'Jaws' Meets 'Silence of the Lambs' in This Bonkers Shark Thriller

At least once a summer, moviegoers are graced with a bona fide shark flick on the big screen. (That's not counting Shark Week , or the multitude of Sharknado films and their ilk, which populate TV screens.) In recent years, we've seen Blake Lively and a seagull fend off a feisty shark from a buoy in The Shallows (2016) and Jason Statham defeat a mythical megalodon not once but twice in The Meg (2018) and The Meg 2: The Trench (2023). This summer, we have the Australian slasher-meets-shark horror Dangerous Animals , director Sean Byrne's deliciously nasty mash-up of Jaws and Silence of the Lambs , with a bit of Hostel thrown in for good measure.

Yellowstone 's Hassie Harrison stars as Zephyr, an American surfer who's fled to Australia to escape a bad situation back home and catch some sick waves. She has a meet-cute with posh realtor Moses (Josh Heuston), with whom she proceeds to spend the night, but in the early hours of the morning, she splits, telling her puppy-eyed paramour that "the early bird gets the wave." Unfortunately for Zephyr, local serial killer Tucker (an unrecognizable Jai Courtney) is also patrolling the lot. Tucker operates an over-priced shark tour which preys on tourists in more ways than one. In the opening sequence, we see him knife to death the helpless boyfriend of a terrified student (Ella Newton) before feeding him to the circling sharks. Tucker takes Zephyr hostage, locking her in the same dank cabin to which Ella is also confined on his boat. Meanwhile, Moses feels something is amiss and launches a grassroots investigation to locate Zephyr.

Dangerous Animals is certainly derivative of many past works, but it wears its influences with aplomb and often upends expectations with a joyous perversity. There are elements of this which on paper, would sound rather extreme, and indeed, the early passages of the film raise questions about exactly how nasty this is going to get. Byrne's debut film, the exceptional Australian thriller The Lovely Ones (2010), flirted with the then-furtive "torture porn" sub-sub-genre; but the movie was more of a satirical thesis on the idea of movies like Hostel and Saw . Dangerous Animals also flirts with that now-bygone genre, mainly in one early sequence, though it has less to say than the director's debut film. Ultimately, though, this is fairly uplifting and triumphant as far as horror movies go, with a well-gauged romance at the center that softens some of the more outrageous flourishes.

Here, Byrne seems determined to craft a through-and-through, crowd-pleasing (and queasing) horror, and it's surprisingly successful. By the midpoint, it's morphed rather unexpectedly (and satisfyingly) into a neo-Nancy Drew mystery. The chemistry between Harrison and Heuston is substantial, and the script springs several clever surprises both in terms of the characters' relationships and Heuston's role in the story. The technicals are also roundly exceptional: Shelley Farthing-Dawe's cinematography lends a vibrant, summery feel. It's a testament to Byrne's sure hand at suspense that many of the most terrifying scenes take place under bright sunlight.

If you find yourself hankering for a sweaty-palmed summer shark thriller, you'd be hard-pressed to do better than Dangerous Animals . The shark genre is evergreen, but it's rare to see something new added to the equation. With his third feature, Byrne has crafted a tight, delightfully loopy thriller which manages to be both a successful creature feature and a genuinely creepy serial killer thriller. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Australia…

Dangerous Animals is currently in cinemas, and available for digital download from July 22.

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'Jaws' Meets 'Silence of the Lambs' in This Bonkers Shark Thriller first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 3, 2025