Aussie cult filmmaker Luke Sparke, director of Occupation: Rainfall, Red Billabong, and Bring Him To Me, is back with a heart-pounding new thriller; Primitive War!

In the midst of the Vietnam War, a search and rescue team is dispatched into the jungle to track down a missing platoon of Green Berets, but discover what should be ancient relics of a savage era, that aren’t so ancient or relic. Based on the book of the same name by Ethan Pettus, if “Dinosaurs in the Cold War” isn’t the killer high-concept pitch you’ve been waiting for, we don’t know what is! We had the opportunity to chat with Sparke about his Mesozoic monsters.

First thing’s first, we wanna know what fans can expect from Primitive War. Sparke promises a genre-mashup the likes of which we haven’t seen before!

“Fans can expect my biggest and best film yet. A more mature take on the dinosaur genre. Realistic dinosaurs unleashed in the jungles of a Vietnam War film. As the poster says – this ain’t no walk in the park. This is action packed with horror aspects included. It’s not a film with soldiers stumbling around a dinosaur film, it’s a action war film with dinosaurs invading the screens.”

The book promises a degree of psychological horror, as the monsters the troops encounter threaten to unravel their minds as well as their fleshy, not-dinosaur-proof bodies. Will the humans give into their own animalistic instincts in order to keep pace with the Triassic terrors stalking them? It certainly promises a unique spin on the flashy dinosaur action we’ve come to expect from films like Jurassic World, which revel in Spielberg-ian fun rather than out-and-out horror.

This rumble in the jungle features an international cast of victims for the prehistoric predators, and includes Australians Ryan Kwanten, Henry Nixon, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, and Supa-Star Lincoln Lewis!

“The casting process for this was super rigorous to find the right team that gelled together to form this recon squad in the Vietnam war then put them through authentic military training. I’m so blessed with the squad members we have and then adding Jeremy Piven and Tricia Helfer’s characters into the mix just adds this extra spice to the film. Plus then the slew of wonderful actors that came on in supporting roles to help elevate every scene has been amazing.”

Finally, Sparke shared some of his inspos for this film with us, and like every impressionable young lad discovering how cool dinosaurs are for the first time, he’s been inspired by the best.

“I’m proud that we’ve been able to achieve this film in the best way and the level of effects work we are pouring into it. I saw Jurassic park when I was 9 and like everyone, it left a huge impression on me, but I was already really into dinosaurs before that. And to stand on set and be acting out what the dinosaurs should be doing and then seeing them come to life is really a dream come true. I was also a big fan of games like Dino Crisis and the Turok Dinosaur Hunter comics and games, so bringing these elements of soldiers, warfare, horror and dinosaurs has been a huge undertaking but really rewarding!”

Primitive War recently wrapped filming on the Gold Coast, and will release in cinemas everywhere mid-2025!

With only 66 days to go until Supanova Comic Con & Gaming’s milestone 100th event, grab your tickets to their penultimate 99th show in Adelaide, and Brisbane’s three-day extravaganza now via Moshtix!