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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Back in shark-laden waters, 'Dangerous Animals' is a horror film with tired blood
Sean Byrne knows how to show an audience a bad time. Sixteen years ago, the Australian filmmaker launched onto the scene with 'The Loved Ones,' his proudly grisly debut about a misfit teenager who gets gruesome revenge on the boy who refused to go to prom with her. Part expert torture porn, part exploration of adolescent romantic anxieties, the film was an instant midnight-madness cult item that took Byrne six years to follow up. When he did, he went in a different tonal direction with 'The Devil's Candy,' a surprisingly emotional psychological thriller about a heavy-metal-loving painter who moves his family to a beautifully rustic home, only to lose his mind. Working in recognizable horror subgenres, Byrne entices you with a familiar premise and then slowly teases apart the tropes, leaving you unsettled but also invigorated by his inventiveness. It has now been a decade since that distinctive riff on 'The Shining,' and for Byrne's third feature, he once again pillages from indelible sources. 'Dangerous Animals' draws from both the serial-killer thriller and Hollywood's penchant for survival stories about hungry sharks feasting on human flesh. But unlike in the past, Byrne's new movie never waylays you with a surprise narrative wrinkle or unexpected thematic depth. He hasn't lost his knack for generating bad vibes, but this time he hasn't brought anything else to the party. The movie stars Hassie Harrison as Zephyr, a solitary surfer who explains in on-the-nose dialogue that she prefers the danger of open water to the unhappiness of life on land. An American in Australia who grew up in foster homes and who lives in a beat-up old van, Zephyr encounters Moses (Josh Heuston), a straitlaced nice guy whom she hooks up with. Not that she wants him developing feelings for her: She takes off in the middle of the night so she can catch some waves. Unfortunately, Zephyr is the one who gets caught — by Tucker (Jai Courtney), a deceptively gregarious boat captain who kidnaps her. Next thing she knows, she's chained up inside his vessel out at sea, alongside another female victim, Heather (Ella Newton). Read more: The 27 best movie theaters in Los Angeles Like many a movie serial killer, Tucker isn't just interested in murdering his prey — he wants to make something artistic out of his butchery. And so he ties Heather to a crane and dangles her in the water like a giant lure, pulling out a camcorder to record her final moments as sharks devour her. Watching his victims struggle to stay alive is cinema to this twisted soul and Zephyr will be his next unwitting protagonist. Working from a script by visual artist Nick Lepard, Byrne (who wrote his two previous features) digs into the story's B-movie appeal. Tucker may use old-fashioned technology to record his kills, but 'Dangerous Animals' is set in the present, even if its trashy, drive-in essence would have made it better suited to come out 50 years ago as counterprogramming to "Jaws." With Zephyr's tough-girl demeanor and Tucker's creepy vibe, Byrne knowingly plays into genre clichés, setting up the inevitable showdown between the beauty and the beast. But despite that juicy setup, 'Dangerous Animals' is a disappointingly straightforward and ultimately underwhelming horror movie, offering little of the grim poetry of Byrne's previous work and far too much of the narrative predictability that in the past he astutely sidestepped. There are still subversive ideas — for one thing, this is a shark film with precious few sharks — but Byrne's sneaky smarts have largely abandoned him. Rather than transcending expectations, 'Dangerous Animals' surrenders to them. One can't fault Harrison, whose Zephyr spends much of the movie in a battle of wills with her captor. Because 'Dangerous Animals' limits the amount of sharks we see, digitally inserting footage of the deadly creatures into scenes, the story's central tension comes from Zephyr trying to free herself or get help before Tucker prepares his next nautical snuff film. Harrison projects a ferocious determination that's paired with an intense loathing for this condescending, demented misogynist. It's bad enough that Tucker wants to murder her — beforehand, he wants to bore her with shark trivia, dully advocating for these misunderstood animals. It's an underdeveloped joke: 'Dangerous Animals' is a nightmare about meeting the mansplainer from hell. Alas, Courtney's conception of the film's true dangerous animal is where the story truly runs aground. The actor's handsome, vaguely blank countenance is meant to suggest a burly, hunky everyman — the sort of person you'd never suspect or look twice at, which makes Tucker well-positioned to leave a trail of corpses in his path. But neither Byrne nor Courtney entirely gets their arms around this conventionally unhinged horror villain. 'Dangerous Animals' overly underlines its point that we shouldn't be afraid of sharks — it's the Tuckers who ought to keep us up at night — but Courtney never captures the unfathomable malice beneath the facial scruff. We root for Zephyr to escape Tucker's clutches not because he's evil but because he's a bit of a stiff. Even with those deficiencies, the film boasts a level of craft that keeps the story fleet, with Byrne relying on the dependable tension of a victim trapped at sea with her pursuer, sharks waiting in the waters surrounding her. Michael Yezerski's winkingly emphatic score juices every scare as the gore keeps ratcheting up — particularly during a moment when Zephyr finds an unexpected way to break out of handcuffs. But Byrne can't redeem the script's boneheaded plot twists, nor can he elevate the most potentially intriguing idea at its core. As Tucker peers into his viewfinder, getting off on his victims' screams as sharks sink their jaws into them, 'Dangerous Animals' hints at the fixation horror directors such as Byrne have for presenting us with unspeakable terrors, insisting we love the bloodshed as much as they do. Tucker tries to convince Zephyr that they're not all that different — they're both sharks, you see — but in truth, Byrne may be suggesting an uncomfortable kinship with his serial killer. But instead of provocatively pursuing that unholy bond, the director only finds chum. Sign up for Indie Focus, a weekly newsletter about movies and what's going on in the wild world of cinema. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Back in shark-laden waters, ‘Dangerous Animals' is a horror film with tired blood
Sean Byrne knows how to show an audience a bad time. Sixteen years ago, the Australian filmmaker launched onto the scene with 'The Loved Ones,' his proudly grisly debut about a misfit teenager who gets gruesome revenge on the boy who refused to go to prom with her. Part expert torture porn, part exploration of adolescent romantic anxieties, the film was an instant midnight-madness cult item that took Byrne six years to follow up. When he did, he went in a different tonal direction with 'The Devil's Candy,' a surprisingly emotional psychological thriller about a heavy-metal-loving painter who moves his family to a beautifully rustic home, only to lose his mind. Working in recognizable horror subgenres, Byrne entices you with a familiar premise and then slowly teases apart the tropes, leaving you unsettled but also invigorated by his inventiveness. It has now been a decade since that distinctive riff on 'The Shining,' and for Byrne's third feature, he once again pillages from indelible sources. 'Dangerous Animals' draws from both the serial-killer thriller and Hollywood's penchant for survival stories about hungry sharks feasting on human flesh. But unlike in the past, Byrne's new movie never waylays you with a surprise narrative wrinkle or unexpected thematic depth. He hasn't lost his knack for generating bad vibes, but this time he hasn't brought anything else to the party. The movie stars Hassie Harrison as Zephyr, a solitary surfer who explains in on-the-nose dialogue that she prefers the danger of open water to the unhappiness of life on land. An American in Australia who grew up in foster homes and who lives in a beat-up old van, Zephyr encounters Moses (Josh Heuston), a straitlaced nice guy whom she hooks up with. Not that she wants him developing feelings for her: She takes off in the middle of the night so she can catch some waves. Unfortunately, Zephyr is the one who gets caught — by Tucker (Jai Courtney), a deceptively gregarious boat captain who kidnaps her. Next thing she knows, she's chained up inside his vessel out at sea, alongside another female victim, Heather (Ella Newton). Like many a movie serial killer, Tucker isn't just interested in murdering his prey — he wants to make something artistic out of his butchery. And so he ties Heather to a crane and dangles her in the water like a giant lure, pulling out a camcorder to record her final moments as sharks devour her. Watching his victims struggle to stay alive is cinema to this twisted soul and Zephyr will be his next unwitting protagonist. Working from a script by visual artist Nick Lepard, Byrne (who wrote his two previous features) digs into the story's B-movie appeal. Tucker may use old-fashioned technology to record his kills, but 'Dangerous Animals' is set in the present, even if its trashy, drive-in essence would have made it better suited to come out 50 years ago as counterprogramming to 'Jaws.' With Zephyr's tough-girl demeanor and Tucker's creepy vibe, Byrne knowingly plays into genre clichés, setting up the inevitable showdown between the beauty and the beast. But despite that juicy setup, 'Dangerous Animals' is a disappointingly straightforward and ultimately underwhelming horror movie, offering little of the grim poetry of Byrne's previous work and far too much of the narrative predictability that in the past he astutely sidestepped. There are still subversive ideas — for one thing, this is a shark film with precious few sharks — but Byrne's sneaky smarts have largely abandoned him. Rather than transcending expectations, 'Dangerous Animals' surrenders to them. One can't fault Harrison, whose Zephyr spends much of the movie in a battle of wills with her captor. Because 'Dangerous Animals' limits the amount of sharks we see, digitally inserting footage of the deadly creatures into scenes, the story's central tension comes from Zephyr trying to free herself or get help before Tucker prepares his next nautical snuff film. Harrison projects a ferocious determination that's paired with an intense loathing for this condescending, demented misogynist. It's bad enough that Tucker wants to murder her — beforehand, he wants to bore her with shark trivia, dully advocating for these misunderstood animals. It's an underdeveloped joke: 'Dangerous Animals' is a nightmare about meeting the mansplainer from hell. Alas, Courtney's conception of the film's true dangerous animal is where the story truly runs aground. The actor's handsome, vaguely blank countenance is meant to suggest a burly, hunky everyman — the sort of person you'd never suspect or look twice at, which makes Tucker well-positioned to leave a trail of corpses in his path. But neither Byrne nor Courtney entirely gets their arms around this conventionally unhinged horror villain. 'Dangerous Animals' overly underlines its point that we shouldn't be afraid of sharks — it's the Tuckers who ought to keep us up at night — but Courtney never captures the unfathomable malice beneath the facial scruff. We root for Zephyr to escape Tucker's clutches not because he's evil but because he's a bit of a stiff. Even with those deficiencies, the film boasts a level of craft that keeps the story fleet, with Byrne relying on the dependable tension of a victim trapped at sea with her pursuer, sharks waiting in the waters surrounding her. Michael Yezerski's winkingly emphatic score juices every scare as the gore keeps ratcheting up — particularly during a moment when Zephyr finds an unexpected way to break out of handcuffs. But Byrne can't redeem the script's boneheaded plot twists, nor can he elevate the most potentially intriguing idea at its core. As Tucker peers into his viewfinder, getting off on his victims' screams as sharks sink their jaws into them, 'Dangerous Animals' hints at the fixation horror directors such as Byrne have for presenting us with unspeakable terrors, insisting we love the bloodshed as much as they do. Tucker tries to convince Zephyr that they're not all that different — they're both sharks, you see — but in truth, Byrne may be suggesting an uncomfortable kinship with his serial killer. But instead of provocatively pursuing that unholy bond, the director only finds chum.
Metro
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
13 of the best and most blood-curdling shark movies streaming right now
Razor-sharp teeth, pointed fins, and a powerful, muscular body – sharks are predators not to be trifled with. Their unique appearance and dominance of the ocean have led to them becoming the subject of numerous films, often blood-soaked horrors and heart-racing thrillers. The latest to make a splash is Dangerous Animals, directed by The Loved Ones and The Devil's Candy creator Sean Byrne. He puts a spin on the subgenre, introducing genre fans to charismatic villain Tucker (Jai Courtney), a serial killer who uses sharks as his weapon of choice. His latest potential victim is Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), whom Tucker kidnaps and imprisons on his boat – but she won't go down without a fight. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. It currently sits at an 89% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics dubbing the film 'outlandish', 'distinctly unique', and a 'high-stakes thrill ride' ahead of its release on June 6. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video From Bruce the Shark to The Meg, popular culture has embraced the elasmobranch with cinema immortalising their troubled relationship with humans over the decades – and possibly being the root cause of it. Perfect for the summer months as we head to the beach, these shark flicks will have you running from the waters. Where to watch: Netflix After witnessing a horrific shark attack, Duncan Kennedy created Deep Blue Sea, released in 1999. Starring Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, and LL Cool J, it tells the story of Dr Susan McAlester (Burrows) while she harvests the brain tissue of DNA-altered sharks in a bid to cure Alzheimer's disease. When the facility's backers send executive Russell Franklin for a routine check on the experiments, a procedure goes awry and a shark begins attacking its human captors. It's hardly Oscar bait, but it's perfect for B movie lovers who want to see a shark tear through the ocean – and humans – in typical vicious fashion, as are its two straight-to-video sequels. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Where to watch: NOW TV and Sky For many, it is a dream to swim with sharks in their natural habitat and witness the powerful sea creatures up close. But for two sisters, it becomes an absolute nightmare in Johannes Roberts' horror film 47 Meters Down. Kate (Claire Holt) and Lisa (Mandy Moore) travel to Mexico for a vacation, where they decide to go diving in shark-infested waters. Their thrill-seeking trip soon goes awry when their cage breaks away from their boat and plummets to the ocean floor. Upon its release in 2017, the film was a commercial hit, grossing $62.6 million worldwide against a budget of about $5 million, leading to a sequel being released in 2019. Where to watch: Available to rent via Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store What if Jaws met Goodfellas? That seems to be the bizarre question posed by the 2004 animated film Shark Tale. Set under the sea, the film tells the story of an underachieving fish Oscar (Will Smith), who has grand aspirations. He is propelled to stardom among his fellow ocean dwellers when he claims to have killed mob-connected great white shark Frankie (Michael Imperioli). He concocts the tale alongside Frankie's peace-loving brother Lenny (Jack Black), but the 'sharkslayer' and his friend soon find themselves in deep water when Frankie's father, mob boss Don Lino (Robert De Niro), sends his henchmen to track down Frankie's killer. The film really has everything – horror, action, crime, romance with Angelina Jolie as a seductive fish – and it was even nominated at the 77th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. Where to watch: Netflix One of the most feared sharks in the ocean is the shortfin mako shark, thanks in part to its terrifying teeth and its status as the world's fastest shark. And Egyptian action horror Mako focuses on the deep-sea predator, directed by Mohamed Hisham Al Rashidi. Based on true events, the film sees eight divers trapped beneath the surface of the Red Sea, surrounded by ravenous sharks after visiting a sunken passenger ship to make a documentary. Mako is less about the sharks and more about the personal drama between the divers that threatens their survival, but that's not to say there's not plenty of shark footage that shows why the film comes with a gore warning. Where to watch: Plex Yes, you are looking at that image correctly. That is hundreds of sharks being hurtled through the air via a tornado. And we never would have had such beautiful images burned into our brains if it weren't for the release of Sharknado in 2013. How did a sharknado come to be? When shark fin smuggler Captain Carlos Santiago (Israel Sáez de Miguel) is caught in a hurricane during a deal and his sharks are swept up in the madness, a group of friends are tasked to stop the chaos in Santa Monica. Of course. The film is so bad, it's actually great. So much so, there are six Sharknado films now, with Kate Garraway even making a cameo appearance in number five. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Where to watch: NOW TV Once upon a time, there was a prehistoric creature called a megalodon – essentially a gigantic shark thought to be around 15 to 18 metres in length. If they were alive today, they would surely dominate the ocean. Especially if the events of The Meg are anything to go by. Starring Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, and Li Bingbing, the scientists in the film must stop a crazed megalodon from attacking people on the beach, preferably without getting eaten by it themselves. Grossing over $530 million worldwide, a sequel, Meg 2: The Trench, was released in 2023. Where to watch: Shudder via Prime Video What's more terrifying than being stuck in a capsized boat in the middle of the ocean? Experiencing that while also being hunted by a Great White shark, of course. Released in 2010, The Reef follows a group of friends during a fun-filled break in Indonesia, on which they decide to go sailing. Big mistake, as it turns out, with their boat capsizing and the vicious predators hunting them down as they attempt to swim to a nearby island. It's a blood-pumping thrill ride from start to finish, and becomes increasingly tense as the stakes become higher and higher and the group is hit by problem after problem. Once you're done with The Reef, you can also watch its spiritual sequel, The Reef: Stalked, which has a very similar premise to its predecessor. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Where to watch: Netflix Under Paris caused a storm among viewers when it hit Netflix in 2024, being dubbed 'unbelievably good.' Directed by Frontier(s) and Mayhem! creator Xavier Gens, Under Paris follows grieving scientist Sophia (Bérénice Bejo), who is forced to face her tragic past so she can save Paris from an international bloodbath after a giant shark appears in the Seine. Shortly after it was released, it became one of the most-watched films ever on the streaming giant. And what's more, it was confirmed last year that a sequel is underway, possibly following the events of the first film or maybe a brand new plot with sharks escaping into a different waterway. Where to watch: Netflix Though she may best be known for her rom-com roles, Blake Lively delivers a powerhouse performance as leading lady Nancy in the 2016 shark flick The Shallows. Following the loss of her mother, medical student Nancy travels to a secluded beach for a much-needed break and to catch some waves. While surfing alone, she is attacked by a shark, forcing her to swim to a rock for safety. Lively's captivating performance really makes the film as nail-biting as it is, as Nancy is forced to fight for her life 200 yards from shore. Where to watch: StudioCanal Presents via Prime Video Remember the influx of 3D films in the 00s and 2010s? Yep, we also had a 3D shark film among them. Directed by Kimble Rendall, Bait 3D sees a freak tsunami hit Australia, submerging much of the city of Coolangatta underwater. The film follows supermarket worker Josh (Xavier Samuel) and a group of people in his workplace who become trapped when water floods the store, but that's not all. The oceans of Australia are notoriously home to several types of sharks, and with the tsunami, they've been swept onto land with a whole new hunting group to explore. The effects have aged painfully, but Bait 3D is still a fun cat-and-mouse thriller with buckets of blood. Where to watch: ITVX Open Water is a hair-raising shark thriller, and even more terrifying, it's based on a true story. It was written and directed by husband-wife team Chris Kentis and Laura La, both avid scuba divers, and cost just $130,000 (£95,983) to make. The 2003 film follows couple Daniel Kintner (Daniel Travis) and Susan Watkins (Blanchard Ryan), who take a scuba-diving trip together in a bid to reconnect. They join a group scuba dive, separating from the group while underwater, which proves to be a devastating mistake. The rest of the group returns to the boat, and when the headcount is done wrong, they leave believing everyone is back on board, leaving Daniel and Susan stranded in the water. Open Water is loosely based on the story of Tom and Eileen Lonergan who, in 1998, went out with a scuba driving group on the Great Barrier Reef and were accidentally left behind by the dive-boat crew due to an inaccurate headcount. Where to watch: Prime Video and Plex The great majority of shark films seem to be about the Great White, and this 2021 offering even named itself after the apex predator. Great White stars Katrina Bowden, Aaron Jakubenko, and Tim Kano as they're plunged into a nightmare when a seaplane becomes stranded at sea. As the title suggests, they're not alone, as the surviving passengers discover two Great Whites are circling their life raft. It may not reinvent the wheel when it comes to shark survival horror, but there are some pretty strong performances and nail-biting situations the group must overcome, as well as some bombshell revelations along the way. Where to watch: Available to rent via Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Sky Store When you think of shark films, Steven Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster Jaws is sure to be the first you think of. More Trending His Oscar-winning thriller, which served as his mainstream breakthrough, tells the story of a man-eating great white shark that attacks a US seaside town, which prompted a rise in sports fishing across America. Jaws starred Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss, boasted an iconic theme from composer John Williams, and also delivered stone-cold classic movie one-liners like 'We're gonna need a bigger boat'. The film revolutionised the notion of the summer blockbuster, winning numerous awards and quickly becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, spawning three sequels. In 2001, the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Post-apocalyptic thriller's season 2 finale is hailed 'perfect' by crushed fans MORE: Viewers have unsettling Final Destination experience after life imitates art in cinema MORE: British woman attacked by a shark on holiday saw her ring finger hanging off
