A thrilling presentation of man being the most dangerous animal on earth.
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Shark movies have made a mark for themselves as a popular subgenre with its own cult following. There’s at least one every year and Sean Byrne’s contribution to 2025 is here to make a case for the misunderstood sea creature. Dangerous Animals stars Jai Courtney, Hassie Harrison, Josh Heuston, Rob Carlton, Ella Newton, and Liam Greinke.
What sets Dangerous Animals apart from the shark movies that come after Jaws (1975) is the fact that it redirects the fear from sharks to man, reducing the deep sea predator to a mere tool for greater evil instead.
To our antagonist’s advantage, humans are willingly signing up for cage dives to “swim with the sharks” for the thrill of it, fully trusting the men in control of their adrenaline-fueled adventures and oblivious to the real dangers that await them. That’s where the outlandish boat captain Tucker (Courtney) comes in, preying on these unassuming tourists by kidnapping them and eventually feeding them to the sharks as he videocams their struggles for pleasure. American vagabond Zephyr (Harrison) becomes Tucker’s next victim, with the focus on her survival kicking the film into high gear as they leave for shark-infested open waters.
Harrison makes a believable final girl with her tough and feisty Zephyr but its Courtney's deliciously unhinged performance as the vile antagonist that raises the stakes. He’s even more so terrifying when his disarming personality is considered, leaving us absolutely fearful of trusting strangers ever again. With that, the film tries to restore balance and faith in humanity through Moses (Heuston), another stranger Zephyr encounters just once in her life but a man willing to risk his life to save her.
Dangerous Animals may not be the kind of shark movie fans of the subgenre are expecting but rather a thrilling presentation of man being the most dangerous animal on earth, even if there are kind souls around us. There are two sides to a coin after all.
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