what? It works!
Only problem is, it has one nasty side effect – it turns you into a zombie. So, as you can imagine, things quickly turn to crap when the owner of Wani Waras Herbal tests out the elixir, finds himself briefly rejuvenated, before he then turns into one of the undead and attempts to feast on his nearest and dearest.
Said family manage to escape, but not before leading some zombies to a nearby party. Chaos quickly ensues, and death and destruction follows as more and more people either die or become infected.
OK, so let’s be clear about a couple of things here. The titular ‘elixir’ which creates the zombie outbreak isn’t all that important to the story. It’s essentially a brief plot device, and nothing more.
The zombie outbreak in this film is also nothing that hasn’t been done before. Zombie movies are ten-a-penny, and in terms of the story what’s on offer in The Elixir is fairly meat and potatoes stuff.
However, similar to Beast of War, The Elixir takes something very familiar, repackages it, and delivers on its premise. Sure, The Elixir might be nothing original, but it is very good at what it does.
If you’re a fan of the zombie sub-genre, then this one is a new title to add to your list. Likewise, if you’re simply after something a little bit gruesome to watch for Halloween, this could be for you.
The crucial selling point of The Elixir is that it keeps things simple and it looks good. This movie isn’t attempting to reinvent the wheel, it just wants to tell a solid story while offering up some fab shots along the way.
If there’s a downside, it’s that at two hours it’s a touch too long for a story where people are being attacked by zombies, but the good thing is it doesn’t drag. It merely could do with some trimming, perhaps removing a few minutes from the beginning, and a couple of additional snips here and there.
Either way, The Elixir is a decent zombie movie. It isn’t anything flashy and it doesn’t introduce new ideas into the genre, but it’s likeable and enjoyable, and this is what matters.
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Movie(s) of the Week
Onto Movie(s) of the Week and this week the films which take the crown aren’t the movies with the highest scores. Jacob’s Ladder is the highest rated movie this week, which would ordinarily make it a shoe-in for Movie of the Week, however this time around the prestigious title is being split between Beast of War and The Elixir.
Produced on modest budgets, both films do exactly the job they set out to do and make a good stab at it with the resources available. There are some terrible shark and zombie movies out there, but Beast of War and The Elixir prove some great stuff can still be made!
If you like Beast of War you may also like:
- Wyrmwood (2014) – Kiah Roache-Turner directs and co-writes this marvellous Aussie zombie film.
- Dangerous Animals (2025) – Sean Byrne directs this Australian shark horror about a ship captain with a taste for blood and guts.
- WarHunt (2022) – Mickey Rourke, Robert Knepper, and Jackson Rathbone lead this daft but effective supernatural romp!
And if you like The Elixir you may also like:
- Train to Busan (2016) – Yeon Sang-ho’s magnificent South Korean zombie horror, largely set on a fast-moving train.
- Cargo (2017) – Post apocalyptic Australian horror-thriller about a man desperately trying to save his baby during the outbreak of a deadly virus.
- Night of the Living Dead (1968) – George A. Romero’s classic zombie horror, about a group of people trapped inside a farmhouse during a zombie outbreak.
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Halloween Highlights
And that’s your lot for this week, but should you be on the look-out for more fiendish films to ensure your Halloween is as hair-raising as possible, don’t forget to take a look at Movie Reviews Special: Halloween 2025. This devilish edition of Movie Reviews Special caters for all your Halloween needs by serving up 31 suggestions for what to watch this year.
All the best horror movies of 2025 are included, along with some recent gems from 2024, and one or two old school classics too! So, if you’re stumped for what to watch, and endlessly scrolling through Netflix just isn’t cutting it, Movie Reviews Special: Halloween 2025 might just be the answer to your scares.
Sorry, I mean prayers.
Alex
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this edition of Movie Reviews 2025. For more posts be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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