'Dangerous Animals' review: When their shark is worse than their bite

SF Studios

You've heard of bait and switch, but have you heard of bait and ditch where you become the bait after ditching your one-night stand to spend chum time with your surfboard instead? Didn't think so. But that is why we now have Dangerous Animals, a horror thriller directed by Sean Byrne from a script by Nick Lepard.

We set sail for Gold Coast in Australia where we first meet Tucker (Jai Courtney), a local boat captain hosting cage dives in the shark-infested waters for tourists, though this is all an elaborate ruse because he's a serial killer who kills by feeding those tourists to sharks while shooting snuff films of the murders. This is bad news for Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a young American woman living a nomad life down under, who drives off in the middle of the night to surf after having a nice little rendezvous with real estate agent Moses (Josh Heuston). Zephyr's plans go awry when he borrows a piece of equipment from Tucker at the beach. He knocks her out and kidnaps her away onto his boat. Naturally, Zephyr must find a way to survive Tucker's antics whilst Moses begins to search for her.

Serial killers, sharks, himbos and your standard final girl with blond hair and an American accent seem like a schlocky mixture, and the movie is clearly aware of that whenever it decides to embrace schlock, but there's also slightly more, uh, beneath the surface here (I'm so sorry). This is a lean, mean survival story that knows where it's going and gets there rather fast as well, introducing the element of danger right from the get-go and then switching to Zephyr's POV. Byrne and editor Kasra Rassoulzadegan move from one obstacle and lightbulb moment to the next with real dexterity; the tension is so well maintained in fact that you almost don't catch the incredibly flimsy developments that bring Zephyr and Moses together. Neither of them nor Tucker really registers as a three-dimensional person with a real inner life when we take a break from the horror elements and Lepard's dialogue and character writing are carrying the drama.

But dexterous, clear-sighted filmmakers know what to focus on, which leads us to the actors. Finely cast by casting director Nikki Barrett, Harrison is a better-than-necessary lead for this show with her ability to sell Zephyr's wits; Courtney's physicality is a match made in haven for his role and the guy clearly enjoys the chance to express Tucker's lunacy and malice (shoutout to Courtney's mean side eye game, smartly referencing Tucker's shark-like habits as a predator); and Heuston is a perfect hot himbo and he makes Moses' puppy-eyed infatuation quite sincere, which is yet again more than this sort of movie ever needs. Along with superb work by stunt* and FX makeup* departments, they and Byrne also make the kills, attempted kills and fights look intense and believable, which just underlines everyone's commitment to the bit.

A fine example of B-movie thrills with some A-tier execution, Dangerous Animals is an engrossing and slick wave that you want to catch even if it's not destined to make a huge splash. After all, it's not too common nowadays that a shark flick exceeds your expectations. Plus, the film is also pretty funny sometimes because someone in it loves pulling your leg. Watch it to find out who or what.

Smileys: Acting, casting, pacing, stunt choreography

Frowneys: Characterisation

Did you know that the original cut featured a famous stand-up comedian as one of the victims? Apparently, the shark actor thought they tasted funny and the scene ended up being "unusable".

4.0/5

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