Vietnam. 1968. A search and rescue team known as “Vulture Squad” is sent to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing Green Beret platoon. As they hunt through the primordial depths of the valley, they discover ancient horrors that not only threaten to unravel their minds, but to end them. Dinosaurs have somehow been unleashed… When the casualties mount, the members of “Vulture Squad” must abandon their human nature and give in to their savage instincts in order to survive…

Imagine the pitch; what if there was an R rated action movie set during the Vietnam war but instead of just fighting people, there were also dinosaurs?

Inevitably with a premise like that, Primitive War will be somewhat unfairly compared with Jurassic Park (1993) and the classic ‘Nam movies like Apocalypse Now (1979) but it is imperative to remember this Australian indie movie with director Luke Sparke (Occupation: Rainfall) taking on multiple roles had a miniscule budget in comparison with the blockbuster movies from Coppola and Spielberg.

Primitive War is a B movie, creature feature and proud of it. There may be a couple of familiar faces on screen but certainly no Sam Neill, Martin Sheen or Chris Pratt. However, that doesn't mean that the talent doesn't give it their all and both Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) and Nick Wechsler (The Boys) in particular delivered great performances as American soldiers Baker and Eli.

Says Sparke, “I've always loved grounded storytelling where the spectacle comes from real danger. My goal was to bring that gritty, visceral feel into a film people haven't really seen before. I wanted audiences to feel the heat, smell the gunpowder, and believe that if dinosaurs were on the battlefield…this is what it would feel like. Shot in Australia with no studio or government backing, it's the kind of creature feature I grew up watching and wanted to see on the big screen, but with a scale that punches far above its weight.”

And let's get to the part that sets this aside from every other Full Metal Jacket (1987) wannabe – the dinosaurs. Are they as breathtaking and ‘realistic' as Blue in Jurassic World (2015)? Obviously not – again, to hammer home the budget for this was around 2% of the Universal money pot. But considering Sparke was also the VFX producer and supervisor, the effects hold up pretty well, and there are definitely some fun kills and even a couple of sad ones.

Whilst the Predator (1987) and Platoon (1986) comparisons are inevitable, Primitive War also has a sprinkling of Dog Soldiers (2002) in its DNA, a troop of soldiers unknowingly pitted against an unhuman enemy with a female expert in the field helping and higher ups wanting to keep it classified, there are even some nice sausages-esque moments and like Neil Marshall, Sparke wrote (the screenplay based on the popular 2017 sci-fi military novel series by Ethan Pettus), directed and edited the feature. When a filmmaker has put so much blood, sweat and tears into a production it is often possible to see their particular DNA and passion, and Primitive War is clearly something Sparke loved making.

Is it likely to be nominated for an Academy Award? No. But is it fun, bloody, filled with gun flare, and very large teeth? Hell yes. And if that is something you enjoy then this will be right up your street. Just watch out for the supersize birdlike footprints.

Primitive War only in UK and Irish cinemas from 28 November. Distributed by Signature Entertainment