Dangerous Animals

If there is one category of films that can be very divided it is serial killer films. Usually you find most serial killer motion pictures somewhere between psychological thrillers or as a horror film. Trust me when i say this, over the years i have seen many different constellations of serial killers in different films that i remember specific titles for different reasons. For example we have classics such the 1980 American psychological slasher film Maniac, and if we stay in the 80´s for a moment you also have the 1987 psychological thriller The Stepfather with a brilliant performance by actor Terry O´ Quinn as the very disturbed serial killer Jerry Blake. Both of these films are worth checking out on physical media if you have not seen them. Of course i should mention the 1995 classic crime thriller Seven from director David Fincher, that includes one of the best acting performances i have seen from actor Brad Pitt. One of my personal favourite serial killer films of all time is without a doubt the American satirical black comedy horror film American Psycho from director Mary Harron. Released in the year 2000 this is today considered to be a cult classic. This film is based on the 1991 novel American Psycho by author Bret Easton Ellis ( which i have been planning to read, hopefully at some point ) and tells the story of Patrick Bateman ( played brilliant by actor Christian Bale ), a very intensive New York City investment banker who lives a double life as a serial killer. What makes American Psycho such a unique film experience is not only the insane acting performance by Christian Bale, the dark almost satirical twists gives this film a completely different approach than any other serial killer film from the past. American Psycho almost feel like a deeply disturbed comic book in certain scenes and director Mary Harron cleverly use all the right strings to make a powerful impact. Definetely a must watch if you love a uniqe film experience. I have been reading some positive reviews online for a while about an Australian survival horror film called Dangerous Animals, that includes a serial killer. I decided to rent this film on digital to see if i would agree with other film critics. Is this one of the films that you should add to your watch list or is this film not as good as i was hoping it would be?

Tourists Greg ( Liam Greinke ) and Heather ( Ella Newton ) visit Tucker´s Experience, a shark cage attraction run by the eccentric boat captain Tucker ( Jai Courtney ).While riding out into the ocean, Tucker remarks on how he survived a shark attack as a child. After the two participate in a cage dive, Tucker suddenly kill Greg and abduct Heather. At the Gold Coast, American drifter Zephyr ( Hassie Harrison ) reluctantly helps real estate agent Moses start his car. They end up spending the night together having sex. Moses hopes they might turn this into a romantic relationship, but Zephyr drives away to surf at the beach. Here she meets Tucker at the parking lot, who later abduct her to his boat. It is on this boat Tucker prepare a special video show that he films on VHS.

Since we get at least a couple of serial killer films released every year, you know most of them will most likely tell very traditional stories that we have seen many times before. Thankfully, this film takes a completely turn in this specific genre. What makes Dangerous Animals different is that this serial killer use sharks to torture and murder his kidnapped victims. I could be wrong, but i have never seen this combination in a serial killer horror film before. Why is this a important detail? To be completely honest we have not had many attempts to do something different in this specific genre and i welcome any kind of new ideas. The plot itself is very simple and this actually works with the sharks included. Let us get into the characters and i think it is fair to say that actor Jai Courtney ( who plays Captain Boomerang in The Suicide Squad, worth checking out ) as the serial killer Tucker steals the show of this film. He brings a really wild acting performance as this deeply disturbing man with different personalities, It is interesting to see the character Tucker loose control at certain moments, this is where you see he can´t control his emotions as if his eyes almost turns completely black of anger. Jai Courtney really capture the several layers of the behavior of a serial killer. Actress Hassie Harrison ( who i recognize from TV series Yellowstone ) deliver a strong performance as the character Zephyr, a young woman who have experienced a rough past. I really appreciate that we get to know her character on a deeper level, why she prefer being by herself. The horror scenes in general are effective and this film does show the playfull mindset of how a serial killer might behave in different situations. Director Sean Byrne continue to impress me after making the brilliant horror film The Devil´s Candy and i would say Dangerous Animals proves that he knows how to tell powerful stories. I personally enjoy his previous film The Devil´s Candy a little bit more than Dangerous Animals, but i still highly recommend this one. Who would have known a serial killer and sharks would match as good as it does in a film such as this? Life is sometimes full of surprises.

Rating: DDD