#REVIEW: “DANGEROUS ANIMALS”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong

Making a shark movie is always going to inevitably compared to the greatest shark movie of all time, Jaws. Whether or not if it’s a fair comparison or not. Thankfully though, the only comparisons between Dangerous Animals and Jaws is the fact that there are sharks – and the resemblance ends there. Nick Lepard gets his first credited Screenplay in a big way here, bringing new terrors to the water, and it’s the humans that are arguably the most dangerous in this climate.

The Movie focuses on Bruce (Jai Courtney) who owns a boat which takes tourists and locals on shark diving expeditions, giving them the thrill of a lifetime. However, not everything is as it seems with Bruce, as the audiences and Heather (Ella Newton) find out rather quickly. He’s a serial killer and he enjoys torturing his victims. Fast-forward ahead and we meet Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) as she’s stealing a tub of ice cream from the local convenient store. Moses (Josh Heuston) accosts her for it and finesses a ride home as his car broke down, swears he’s not a serial killer too. One thing leads to another and they hit it off, but she refuses to come into his residence as she doesn’t like leaving the sanctity of her van which is her home, outside of riding the waves. She fleas as he makes breakfast, she hits up the hot spot he told her about, and then unfortunately Bruce sets his eyes on Zephyr and her fight for survival kicks off. Moses is also on the hunt to find her because he believes he has found the one. What follows is an insane game of cat and mouse essentially, where Bruce performs his ritualistic procedure before he feeds his victims to the sharks on the water – the true way he kills keeping his hands mostly clean.

Sean Byrne’s direction in Dangerous Animals along with the wonderfully inventive Script by Lepard is half the reason why it all works so well. They’re both firing on all cylinders and create a chaotic environment that audiences can get behind in Zephyr, while genuinely hating Bruce, which makes the clear distinctions between good and evil without any grey area. Without having a backstory behind Bruce or explanation behind his motivations/actions, we’re left with a bit of a gap but not enough to hinder this experience.

It is the performances from Hassie Harrison and Jai Courtney, the latter delivering a career-best here that makes Dangerous Animals such a bloody good time. Harrison plays someone who is self-sufficient, only to get snatched-up the second she opens-up. Her endless fighter spirit is infectious and you’re consistently rooting for her to win and overtake Bruce. Her performance is that of a final girl through and through and brings so much life and energy to the Film. Courtney is the soul of the Film for how chaotic his performance is – he is doing the best work of his career and delivers a Nic Cage-esque dance sequence that is so unhinged, unfiltered, and the insanity that makes this all so magical. Dangerous Animals is truly a wonderful and hectic adventure filled with so much action, intensity and violence that will leave the audience deeply-satisfied.

Elevation Pictures release DANGEROUS ANIMALS in theatres on Friday, June 6, 2025.