Dangerous Animals Review

“Tell me that ain’t the greatest show on Earth.” – Tucker

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that last week Steve and I attended a Secret Screaming show at the multiplex. For those not in the know, Cineworld run evenings where we know we’re going to see a preview screening of an upcoming horror movie. We just don’t know which one.

So, last week, we had convinced ourselves we were going to see Clown in a Cornfield, but we saw the crushingly disappointing exorcism movie The Ritual. The full details of that debacle are here. Unperturbed, we booked tickets for another Secret Screaming this week. I mean, come ON – it HAS to be Clown in a Cornfield – right? RIGHT? Surely if I even wore a t-shirt bearing the image of an evil clown, the movie gods would smile upon my accursed soul and show me what I was hoping for.

Well, this is a good news and bad news scenario. The bad is that the movie wasn’t Clown in the Cornfield. The good is that it was Dangerous Animals, a film whose trailer had piqued our curiosity a couple of weeks ago and we had agreed that it was added to our watch list. The trailer had showed us just enough, but not too much. In any event, as soon as we saw the title, we were happy. The trailer had showed us just enough, but not too much. In any event, as soon as we saw the title, we were happy and settled down for an entertaining evening because at its heart, this is sort of a shark movie – and who doesn’t enjoy a shark movie? In fact – reading online, a critic has called this the greatest shark movie since Jaws. Now, I wouldn’t necessarily go THAT far, because those are some pretty hefty words – besides, as far as I’m concerned, there’s a movie called The Shallows (2016) that occupies that particular space in my heart. (If you haven’t seen it, check out this trailer and take your first opportunity to see it. You can thank me later.)

Dangerous Animals is an American/Australian co-production that fuses the shark movie with the serial killer genre. And it does this very successfully in a taut, suspenseful thriller that winds up the tension levels without stooping to jump scares. Also, and I can’t stress this enough, it’s beautifully photographed. Not only the underwater photography, but the soaring arial shots that reinforce how utterly alone a boat on the ocean can be. In other words, how ideal for a serial killer to cover his tracks.

Tucker (Jai Courtney) is seemingly a rough and tumble, easy going kind of guy. He makes his living on his boat, offering the “Tucker Experience” to tourists. The experience is a day out on the ocean, donning diving gear and being lowered in a shark cage to have a close-up look at them in their natural environment. Sounds innocent enough – until you let slip that nobody else knows where you’ve gone for a day out.

Tucker is a serial killer. He’s been doing this for a very long time. He has his method.

Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) is an American surfer, free spirited and independent who accidentally comes to Tucker’s attention and finds herself, along with an earlier abductee Heather (Ella Newton) a prisoner aboard Tucker’s boat. His intention is to feed them to the sharks he’s obsessed with – and to film it on VHS, adding the tape and a lock of the victim’s hair to his trophy case.

That’s the basis of the plot, and literally no more than you’d get from the trailer so I really haven’t given any spoilers.

Speaking of spoilers – I can’t help but give this one a spoiler zone because there’s one plot point I really want to get off my chest and it IS kind of a spoiler. It’s made the difference in the final rating of the movie because it bothered me. But I won’t be going into that until after the rating, so you can avoid the spoiler if you so wish.

Ultimately though, I had a great time watching this even though it wasn’t Clown in a Cornfield. (The quest for that film continues – but will conclude next week as we’ve booked tickets to see it upon its release. Let’s hope it lives up to the hype I’ve given it in my head.)

Rob Rating = 7

On to the Spoiler Zone – you probably know how this works by now, I’ll count down from ten, so if you don’t want to read the spoilery content that may give away a plot point look away. Stop reading. Go and watch the movie and come back after you’ve seen it. Fair warning given, okay?

Here we go.

This is your last warning.

You’re in The Spoiler Zone!

Okay, there’s nobody here that doesn’t want to be?

Good.

So, Zephyr survives being lowered into shark infested waters and being face to face with what appears to be a Great White in kind of a spiritual moment, by keeping perfectly still. I get that. What happens next is what gets me. She swims back to the boat and stealthily climbs on board. From the water. Without there being a ladder for her to climb.

Yeah, that’s NEVER gonna happen.

There was a whole movie produced about some idiots who dive into the water without making sure there was a ladder to help them get back on board. The side of the boat was too slippery, and there were no hand or foot holds. Check out Open Water 2: Adrift