Dangerous Animals

Warning: puns abundant (^_^) For a B horror, 90 minutes is a safe bet so I dived in. Also, the film is in regular format, no bells and whistles, non-sense 3D up-charge version, no pesky glasses.

Time is well spent on dialogues and interactions enough to engage sympathy, kudos to the cast. Fantasy and horror films, often underrated by critics' circles, require good actors who can compel audience to suspend belief and buy into the lore / situation. Formidable villains raise the stakes, and Jai Courtney delivers. Instead of a leading man role, being a vicious, obsessive killer with superficial charm gives more opportunities to Courtney to widen his dramatic range. Other characters also pulled off compelling performances that make audience root for their struggles.

Gore-horror scale: graphically high. I turned away since I'm not a torture porn fan. I'm more of an escape plot-twist fan. Either camp won't be disappointed. The story keeps an even pace, actions not too frantic to follow, and not poetically slow.

I especially was impressed that within such tight runtime, the story managed to portray sharks as both a terrifying force of nature and an endangered species that must survive the disruptive human activities (leisure or business wise) in their habitat.

After the hilarious mashup Shark-nado, this killer-nature slasher genre is a welcoming addition to the cinema goers. You can't watch a great white jumping on a 50" home TV screen after all.

I was not familiar with any of the 3 leads and found them all to be excellent. Hassie Harrison seems like a young slightly prettier Jennifer Lawrence and that is a huge compliment. Jai Courtney was terrific as the villain He delivered some great speeches and in one scene channeled his inner Buffalo Bill to great success. Josh Heuston was also new to me and he had great charm and elicited tons of empathy in his role. About 15 minutes in I was thinking, "OK, now what are they going to do with this setup." It seemed like it would be claustrophobic and limited with where it could go. Was I ever wrong. Kudos to Sean Byrne for a great script and solid direction that really kept he tension high. Most of you are going to see this when it lands on Shudder. I think it is not going to be as great as on a bigger screen for sure. I would have rated this higher, but an 8 and up film is somewhat exceptional. Comes very close, but I think I will have forgotten the film in a year or two and that kept my score a 7. Try to catch it at your theater if you can.

Australia's known for its deadly wildlife, but Dangerous Animals asks-what if the most dangerous predator was serial killer steve irwin? This sunlit survival horror follows Zephyr, an American surfer abducted by a shark-obsessed madman (a delightfully unhinged Jai Courtney) who feeds tourists to great whites as eco-reparations. It's a wild premise, but the relentless tension, grounded action, and unexpectedly emotional beats make it work. With beautiful real shark footage, clever set-ups and payoffs, and one of the gnarliest self-surgery scenes i've seen in a while, the film manages to be scary, ridiculous, and empowering all at once. A brutal, blood-soaked ride that somehow still finds time for a killer dance scene and a touch of heart.

7.5/10 STARS - Dangerous Animals was Regal's Monday mystery movie on May 26. It's about a serial killer who has an obsession with sharks. The opening scene sets up his character, giving us a little hint about why he is the way he is. Jai Courtney's performance in this scene and the entire moving was chilling in its convincing nature. When the switch flipped, revealing him to not be the easygoing, friendly shark tour guide he seemed to be, it was shocking in its swiftness. We are then introduced to the main character in the story, Zephyr, who is a loner living the van life and surfing every chance she can. She meets Moses, and there's an instant attraction between them but she takes off for an early-morning surf and that's when she gets taken (another scene that was startling when the moment happened, even though you KNEW it was coming). The rest of the movie is basically a survival tale and it flowed well. Dangerous Animals is only about an hour and a half, yet it felt SO much longer. I don't say that as a criticism, but to underscore its effectiveness in making the story SO intense that it feels longer than it really is (like my experience with Warfare). As the movie plays out, we find out more about both Zephyr and her captor and the things that make them similar to one another. Yet at the same time, what separates them. Despite some writing issues that happen in various parts (a character not seizing the upper hand fully when they have the chance, characters being able to bounce back too quickly after an significant injury, and sharks conveniently not attacking in certain moments), Dangerous Animals was a solid horror/thriller/suspense movie with an interesting premise and standout performances, especially by Jai Courtney. Video review will be available on my YouTube channel.

Sean Byrne's return to filmmaking is a stripped-back serial-killer thriller focused on a shark-obsessed boatman who kidnaps women and uses them as bait so that he can see "the greatest show on Earth" over and over again. Yes, 'Dangerous Animals (2025)' essentially the 'SpongeBob SquarePants (1999-)' episode, 'Clams (2002)', except Jai Courtney isn't a giant crab and he isn't only interested in getting back a dollar. Oh, and it's also mean and menacing and, in a general sense, scary. With crisp cinematography both above and beneath the waves, the feature carves its own unique place within the genre by having its killer make use of a very distinct - and very much alive - weapon. While its premise is inherently a little goofy, it handles it with enough sincerity that you buy it completely and are able to meet the narrative on its own terms. What ought to be silly instead becomes (mildly) scary, and the picture's tone remains pretty much perfect for its duration. The same is true of its pacing, which threatens to drag on occasion due to the plot's purposeful 'reeling in a fish' pacing but never actually does so. It's relatively compelling and features a number of suitably gnarly set-pieces, even if there's the sense that it's a tiny bit too tame overall (some of the shark attacks, in particular, are a little underwhelming, if potentially rather realistic). It's a little less insular than I initially expected, but it still relies on only a handful of performances and the isolation of its premise is enhanced because of it. The actors all do a really good job with the material. For instance, Courtney is capable of initially seemingly slightly creepy but not so creepy that you wouldn't get on a boat with him, then revealing himself to be an altogether different breed of creepy when his true desires and capacity for violence reveal themselves. Although the central romance is a little underdeveloped and overrelied on, Hassie Harrison and Josh Heuston sell their connection enough that you want to see it - and them - survive the stresses of the story. Harrison, in particular, is a strong final (and, almost, only) girl whose tenacity is potent enough that you believe she'd be able to overcome what she inevitably must overcome. Her final confrontation with her kidnapper is slightly disappointing due to its brisk duration and weak pre-kill quip, but it's fun to see her try to come out on top and get the best of the unhinged antagonist. This is just a really solid horror/ thriller with some exciting and suspenseful sequences, confident direction, compelling performances and gorgeously simple cinematography. It isn't particularly deep or complex, but it scratches a primal itch and it scratches it well. It's a solid slice of seaworthy pulp that should keep you entertained from beginning to end.