PLOT: When Zephyr, a rebellious surfer, is kidnapped by a shark-obsessed serial killer and held captive on his boat, she should determine find out how to escape earlier than he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks under.
REVIEW: I’ve by no means so rapidly been on board for a movie as when the trailer for Harmful Animals first dropped. There’s simply one thing a few shark movie that at all times excites, even if we’ve just about simply gotten the one good one. And with so many following the identical method, it’s good to see one which detours from the anticipated. As a result of having a madman (Courtney) who baits sharks with kidnapped women has all of the makings for an superior shark movie.
Harmful Animals follows Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a transient who lives out of her van and surfs. Sadly for her, her nomadic nature makes her the proper sufferer for Tucker, an area tour information who makes a behavior of kidnapping individuals and filming the act of feeding them to sharks. Zephyr must try to discover a approach out earlier than she turns into chum. There’s a fairly lame love subplot with Josh Heuston‘s Moses and Zephyr. I get it, they wanted somebody who’s on the market trying to find her, so it’s not completely hopeless, however it results in many corny, stereotypical plot beats. That is the movie’s predominant downside. The entire drama feels so melodramatic and hammy that it’s arduous to take any of it critically. It clashes a lot with all the stress occurring board the boat. A little bit little bit of subtlety would have gone a great distance. As a substitute, we’re given monologues that don’t work and a few actually convoluted moments meant to increase the narrative.
Like all good shark film, the movie actually stews within the stress of the primary massive shark look. However there’s by no means that “oh my god” stunning second with the sharks. As a substitute, the movie makes it clear: Jai Courtney‘s Tucker is the villain, not these sharks. They’re merely doing what sharks do: eat when there are indicators of meals within the water. There’s a second the place we get to seek out out simply how lengthy he’s been working, and it solely provides to the approaching hazard as he’s clearly been getting away with this for fairly a while. The opening ten minutes are the place the movie actually excels, as the stress may be minimize with a knife. Nevertheless it loses steam at any time when Tucker is offscreen.
What works so nicely with Tucker is that his character is actually a touch upon society’s lust for shark violence. We’ve got Shark Week yearly devoted to those creatures, and it’s usually the tales of after they assault people. It doesn’t occur naturally sufficient on the planet, so Tucker has to make it occur himself to satiate his personal obsession. Jaws actually did a quantity on the general public’s notion of those majestic creatures, and this appears to try to break from the standard mildew. And Courtney is completely phenomenal, actually inhabiting the character and making him probably the most intriguing villains I can recall.
Harmful Animals makes use of actual footage of sharks to create some actually stunning visuals. Often, it’s the Nice White or Tiger Shark that will get all the eye, however there are some beautiful Mako’s that get the primary actual showcase of the movie. And it’s an enormous ocean, so I’m glad that it’s not the identical shark all through. Completely different species work together, with an enormous Nice White being the primary occasion. Makes issues a bit extra dynamic, as they aren’t handled just like the villains. Although as a lot because the movie is attempting to make a degree about how sharks don’t deliberately feed on individuals, it’s nearly instantly upended with a Hollywood-style bombastic ending that appears to overlook that time.
I actually loved the shark puppets which are used, as they appear real looking and work nicely. The CGI on the sharks (outdoors of 1 second) can be dealt with very well. However that one unhealthy second stands out a lot that it’s arduous to not be a stain on the movie. The gore is a bit of disappointing within the shark assaults themselves, though the aftermath is sort of brutal. There’s one shot particularly of somebody’s higher physique floating within the water that’s really haunting. And there’s a cause for the assaults being how they’re as a result of, outdoors of the very hammy ultimate kill, they’re presenting these sharks in a practical gentle. They aren’t these sentient beings which are inclined to leap scares like each shark film in existence makes them out to be. These sharks transfer at regular speeds and have regular habits. It was a breath of contemporary air.
It might simply be me, however I used to be very distracted by how nonetheless the digital camera/boat had been throughout a few of the ocean-set scenes. I perceive that these had been seemingly carried out on a stage for comfort, however there’s not even a bit of little bit of sway to the boat. They’re completely nonetheless, and it always breaks my immersion on the planet. Perhaps being pulled out of the world with moments like this is the reason the drama actually didn’t work for me. You’re telling me you couldn’t simply have a cameraman sway a bit of bit to present the impact of being on the water? As a substitute, it feels overly staged.
I actually needed to like Harmful Animals, however I simply ended up liking it. Which is completely positive. There are some good moments, with Jai Courtney being an absolute standout. Nevertheless it feels just like the idea isn’t totally taken benefit of. I didn’t want the random romance subplot, and it actually took away from the stress on board. I get its function, however it feels a bit sloppy in execution. Fortunately, Courtney is so maniacal, and the stress on the boat is sort of a tightrope, that it nonetheless makes for a enjoyable time. You simply must shut your mind off greater than anticipated.
DANGEROUS ANIMALS IS IN THEATERS ON JUNE 6TH, 2025.
