Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Sean Byrne
Starring: Hassie Harrison, Jai Courtney, Josh Heuston, Ella Newton
Shark movies are released at an almost weekly rate, so much so that they're
all beginning to blur into one another; there's just too much blood in these
overcrowded waters. How does a filmmaker make their shark movie stand out at
this point? Well, Aussie director Sean Byrne (The Devil's Candy) has
freshened up the shark movie by combining it with another sub-genre, the
"psycho on a boat" thriller (think Knife in the Water and Dead Calm). In Jai
Courtney's Tucker it boasts an antagonist who feeds his victims to sharks
like a low-rent Bond villain.
A recent viral social media trend asked women if they would rather be alone
in the woods with a man or a bear (most chose the bear). Dangerous Animals
puts its heroine, American surfer Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), in the
unenviable position of having to choose between man or shark, or rather
sharks, as the movie is set in the waters of Australia's Gold Coast, one of
the world's most shark-infested territories.
A prologue details how Tucker lures most of his victims out to sea, using
his "swimming with sharks" tour guide service as bait to lure unsuspecting tourists into his
distinctive trap. Any men are dispatched with quickly; it's the women Tucker
is interested in. Tucker's unfortunate female captives are hoisted over the
water on a winch before being lowered as a sacrifice to the sharks
below, all captured by Tucker's VHS camera.
Zephyr proves a tougher opponent, with Tucker comparing her to a Marlin, a
fisherman's favourite due to the fight it puts up. The young woman displays
final girl resourcefulness by using a bra wire to pick the lock on her
handcuffs, but ultimately she's trapped between a human psycho and the
sea's greatest predators. Zephyr's best hope of salvation is Moses (Josh Heuston), the young
man she enjoyed a one night stand with before bailing when her feelings
began to scare her (Byrne cleverly shows Zephyr deleting an enthusiastic
text response and replacing it with one that's more standoffish). Ironically, Moses'
stalker-ish behaviour might mark him as the villain in another thriller,
but his determination to see Zephyr again represents her best chance to make
it back to land.
Byrne adds a distinctive Ozploitation gnarliness to the proceedings, which
makes his film stand out from the average shark thriller. He also
steadfastly avoids the modern animal attacks movie's reliance on CG, wisely
keeping his sharks in the distance or shrouded by night time waters. The
violence is shocking, messy and grisly. Byrne's directing chops see him
place his camera in just the right place in his cramped setting.
It's Courtney's career-best performance that really sells the film's
premise. Once considered a prime example of a bland hunk, the Aussie actor
has recently begun to find a second life by leaning into his imposing
physicality. He was recently intimidating as the unstable husband of Erin
Moriarty in Catching Dust, and he uses his massive frame to great effect
here. Add his bogan drawl and you have the most notably Aussie villain since
John Jarratt in Wolf Creek. Harrison has a feisty quality that recalls a
young Jennifer Lawrence, but Courtney's sheer bulk puts us in no doubt that
Zephyr is going to have to rely on her wits to take him down. In the man or sharks
debate, most viewers will fancy their chances with the latter rather than grappling with Courtney's psychotic Popeye.
Dangerous Animals is in US/UK/ROI
cinemas from June 6th.
