Dangerous Animals (2025) Review

A tense, darkly comic, cold open to director Sean Byrne’s third feature introduces Bruce Tucker (Jai Courtney), a larger than life Aussie who plies his trade as a pleasure boat captain sailing the shark-infested waters off the coast of Surfer’s Paradise. He wants his clients to get as close to nature’s eating machines as possible and by that I mean really close, as in “pushing said clients overboard into the feeding zone after stabbing them repeatedly” close.

However, the quick kills are mostly reserved for the males in Tucker’s vicinity. His main sideline is kidnapping various young women and imprisoning them on his ship for a short time before dangling them into the water to let his beloved shark “mates” do their thing while he videos the bloody action. Next up on the menu would appear to be free-spirited Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a resourceful and independent type living off the grid and seemingly existing only to surf. For Tucker, this Zephyr could ultimately prove a wind that blows no good for him as she’s highly averse to becoming human chum…

After Wolf Creek scared a generation of folks out of visiting the Australian outback, Dangerous Animals suggests that you’re not safe on the coast either. Tucker is the very pinnacle of the unconstructed Ocker on the surface, with his welcoming, anything goes attitude and forthright humour. Lurking just below the surface is something far more sinister, a man who sees himself as just as much of a shark as the creatures he so adores and constantly needs to prove he’s at the top of the food chain.

As Tucker, Jai Courteney possesses both the physique and the acting chops to create a memorable new serial killer, projecting sheer menace just by entering a room or shooting a glance at his current target. He’s in no way a blank faced destroyer and the details in Nick Lepard’s screenplay, such as the fishing lures Tucker manufactures from the locks of hair he cuts from his captives before he feeds them to the predators of the deep, put some intriguing flesh on the character’s bones. There’s little attempt to introduce any level of sympathy for him other than a brief mention of an incident in Tucker’s childhood in which lack of parental supervision led to him being attacked by – you guessed it – a shark. Be under no illusions: Tucker is a very bad guy and this is gleefully realised by Courteney.

It’s to Harrison’s credit that she isn’t overshadowed. As Zephyr, she instantly convinces of the depth of fight in her and those early clashes with Tucker in her far from palatial, below deck quarters are loaded with the back and forth that makes our seafaring killer realise he may have stumbled upon, in his own words, “one for the ages.” The vast difference in physical presence between Harrison and Courteney is shown without over emphasising the point but there’s no doubt that Zephyr will need to draw on all of her cunning to turn her situation around and the suspense is expertly cranked up as she plans to escape.

Although most of the focus is on Tucker and Zephyr Vs Each Other And Sharks, there is a subplot to break the cat and mouse action. This features Zephyr’s one night stand Moses (Josh Heuston), a fellow surfer whose financial and familial footing could hardly be more different. Moses is smitten, Zephyr is naturally suspicious and this is why she leaves him in the dead of night. Almost as much as the story is at pains to let you know Tucker is not exactly a good bloke, Moses almost certainly is, even though he’s a realtor and part of the society that Zephyr was nothing of. So, when Zephyr vanishes, Moses turns amateur ‘tec. These scenes are short enough not to derail the boat-set chills but you wonder how he’s possibly going to be able to find someone who’s out in the middle of the sea when…

Okay, there are a number of improbabilities in Dangerous Animals but the entire premise is a pretty odd one so if you’re in the “Well, that wouldn’t happen” camp then I propose either giving that part of your brain a rest for the ninety-eight minutes or giving it a swerve entirely. And if you do choose the latter option, you’re missing a savvy mix of the gruesome and the gratifying. Yes, some of this is genuinely nasty but it doesn’t dwell on the gore and it’s the conceptually terrifying aspects which will hit hardest. The battle ramps up in the third act and as the advantage between hunter and hunted takes ever larger swings you might roll your eyes but you’ll probably be hugely entertained as well.

So, is this the best Sean Byrne movie? Well, if you’re asking me then I would say that I slightly prefer The Loved Ones but Dangerous Animals fits the bill and then some if you’re looking for a jolting antidote to all of that asinine summer blockbuster nonsense. Courteney makes for an unforgettable villain; Harrison is the kick-arse heroine we all need; and, Hallelujah, the beautiful force of nature that is the shark is clearly not the problem here. You can work that out from the title.

Movie Rating:

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