Dangerous Animals: Movie Review
Cast: Jai Courtney, Hassie Harrison, Josh Heuston
Director: Sean Byrne
An unashamed B-movie that knows exactly what it wants to do and does it with a degree of glee, The Loved Ones' director Sean Byrne's latest is all about twisting the norm.
A swaggering Courtney plays Tucker, the owner of a swim with sharks boat who hides a deadly secret. However, when Harrison's surfer drifter Zephyr crosses his path, she's suddenly in a fight for survival.
Courtney's rarely been better, mixing charisma with menace in the opening scenes with equal aplomb. It helps that he's clearly decided to throw caution to the wind and embrace everything that's asked of him - from espousing speeches that drip with sarcasm to dancing around in underpants and kimono, he burns up the screen, keeping things on just the right side of what's needed.
But it's not just his film - Harrison's Zephyr is a "final girl" who does more than what's needed for her arc, where she goes from having nothing to live for to someone fighting for survival. The script keeps things on the right side of grounded as well, and while there are a few moments where there are lulls given the fact it's a four hander film, there's much to keep audiences invested.
There are also some beautifully shot sequences of sharks as well - Byrne's clearly got an eye for what works in the water. And while the peril's largely on the boat, this film's barely at sea at all - it does exactly what it needs to do and does it with its eye squarely on the prize.
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