Dangerous Animals review – you're gonna need a bigger bait

The more fins change, the more they stay the same. Intentionally or not, Steven Spielberg created the modern Hollywood blockbuster in June 1975 when his stressful creature feature Jaws became a phenomenon. Five decades on and generations of cinemagoers have been conditioned to both fear sharks – the perfect dead-eyed symbol of a voracious horror lurking unseen below the surface – and to anticipate thrilling cinematic entertainment in the summer months.

A 50th anniversary Jaws Ultra-HD 4K Blu-ray is out in July, a three-disc set laden with featurettes and making-of docs in which Spielberg repeatedly explains that making the film was an absolute nightmare because the mechanical shark kept breaking down. But those words of warning have long gone unheeded. 

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Jaws has inspired dozens, if not hundreds, of killer shark movies looking to tap into our primeval fears, from thrifty nerve-shredders like 2003’s Open Water – shot on immersive digital video and co-starring real sharks – to mega-budget spectacles like 2018’s The Meg, in which Jason Statham takes on a gigantic dino-shark. 

Among all these Jaws pseudo-sequels, homages, cash-ins and rip-offs, the Aussie-set thriller Dangerous Animals – which recently debuted at Cannes – manages to carve out its own nasty niche. It does revolve around an uncouth, obsessive boat captain who previously survived a shark encounter and has the jagged white scar tissue to prove it.

But unlike Robert Shaw’s pickled skipper Quint from Jaws, Tucker (Jai Courtney) is not on a revenge mission. He runs cage diving tours off the coast of Queensland, tracking down sharks so tourists can get the thrill of seeing them up close but behind the safety of thick iron bars.

The intimidatingly broad-shouldered Tucker clearly loves his work, rhapsodising about aquatic wildlife with a manic enthusiasm reminiscent of the late Aussie conservationist Steve Irwin. But by the time the opening credits roll we have learned that his love of the natural world does not extend to fellow humans.

Tucker is a serial killer who turns his male victims into impromptu chum while saving women for a more protracted ritual. The Gold Coast, teeming with backpackers and itinerant beach bums, has clearly proven a happy hunting ground.

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Into these dangerous waters drifts fiercely independent surfer Zephyr (Hassie Harrison, who plays capable ranch hand Laramie on cowboy soap Yellowstone). After a romantic encounter with cute young local estate agent Moses (Josh Heuston), Zephyr sneaks out for an early morning surf and is opportunistically snatched by Tucker.

When she regains consciousness, she is chained up in the hold of his rusty tub far from shore alongside fellow abductee Heather (Ella Newton), who – like us – has already witnessed Tucker’s casual brutality. With a literally captive audience, Tucker waxes lyrical about the savagery and hierarchy of the animal kingdom.

He even has a bit of Spielberg in him, positioning a retro camcorder to capture the bloody highlights of what he describes as “the greatest show on Earth” as inquisitive sharks circle his boat. It is an entertaining homecoming for Sydney-born Courtney, who spent the 2010s as the fresh new face in tired-looking franchise entries like A Good Day to Die Hard and Terminator Genisys. As the aggressively matey Tucker there is far more for him to get his gnashers into.

In fact Courtney is such a screen-gobbling presence as Tucker it seems impossible that the willowy Zephyr will be able to stand up to him. But she is tougher than she looks, and their battle of wills on the water ramps up to some pretty wince-inducing extremes. The lovestruck Moses is also keen to track down the free-spirited surfer girl who apparently ghosted him, which keeps audience bleakness at bay by floating the possibility of a last-minute rescue. 

If that quasi-scientific, almost anthropological title suggests a high-minded approach, there is also a smart scattering of wit. Tucker is a predator who hides behind cheesy tour guide banter, and seems to enjoy playing that part. While no one quotes Jaws directly, Zephyr amuses herself by referencing zen surfer classic Point Break and is clearly tickled when the smitten Moses picks up on it.

But the focus is on cranking up tension and trauma. When so many killer shark movies are little more than daft shlock, there is a sleek purposefulness to Dangerous Animals that gives it some genuine menace.

Dangerous Animals is released in cinemas on 6 June.

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