‘Dangerous Animals’ Review
Stars: Hassie Harrison, Jai Courtney, Josh Heuston, Rob Carlton, Ella Newton, Liam Greinke | Written by Nick Lepard | Directed by Sean Byrne
Acclaimed Australian director Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones, The Devil’s Candy) returns with Dangerous Animals, an inspired mash-up of two beloved horror genres, serial killer thrillers and sharksploitation. Delivering handsomely – and nastily – in both elements, it’s one of the most enjoyable genre movies of the year.
Set in present-day Surfers Paradise on Queensland’s Gold Coast, the film introduces its killer immediately, as burly fisherman Tucker (a scarily massive Jai Courtney) cheerfully stabs one of two tourists he has just taken on a Swimming-With-Sharks tour, before pushing him overboard.
Dangerous Animals then joins the film’s heroine, free-spirited American Zephyr (Hassie Harrison, who looks uncannily like Jennifer Lawrence), who has escaped a miserable childhood of foster homes in favour of pursuing Australia’s big waves. After a hook-up with nice-guy estate agent Moses (Josh Heuston), Zephyr is abducted by Tucker and wakes up chained to a bed on his boat, alongside British tourist Heather (Ella Newton), who we saw earlier.
The details of exactly how Tucker intends to dispose of his victims are best left for the movie to reveal, but suffice it to say, he’s essentially a serial killer whose weapons are sharks. That’s an inspired combination of two of the horror genre’s biggest real-life terrors, and it works brilliantly here, delivering some deliciously nasty thrills.
Courtney is terrific as Tucker, delivering what might be his career-best performance to date. His physicality alone is terrifying, but he also plays the role with a twinkle in his eye that is weirdly charming. He’s also smart – and given to dispensing a few choice Shark Facts before the main event – which only makes him scarier when Zephyr calls him out on his psychosis and clearly hits a raw nerve.
Harrison, in turn, delivers what deserves to be a star-making turn as Zephyr, simultaneously vulnerable and resourceful, not to mention hard as nails, given that she’s prepared to resort to a handcuff-escaping technique that you don’t see in many movies. She also sparks palpable chemistry with Heuston, as the script wisely gives them enough scenes together before she’s abducted to ensure that we root for both their survival and their potential relationship.
Byrne’s direction is assured and stylish throughout, delivering tension, thrills and shark-related gore in equal measure. He’s also not above having a little fun, from adding loud musical notes to each smash cut (providing effective jump scares without actually doing anything) to homaging Silence of the Lambs with a fun sequence where a post-kill Tucker dances around in his pants and a silky dressing gown.
Similarly, there are a couple of other nice little touches that provide some unexpected laughs, from Heather’s pronunciation of the words “gap year” (“Mum was really against me having a gap yarr”) to Moses picking a hilariously inappropriate moment to ask why Zephyr rejected his delicious-looking pancake breakfast and ran off after they had sex.
In short, Dangerous Animals is a tasty treat all round, thanks to a pair of terrific lead performances and stylish, genre-savvy direction from Byrne. Here’s hoping we don’t have to wait another ten years for his next movie.
**** 4/5
Dangerous Animals is out now.
