‘Dangerous Animals’ is Fun Summer Horror
Special thanks to Shudder and Braden for the screener!
I feel like usually movie releases don’t match the time it’s released theatrically, if that makes sense. I thought Clown in a Cornfield, which came out back in May, was a lot of fun and the perfect movie to get you into that fall/Halloween mood. The Bear on Hulu nails the feeling of a cold, gray day in Chicago, yet that show’s been traditionally released in June.
Dangerous Animals gets extra points for releasing at a perfect time. A slasher thriller involving killer sharks in open water? If this came out in like, the winter, I would’ve been pissed. It helps that this is a fun time with an interesting premise and a really fun performance.
The film centers on Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a loner surfer who would’ve fit perfectly into Bodhi’s posse from Point Break (she even quotes the movie at one point). After ditching the obligatory love interest, she quickly gets abducted by Tucker (a wonderfully crazy Jai Courtney), a serial killer who also happens to be obsessed with sharks. It’s a race against time as Zephyr tries to escape before Tucker uses her as shark chum.
It’s a simple description, but it’s fitting for a remarkably straight forward movie. At a brisk 93 minutes (a runtime I feel like we never see anymore), this movie wastes no time and gives you exactly what you’re here for. There is a little setting the stage and getting to know our two main characters, Zephyr and Tucker, but it’s not long before you’re thrown into the main ride.
Thankfully the ride is really fun. There’s not much that’s new here, but there’s still some great tension and bloody moments. That’s largely in part to the movie mostly revolving around Zephyr being stuck on a boat that also happens to be surrounded by hungry sharks. Being trapped by two types of killers is a fun twist that really adds some new flavor to the shark genre, which is my biggest praise for the movie.
What really helps here too is the performances, mainly Jai Courtney as Tucker. We overuse the word “unhinged” nowadays, but that is the only way to describe the wonderfully crazy Tucker. He’s like if Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs and Quint from Jaws had an Australian baby. You can tell Courtney had a ton of fun playing this character, and we are definitely having a lot of fun watching him. He blends scary, intimidating, and darkly funny (great dance scene in his underwear) so well, to the point where I hope he tackles more horror. Hassie Harrison, while more straight forward, is also great. For playing a character that’s very withdrawn and hard-edged, she manages to still make you feel for her character, even before she gets to show moments of vulnerability. She also has those small fist-pump moments too, including a verbal beatdown and a surprising “whoa what the fuck!” bit.
There is still a little bit of bloat. The side stuff with the love interest, while quick, didn’t really do a whole lot for me. The score is also a little too much for me personally, and I wish it was a little more subdued. But these are small gripes.
Honestly this review can come down to this: if the description of the movie sounds like your kind of thing, then you’re going to have fun with this. It’s not doing anything original here, but you can kind of tell it doesn’t care to, which isn’t a bad thing. It just wants to give you what you’re looking for in a breezy fun package, and to that extent, Dangerous Animals succeeds. It manages to give you a little extra with its fun hook and even more fun performance from Jai Courtney, making it a perfect little late night summer horror movie to watch with friends.
