Dangerous Animals (2025) Review: Survival Horror Redefined

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

The Ocean’s Deadly Allure

The ocean has always been a place of beauty, mystery, and — if you’re unlucky — bloody death. Dangerous Animals, the latest sun-scorched nightmare from director Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones, The Devil’s Candy), plunges us into the turquoise waters of coastal Australia and never lets us come up for air.

Lean, Mean, Survival Machine

The plot kicks off with a vacation gone very, very wrong: a tourist couple on a trip become the prey of a deranged shark tour guide. The setup is familiar, but Byrne’s execution is anything but lazy. His direction is lean, mean, and assured — no wasted movement, no indulgent flash. Every cut feels deliberate. Every burst of violence lands with a thud you can feel in your gut. He doesn’t just stage scenes; he corrals chaos.

Zephyr: Evolution of a Survivor

At the center of the storm is Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), who turns in a gutsy, full-bodied performance as a woman pushed to the brink. There’s no glamour here — just raw survival. Harrison sells every scraped knee, every desperate breath, and every inch of her transformation from adventurer to predator. She doesn’t just fight back — she evolves.

The Unhinged Antagonist: Jai Courtney Unleashed

Opposite her, Jai Courtney unspools like a man possessed. Forget clean-cut soldiers or sidekick roles — this is Courtney fully unhinged, gnashing through the screen with the rabid energy of someone who’s either going to kill you or hug you until your spine cracks. He’s wild, sweaty, unpredictable. If Gerard Butler has a meaty, slightly less famous younger brother, Courtney’s channeling that exact unholy energy here. And it works. You don’t reason with a guy like this. You just hope you’re not in his line of sight.

Unrelenting Tension & Aquatic Terror

Once the game begins, the film never slows. There are chases through tight decks, corridors, breathless standoffs aboard boats, and yes, sequences that will make you never want to swim again. The sharks don’t dominate the film, but when they appear, it’s terrifying. Nature doesn’t take sides. It just feeds.

Verdict: Brutal, Visceral, Unforgettable

Dangerous Animals is brutal, sweaty, and packed with dread. It doesn’t try to reinvent the survival thriller — it just sharpens its teeth and bites down hard. Byrne directs with a feral confidence, transforming sunlit serenity into something savage. The violence is visceral, the tension constant, and the blood runs straight into saltwater. You’ll feel the sunburn. You’ll feel the fear. And you might just think twice before booking that boat tour.

Dangerous Animals was released in theaters June 6, 2025 (USA)

Details

• Rating Certificate: R (for strong bloody violent content/grisly images, sexuality, language and brief drug use.)
• Studios & Distributors: LD Entertainment | Brouhaha Entertainment | Range Media Partners | Oddfellows Entertainment | IFC Films | Shudder
• Director: Sean Byrne
• Written By: Nick Lepard
• Country: Australia | USA | Canada
• Language: English
• Run Time: 98 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Release Date: 6 June 2025