Bloody fun w/sharks & serial killer

The killing machines of sharks and a serial murderer mix for Dangerous Animals, an upscale piece featuring the trashy alure of blood, guts, and bad dining habits. Director Sean Byrne works with a budget big enough to get credible performers including Jai Courtney and Hassie Harrison as predator and prey. Courtney, experienced from work in such franchises as Die Hard, Terminator, Divergent, and Suicide Squad, uses his muscular build to good effect, shifting between charm and threat, with bizarreness in between. This includes dancing in his underwear for one scene and in another forcing a group sing of “Baby Shark”—which for some might be the movie’s scariest scene; just try to forget the mind worm song even after end credits roll.  As intended victim, Harrison stands up well, showing toughness similar to her previous Yellowstone rodeo athleticism. She plays a surfer in Dangerous Animals, but water skills provide no help around Courtney’s twisted killer, who gets his thrills by lowering victims into chummed water full of sharks. Using the real thing heightens the film’s effectiveness, looking better than the many shark movies featuring CGI. Underwater cinematography and striking locations around Surfers Paradise on Australia’s Gold Coast add to watchability—though even at barely 90 minutes, Nick Lepard’s screenplay feels longer than necessary when focusing on trapped women waiting to die. Part of this horror makes the point that people rather than

sharks rate as the most dangerous animals of all, not quite an eco-friendly message but one with some resonance.