‘Dangerous Animals’ Delivers Superb Genre Thrills: A Review
Sharks, captivity, and murder make Dangerous Animals a smart and satisfying blending of genres.
Table of Contents
What is Dangerous Animals About?
Dangerous Animals is a serial-killer thriller about a woman abducted for the purpose of feeding her to a shark.
Zephyr lives out of her van while drifting from beach to beach in Australia. She’s a surfer, a survivor, and a loner. One day (and night) she makes a connection with a handsome stranger named Moses, but their romance is short-lived when Zephyr is abducted by Tucker. Tucker is a serial killer with an obsessive compulsion to record the last moments of his victims as he feeds them to sharks. Moses hunts for Zephyr while she tries to escape on her own, but Zephyr’s time before being used as shark bait is rapidly running out.
Dangerous Animals was directed by Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones, The Devil’s Candy), based on a script by Nick Lepard. Hassie Harrison (Yellowstone) stars as Zephyr, Josh Heuston (Dune: Procphecy) is Moses, and Tucker is played with infectious enthusiasm by Jai Courtney (Suicide Squad, A Good Day to Die Hard).
Dangerous Animals Review
Dangerous Animals is excellent! It’s an incredibly fun movie that begins in a brutal fashion and keeps the pace and thrills high throughout the rest of its run time.
The story is lean in a way that allows the plot to carry the film through action and suspense. Tucker has a simple backstory that is explained in just a few lines of dialogue, and Zephyr’s background is similarly succinct. Their characters are fleshed out through their physical and psychological battles against each other, and by how differently they react to the challenges they face. It’s a smart way to keep the focus on the most exciting parts of the movie, which involve murder, sharks, and attempting to escape captivity.
Some outlets have described Dangerous Animals as a slasher movie, but it isn’t. It’s better described as a captivity film. Even though Tucker is a serial killer with many previous victims and could be the villain in a slasher flick, Dangerous Animals does not follow any kind of slasher formula. The body count we actually see is extremely low, and it is not the focus of the plot. Rather, Tucker is more like Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs than he’s like any slasher villain. Not the skin suit part of Buffalo Bill’s character, but definitely the obsession, the kidnapping, and the choice of victims. Plus, the dance Tucker does partway through Dangerous Animals (you can see part of it in the trailer) must be inspired by Buffalo Bill.
Speaking of Tucker, Jai Courtney is fantastic in the role. He’s charming in an annoying, too-friendly way. He’s also such a know-it-all that his words start to irritate, but it’s nice listening to him because his delivery is so smooth and confident. Tucker has his murder routine perfected, but the confidence that generates becomes a weakness when faced with someone as relentless as Zephyr. They’re amazing foils for each other, which is something that Tucker himself picks up on in the movie. It’s all very well written and performed.
Similar to Jai Courtney and Tucker, Hassie Harrison plays Zephyr with the exact right balance of toughness and vulnerability. Zephyr begins somewhat closed off emotionally, but we see by her encounter with Moses early in the film that there are layers within her character just waiting to be revealed. Then when Tucker abducts her (also early in the movie), what begins as outward defiance becomes a more nuanced strategy of outsmarting her captor. Hassie Harrison plays it all perfectly, keeping the audience invested in her potential escape every step along the way.
As for the plot, it finds an exciting balance of quick, brutal moments and longer scenes of intense suspense. Tucker can be an unpredictable villain, especially when he’s backed into a corner. This leads to some surprising brutality in a few standout moments. However, much of Zephyr’s situation involves a more gradual building of tension as she formulates escape plans and tries to execute them. These tend to lead to the most harrowing moments since Zephyr’s strength and resilience keep us sympathetic towards her and her survival, but Tucker’s cold assurance in his abilities turns out to be well founded. The dynamic is wonderful.
Dangerous Animals Rating and Recommendation
Star Rating: 4 out of 5
Dangerous Animals is a plot-driven movie filled with interesting characters, suspenseful sequences, and enough surprising and brutal moments to keep viewers unsure about what to expect next. It’s not a shark movie per se, nor is it a slasher, despite the fact that it contains good shark-attack action and a serial killer. So, don’t expect to see a formulaic portrayal of those genres, since the main focus is on Zephyr’s abduction, survival, and attempted escapes. But, do expect a nice blending of all of those genres mentioned. Dangerous Animals is a genre movie for genre fans.
Dangerous Animals released in North American Theaters on June 6, 2025.
Further Reading
- The Surfer is Deeper Than You Might Think: A Review
- A Breed Apart is a Lazy, AI Filled Disaster: A Review
- Fear Street: Prom Queen is a Solidly Entertaining Slasher that Doesn’t Stray Far from Conventionality: A Review
- Scary Shark Attack Movies
- Beach Horror Movies
- New/Upcoming Horror Movies
- Best and Worst Horror Movies of 2025
