‘DANGEROUS ANIMALS’: Sharks and Serial Killers, Oh My!

As posited by “The Most Dangerous Game”, no species is harder to hunt than man. Despite lacking ripping mandibles, fierce claws, venomous excretions, or even the ability to fight one measly gorilla, humans are formidable thanks to our big brains. And opposable thumbs. In Dangerous Animals, man meat is back on the menu as a psychotic Aussie serial killer—moonlighting as a shark encounter expert off the Gold Coast—lures victims onto his boat only to feed them to sharks, recording the horror for later private viewings. When Bruce Tucker (Jai Courtney) abducts tough-as-nails American expat surfer Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), he finds reeling in a prized fighter fish might be more exhilarating than his usual guppy fare. The question becomes: has he bitten off more than he can chew?

Since this is a Sean Byrne joint—the Australian filmmaker behind the tremendously traumatizing The Loved Ones and The Devil’s Candy, both among the best horror films of the 2010s, albeit with soul-curdling conclusions—the survival of the traditional final girl is anything but assured. Byrne has never shown much interest in playing by the genre’s rules, nor has he displayed sentimentality about preserving the emotional or physical well-being of his lead characters. However, Dangerous Animals wasn’t penned by Byrne himself. He’s been circling the cinematic shallows for the past decade, and this marks his first directorial outing in ten years.

Which makes it all the more curious what drew him to Nick Lepard’s script, especially since it’s the first project he’s directed without also writing it. The result feels a little less feral and mean than his past work, but—like Tucker gleefully filming shark-snuff VHS tapes—Byrne still brings his twisted sensibilities to the director’s chair and makes it his own.

Byrne’s trademark lack of sentimentality though is tempered by Lepard’s script and Harrison’s bruising lead performance. Her backstory, bouncing through foster care and learning to trust no one, makes a chipper ending feel almost mandatory. Still, her flickering flirtation with one-night-stand Moses (Josh Heuston) raises the question: has Byrne softened enough to let a trace of love survive one of his films? How unusual would that be.

But it’s Courtney’s turn as the demented sea captain that really fuels Dangerous Animals’ sick pleasures. His unhinged performance as a shark-wrangling sociopath feels like the role he was born to play. He gnaws on the megalomaniacal psychosis like a great white ripping into seal blubber. Frequently miscast as the hero with a chip on his shoulder, Courtney finally finds his groove as a plumped-up scumbag. The role fits like a bloodstained glove.

Though Dangerous Animals is a step down from the greatness Byrne has shown he’s capable of, it’s still a wickedly fun mash-up of genre staples with flashes of maniacal electricity. Personally, I wouldn’t have minded if it all got even nastier, though some shark-feeding sequences do a fine job of ensuring you won’t be dipping your toes in the Australian ocean anytime soon. Or at the very least, you’ll be telling your friends exactly which captain you booked a shark excursion with before disembarking.