By Dolores Quintana
There’s nothing quite like a good shark horror movie, especially since we are heading into summer. With director Sean Byrne’s newest film, we get a different take on the subgenre, in this case, a serial killer who likes to use sharks to commit his crimes.
The synopsis goes a little like this: When Zephyr, a rebellious surfer, is abducted by a shark-obsessed serial killer and held captive on his boat, she must figure out how to escape before he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks below.
Dangerous Animals is a most entertaining mash-up of serial killer movies and shark films that is buoyed by a sense of sly fun and the excellent and charismatic performances of the actors. It opens on Friday, June 6, and is well worth the price of admission.
Jai Courtney (The Suicide Squad), Hassie Harrison (Yellowstone), Josh Heuston (Dune: Prophecy), Rob Carlton (White Lotus, Ella Newton (The Girl at the Window), and Liam Greinke (The Red) and large shiver of sharks star in the film, and each performance is lived in and nuanced. You like these people and care about them, which raises the stakes when things go wrong.
In particular, Jai Courtney, as Tucker, an actor who has a dedicated fanbase and whom I have never really “got” before, has been set loose by Byrne. He delivers a goofy, eccentric, and terrifying performance that is 100% Australian. After watching this film, I, too, am a fan. He balances a sense of oddity and smiley menace that is truly disturbing. You can see the lonely kid inside of him as he drunkenly dances in his underpants, so you understand, but he’s still insane.
Hassie Harrison, as Zephyr, is a loner who seems to ache for something. Her character and Josh Heuston’s Moses have wonderful chemistry, and you can believe that neither one of them would abandon the other. Ella Newton, as Heather, has a gentle and vulnerable pragmatism that makes you feel for her immediately. The casting director, Nikki Barrett, and Bryne deserved kudos for assembling such a great cast.
Writer Nick Lepard’s script is thrilling and filled with humanity, both good and bad. One of the best things about it is that the script doesn’t make the sharks the villains. They are not the dangerous animals that the title references; that name is reserved for the human beings.
The cinematography by Shelley Farthing-Daw has a rich beauty that belies the evil being done. It showcases the brilliant sun of Australia, the calm and unforgiving blue colors of the ocean, the red of spilled blood, and the placid glory of sharks. It enriches the film so much.
But make no mistake, this film is fun and thrilling. It got one full-throated shriek out of me even though I had already seen the moment in the trailer. It was meant to be a blockbuster-style film, and it is completely successful in that aim, but it has a depth that is like the ocean itself.
It is engrossing, gory, and, above all, filled with the excitement of summer. If you love quality scary movies, Dangerous Animals is made just for you.
