Last night I went to a late screening of Dangerous Animals and it is a very intense mash-up of the survival and serial killer genres. Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) is a free spirited surfer in Australia on the run from a difficult past. She hooks up with Moses (Josh Heuston) after helping him jump-start his car but leaves early the next morning without saying goodbye. She plans to surf that morning but is abducted by Tucker (Jai Courtney), an eccentric boat captain who survived a shark attack as a child, and is taken aboard his boat. She discovers another tourist (Ella Newton) being held captive and is horrified when Tucker lowers her into a group of circling sharks that have been lured to the boat by chum. Tucker films her being devoured by the sharks and adds the VHS tape to a large collection of similar tapes. Meanwhile, Moses attempts to find Zephyr so he can surf with her and becomes alarmed when he sees her van being towed. Zephyr realizes that she will be next and takes extreme measures to escape while Moses continues to try to find her. However, they both have more to fear from Tucker than the sharks. The tension is almost unbearable and I was on the edge of my seat holding my breath every time Zephyr gets away only to be captured once again by Tucker (which happens so many times). The action sequences are very dynamic because Zephyr is forced to use whatever is at hand, including the broken handle of a bucket, a grappling hook, and a harpoon, to fight with and the booming score adds to the frenzy. The underwater cinematography featuring the sharks is equal parts terrifying and mesmerizing. Courtney is incredibly unsettling (I knew immediately that the tourists who hire him for a cage dive were in danger before they even got on the boat) and I think he should play the villain more often while Harrison gives a ferocious performance that is easy to cheer for. This is a lot better than I was expecting and I recommend it as a fun, but grisly, summer movie.
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