Verdict: 2.5/5
‘Dangerous Animals’, the newest creature feature to hit cinemas, was described to me as ‘Jaws’ meets ‘Wolf Creek’. Being a fan of both those films and all things to do with sharks, this was an easy tick off my bucket list – or so I thought.
The film centres around main character Zephyr, a free-spirited, lone-wolf surfer who is abducted by a shark-obsessed serial killer and held captive on his boat. She must figure out how to escape before she falls victim to his gruesome killing ritual.
This film hits horror audiences in exactly the right places; it has built up tension, gristly deaths and a final girl you can root for. It also features several stunning scenes of shark videography that wouldn’t be out of place in National Geographic.
However, it fell short for me for a number of reasons.
First, as a viewer, it felt as if I knew the main plot points already. The film began with a cold open, which would’ve set the tone perfectly, if almost all of it, including the first kill, wasn’t featured in the trailer. The trailer also shows our main character getting abducted, finding herself on the boat, witnessing the killer’s gruesome tactics and making an escape, along with several other important plot points. In my opinion, if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve seen the whole movie.
Another aspect that took points off for me was the script. Good scripts in horror films are hard to come by as, understandably, they want you to focus on the bloodshed. Still, this film’s script was particularly bad. The creation of Zephyr’s nonconformist, I-learnt-how-to-pick-locks-in-juvie attitude is extremely overdone, and lacks depth. This forced tough-girl persona doesn’t make me root for her more because she has presumed past trauma, rather it makes me groan at the lack of effort the writers put into exploring this character. Zephyr has moments of depth, but not many, and not enough to save the film.
I will say, Jai Courtney’s portrayal of serial killer Bruce Tucker was believable and amusing. It feels as through the writers did put some thought into what makes a multifaceted serial killer, and discovered that in some moments, they’re just like us, and love a dance around their kitchen while enjoying a glass of wine (maybe that’s just me?).
Maybe I’m expecting too much of a fun, Aussie made horror and should just sit back and enjoy the ride next time.
See this movie at Hoyts Penrith
