‘Dangerous Animals’ Review – A Ferocious Subversion of Shark Horror with an Unforgettable Villain

In an increasingly overcrowded sea of shark horror movies, leave it to the director of The Loved Ones and The Devil’s Candy, Sean Byrne, to give the well-trodden subgenre a welcome shakeup with a potentially game-changing entry. Dangerous Animals features cinema’s favorite ocean predator and terrifying feeding frenzies, but they’re merely the modus operandi of […] The post ‘Dangerous Animals’ Review – A Ferocious Subversion of Shark Horror with an Unforgettable Villain appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

May 18, 2025 - 20:50

‘Dangerous Animals’ Review – A Ferocious Subversion of Shark Horror with an Unforgettable Villain

In an increasingly overcrowded sea of shark horror movies, leave it to the director of The Loved Ones and The Devil’s Candy, Sean Byrne, to give the well-trodden subgenre a welcome shakeup with a potentially game-changing entry. Dangerous Animals features cinema’s favorite ocean predator and terrifying feeding frenzies, but they’re merely the modus operandi of one sadistic and charismatic serial killer. It’s a smart approach that yields no shortage of breathless thrills and nerve-fraying chills in an adrenaline rush of a summer horror film that never sacrifices on character.

Jai Courtney delivers an electric, career-defining performance as Captain Tucker, a disarming and gregarious behemoth of a man who lives in and operates a shark diving tour boat. For Tucker, it’s less about a source of income and more about luring prey for his true passion: feeding his tortured prey to the sharks he attracts with buckets of chum.

Tucker’s murderous tactics are revealed in an effective opening sequence that establishes his chameleon-like personality that masks a stone-cold killer. Like the animals he worships, Tucker never stops moving either; he’s constantly on the hunt for his next victim. That lands the nomadic loner Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) in his crosshairs, just after she’s left her new love interest Moses (Josh Heuston) to catch the early morning surf. Time quickly becomes of the essence as Zephyr is held captive and slated to take part in Tucker’s ritualistic feedings.

Jai Courtney in Sean Byrne’s DANGEROUS ANIMALS. Courtesy of Mark Taylor. An Independent Film Company and Shudder Release

Byrne injects his knack for putting characters first in an already engaging script by Nick Lepard, the screenwriter behind the upcoming horror movie Keeper. So much so that it brings Byrne’s debut, The Loved Ones, to mind for the way it becomes a brutal cat-and-mouse game between a deranged killer and the formidable prey they gleefully torture and underestimate. Zephyr’s introduction is also a strong one, with Harrison ensuring that there’s an endearing vulnerability beneath her steely exterior that signals she was already a seasoned, savvy survivor before getting caught in Tucker’s trap. Two tough characters going toe-to-toe in a high-stakes battle of wits and brute force provides no shortage of nail-biting sequences, and Heuston’s tender-hearted Moses keeps the balance by bringing levity and light. His endless kindness is a balm compared to the cold-blooded Tucker and guarded Zephyr, but the early burgeoning romance also ensures the stakes remain at an all-time high in multiple ways.

Dangeous Animals opts to keep the sharks real, blending in captured footage featuring a variety of species with beautiful underwater photography and embellished digital details that give a sense of lived-in realism. It looks great, matching Byrne’s bid to capture everything in camera as much as possible. But what impresses more is the way the film treats the sharks as the animals they are, not the anthropomorphized and borderline supernatural monsters they tend to be in shark horror. That’s not to say they aren’t capable of ripping people to shreds here, as Byrne makes full use of his brand of visceral horror and gore, or that the film is devoid of underwater attack sequences that’ll pull you into the fetal position. But the sharks come second to the stomach-churning intensity of Tucker’s sick game and the lengths it pushes Zephyr to go – one nasty bit of graphic violence has nothing to do at all with sharks and left me recoiling.

Hassie Harrison and Jai Courtney face off in Dangerous Animals

Hassie Harrison and Jai Courtney in Sean Byrne’s DANGEROUS ANIMALS. Courtesy of Independent Film Company and Shudder. An Independent Film Company and Shudder Release

The propulsive blend of serial killer thrills and aquatic terror makes for a high-stakes thrill ride that leaves you breathless. Dangerous Animals goes for the jugular and never lets go, with Byrne continuing his unparalleled streak for visceral, edge-of-your-seat horror. This is the type of filmmaker who makes his characters earn their survival, if they can, by plunging them into a grim gauntlet of pain and suffering. The ones who make it come away battered and scarred, but never without hope.

Byrne manages to walk right up to the line of nihilism without ever losing a sense of humor or humanity, making for a rewarding, triumphant experience that feels earned. It also features a star-making turn from Hassie Harrison and Jai Courtney’s instantly memorable turn as a villain for the ages, which just seals Byrne’s latest as one of the year’s must-see movies. It all makes for one ferocious subversion of shark horror.

Dangerous Animals made its world premiere at Cannes and releases in theaters on June 6, 2025.

4.5 skulls out of 5

The post ‘Dangerous Animals’ Review – A Ferocious Subversion of Shark Horror with an Unforgettable Villain appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.