Dangerous Animals Film Review: Instant Classic

Jai Courtney and Hassie Harrison battle nature and each other in Dangerous Animals, a brutal survival thriller where the real predator isn’t underwater.

The setup is pure pulp: Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a tough-as-nails surfer with a murky past, finds herself abducted by Tucker (Jai Courtney, of American Primeval), a smooth-talking shark enthusiast whose interests lean far more psychotic than scientific. He’s got her trapped on his boat, drifting in the open water, and he’s not just toying with her; he’s planning to feed her to the sharks below as part of some sick fetish. 

The film opens with a bang, literally. We meet Greg (Liam Greinke) and Heather (Ella Newton), two tourists prepping for what looks like a blissful day on the water and cage diving. Then enters Tucker, all sun-bleached charm and suspiciously friendly vibes. As the couple finishes their shark cage dive, Tucker coldly stabs Greg in the neck and turns to Heather with a disturbingly chipper “Welcome aboard.” Cue title card. It’s a perfect tone-setter: it’s stylish, brutal, and darkly funny, and it tells us exactly what kind of ride we’re in for.

And that ride never lets up. Jai Courtney – yes, that Jai Courtney – is a revelation here. Often cast as the generic action guy, he finally gets to sink his teeth into something juicy. His Tucker is charming, unhinged, and magnetic in the way the best screen psychos are. You can tell Courtney’s having a blast, and that energy translates to every scene he’s in. He’s not just scary; he’s fun, which makes him even scarier.

But the film belongs to Hassie Harrison. As Zephyr, she delivers her best performance yet, finding grit and flashes of humor in a character that could’ve easily been a thin genre archetype. She makes Zephyr feel lived-in and layered, there’s something painful in her past that slowly surfaces, and Harrison handles it well. By the time she begins to fight back, you’re not just hoping she survives, you’re cheering her on. 

There’s something deliberate about how Dangerous Animals handles its violence. Yes, it’s bloody, and yes, there are some gnarly kills, but it never feels cheap or gratuitous. Every act of violence carries weight, and the real tension comes not from gore, but from the slow, creeping dread of what might happen next. Byrne builds suspense with patience, letting anxiety simmer instead of relying on constant shock, and that restraint makes the payoff all the more effective.

There’s an almost grindhouse flavor to the whole thing, but it’s handled with care. You can feel the film tipping its hat to classics of the genre, there’s a touch of Duel in the cat-and-mouse tension, a splash of Hard Candy in the psychological warfare, and yes, more than a little Jaws in the way it weaponizes the ocean. But it never feels derivative. Instead, it feels like a modern remix: fierce, feminine, and powered by performance.

If there’s one criticism, it’s that the movie might be too streamlined for some. We’re dropped into the chaos quickly, and while it works, you do get the sense that there’s a bigger world behind Zephyr’s story, one we only get glimpses of. But perhaps that’s part of its charm. It knows what it wants to do, and it does it with precision. 

In the end, Dangerous Animals delivers exactly what it promises: a nerve-rattling, blood-soaked thriller with bite. It’s a stylish slice of sun-drenched horror that treats its audience with respect; no filler, no fluff, just pure, pulpy tension. With a killer performance from Jai Courtney and a breakout turn from Hassie Harrison, this is a film that knows how to thrill without selling its soul. The dangerous animals aren’t the sharks circling below, but the people lurking above the surface.

Dangerous Animals will be released in US & Canadian theatres, in UK & Irish cinemas, and globally in theaters on June 6, 2025.