Films for Breakfast

Shark-horror movies may be a dime a dozen these days, but it feels like it’s been a while since we’ve had a truly memorable one hit theaters. The 47 Meters Down films didn’t leave much of an impression, and The Shallows, while solid, is already nine years old! Enter Australian filmmaker Sean Byrne, known for his twisted horror flicks The Devil’s Candy and The Loved Ones, who looks poised to breathe new life into the subgenre with his latest film – Dangerous Animals. The film follows Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a free-spirited and mysterious surfer who is abducted by Tucker (Jai Courtney), a serial killer with a passion for sharks. With Zephyr held captive aboard Tucker’s boat in shark-infested waters, the clock is ticking to find a way off before he feeds her to the sharks below.

There’s a real art to crafting a tight, entertaining 90-minute movie – one that moves with purpose and wastes no time to get to the goods. Dangerous Animals fits that mold perfectly. From the start, it’s clear that this is a film with a strong sense of identity; it knows exactly what it wants to be and leans fully into the lurid, pulpy charm of its serial killer/shark hybrid concept. More importantly, it understands its audience, those looking for blood, tension, and a bit of unhinged fun – and delivers all of that in spades. Director Sean Byrne doesn’t flinch when it comes to the gore or the disturbing imagery; rather than using them for just cheap thrills (which he also has fun with), he weaves them into the film’s twisted tone and explores deeper themes of cruelty, obsession, and the fine line between predator and prey. It’s bold, bloody, and far smarter than it initially lets on.

Hassie Harrison makes for a reliably entertaining and endearing lead as Zephyr. While the character is written in fairly broad strokes, Harrison’s charm and commitment to the role make you genuinely root for her survival right up to the final moments. That said, the real standout of Dangerous Animals is undoubtedly Jai Courtney as Tucker, the deranged serial killer with a twisted obsession with sharks and voyeurism. Courtney delivers a wild, unhinged performance unlike anything we’ve seen from him before – equal parts menacing, bizarre, and strangely captivating. He effortlessly shifts from terrifying to darkly amusing, commanding the screen with a magnetic energy that elevates the entire film and leaves a lasting impression.

Byrne’s direction is sharp and efficient, keeping the film moving at a brisk pace without sacrificing atmosphere or tension. He knows exactly when to lean into the blood-soaked terror of shark-infested waters and when to pull back, letting the unease simmer in quieter, more intimate moments. What truly sets Dangerous Animals apart, though, is how Byrne handles the human threat. The cat-and-mouse game between Jai Courtney’s Tucker and Hassie Harrison’s Zephyr becomes the film’s real engine, gradually overtaking the shark elements in terms of suspense. It’s this balance between creature-feature thrills and character-driven tension that makes the film feel so taut and satisfying.

There aren’t many glaring weaknesses in Dangerous Animals, per se; and truthfully, there’s very little I’d change about it. Are the shark visuals always convincing? Not really. Could the lead characters have been written with a bit more complexity or originality? Sure, there’s room for that. But these minor issues feel more like stylistic byproducts than actual missteps. Dangerous Animals isn’t trying to reinvent the genre or reach for prestige horror status – it’s aiming squarely at that sweet spot of B-movie thrills: fun, fast-paced, and unapologetically pulpy with just enough under the surface to chew on. And in that regard, it absolutely delivers. The rougher edges, if anything, add to its charm, giving it the kind of scrappy energy that makes it all the more enjoyable. It’s a film that knows its lane and drives full throttle within it.