By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
"Dangerous Animals" is a ridiculously thrilling survival horror film from director
Sean Byrne ("The Devil's Candy") and screenwriter
Nick Lepard ("Keeper").
Listen, you couldn't get me to go shark cage diving for all the money in the world. I get woozy just seeing sharks up close at Monterey Bay Aquarium. Yet, I know people who have taken the plunge, and they swear it's the greatest thrill ever.
Well, in "Dangerous Animals" which takes place on Australia's Gold Coast, that so-called thrill turns into a waking nightmare.
It begins with the eccentric Bruce Tucker (an excellent Jai Courtney, TV's "American Primeval"), who runs a shady business called Tucker's Experience. From his creaky fishing boat, he ferries thrill-seeking tourists out on shark cage diving expeditions, promising close encounters with great whites and bull sharks.
But the real predator isn't in the water, it's Tucker himself. Beneath his laid-back charm lies a twisted killer. With help from Dave (Rob Carlton, TV's "The White Lotus"), an unwitting sailor and Tucker's accomplice who refers guests his way, Tucker traps, drugs, and tortures these victims before feeding them--slowly and horrifically--to the sharks. All the while, Tucker documents the carnage for his own sick pleasure.
The first people we meet are Heather (Ella Newton, "Girl at the Window") and Greg (Liam Greinke, "Carmen and Bolude"). Greg and Heather are excited about their adventure. At least Greg is.
Heather, however, starts to panic and has second thoughts about the dive. It takes Greg and Tucker's coaxing to convince her to go through with it. But as soon as they complete the dive and get back on the boat, Tucker stabs Greg, pushes him into the water, and watches as the sharks devour him. Then he drags Heather to a cramped room and handcuffs her to bed.
This is a routine Tucker knows all too well, until he crosses paths with Zephyr (Hassie Harrison, TV's "Yellowstone"). She is a spirited, young surfer and drifter with a troubled past who lives in her van.
Before being kidnapped, Zephyr had a brief but meaningful encounter with a guy she met at convenience store named Moses Markley (Josh Heuston, "Dune: Prophecy").
When Zephyr wakes up from being drugged, she is in the same room as Heather. Terrified but determined, Zephyr tries everything imaginable to escape from this maniac. Just when all hope seems lost and with an assist from Moses, Zephyr flips the script on Tucker and suddenly the hunter gets captured by the game.
"Dangerous Animals" isn't your average shark movie. It's a ruthless, gut-wrenching descent into fear and madness. Darker and more personal, it drips with a savage psychological terror that cuts deeper than any shark's bite. Plus, it's one more very good reason to avoid cage diving altogether.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Look At This Trailer For
"DANGEROUS ANIMALS"
Lana K. Wilson-Combs is a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA), The American Film Institute (AFI), and a Nominating Committee Voting Member for the NAACP Image Awards.
