Director: Luke Sparke

Cast: Jeremy Piven, Tricia Helfer, Ryan Kwanten, Nick Wechsler, Anthony Ingruber

Primitive War is a 2025 Australian action-horror sci-fi film directed by Luke Sparke, starring Jeremy Piven and Tricia Helfer. Set against the chaos of the Vietnam War in 1968, it follows a military recon unit dispatched into a remote jungle valley where something far deadlier than the enemy waits in the shadows.

What is Primitive War about?

Vietnam, 1968. The Vulture Squad — an elite reconnaissance unit — is assigned a seemingly routine mission: locate a missing Green Beret platoon last seen in an isolated valley deep in the jungle. As the soldiers push deeper into the dense terrain, the mission shifts from search-and-rescue to pure survival. Strange sounds, missing men, and evidence of something enormous moving through the trees force the squad to confront the terrifying possibility that they are not the apex predators in this jungle. Hunted and cut off from reinforcements, they must fight to stay alive against a threat that no military training has prepared them for.

Cast & crew

Director Luke Sparke brings an action-genre sensibility to this creature-feature setting. Jeremy Piven, best known for his Emmy-winning television work, leads the ensemble as the squad commander. Tricia Helfer, a recognizable face from genre television, and Ryan Kwanten, known for his Louisiana swamp setting work, join a cast that includes Nick Wechsler, Anthony Ingruber, Aaron Glenane, Carlos Sanson Jr., and Ana Thu Nguyen.

Context & significance

Creature-feature films set in the Vietnam War era occupy a unique space in genre cinema — they layer Cold War-era paranoia, military trauma, and monster-horror into a single visceral package. For Persian-speaking and diaspora audiences who enjoy Hollywood action-horror blends, Primitive War offers familiar genre pleasures with a high-stakes jungle setting and an international cast. The film is available in Persian dub as well as Persian subtitles, making it fully accessible without language barrier. Australian co-productions in this vein have grown more ambitious in recent years, and this one brings a sizable ensemble cast and a runtime that lets the tension build before the chaos erupts.

Where & how to watch

Primitive War is available on K-Time with both Persian dub and Persian subtitles. Watch on your browser, connected TV, or phone — no VPN needed, no geo-blocking, no extra download required. Start or cancel your subscription anytime.