In one sentence: Dangerous Animals follows Zephyr, a surfer abducted by a shark-obsessed boat captain, who is forced to survive and escape while held captive at sea.

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I have long believed that Australia produces some of the most exciting film and television today, and I have a soft spot for creature features, especially the water-based kind. So when I heard about Dangerous Animals, my curiosity was instantly piqued. To my surprise, this film even premiered at Cannes during Director’s Fortnight, quite an unusual platform for a shark-related horror but a promising sign that it might have more teeth than most.

Directed by Sean Byrne, Dangerous Animals takes an unexpected approach to the genre. The film opens with a jolt. The eccentric Tucker (played with chilling conviction by Jai Courtney), owner of ‘Tucker’s Experience’, a rusted-out shark-cage diving operation, reveals himself to be far more dangerous than the creatures he reveres. A survivor of a great white attack, Tucker has developed an unsettling devotion to the animals. When he suddenly and brutally murders a tourist at sea and abducts another, the movie wastes no time showing us exactly what kind of monster we are dealing with. The violence is fast, shocking, and disturbingly precise. It is the work of a man well-practised in killing.

After the memorable opening, the story shifts to Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), an American surfer who is equal parts stoic and resourceful, as demonstrated when she steals a tub of Ben & Jerry’s hidden inside a cheaper slushie. She meets Moses (Josh Heuston), a young real estate agent stranded with a flat battery, asking her for a jump start. At first, Zephyr refuses, but he spots her ice-cream theft and he uses it as leverage for her help. The pair quickly discover a shared love of surfing, and what begins as a flirtatious exchange turns into spending the night together, and while for Zephyr it seems to feel casual, it is clear Moses is smitten.

In the early hours of the morning, Zephyr heads out to surf, unknowingly borrowing a fin key from Tucker, a seemingly insignificant decision that proves catastrophic. The score builds perfectly here, heightening the unease and signalling that calm waters are about to give way to something far darker.

Zephyr wakes to find herself handcuffed to a bed aboard Tucker’s decrepit boat, alongside terrified British tourist, Heather (Ella Newton), who witnessed the earlier killing. What unfolds is very much a survival story, one made even more horrifying when we learn Tucker’s preferred method of execution is feeding his victims to sharks while filming the ordeal for his own grim entertainment.

At a taut 98 minutes, the film is perfectly paced. It is lean and intense. Byrne’s use of shark imagery (mercifully avoiding cheap CGI) sets Dangerous Animals apart from the deluge of low-budget entries in the genre. In its extremity, the film makes a pointed statement; that humans, not sharks, are the most dangerous animals of all. Some of the most powerful moments come when the sharks do not attack.

Of course, a few familiar genre tropes surface including Zephyr’s final quip; a callback to an earlier conversation with Moses that feels a touch contrived. It is hard to imagine anyone who has endured such trauma mustering a snappy one-liner. Still, by that point the audience is firmly in her corner, willing her to survive against impossible odds.

Zephyr is a strong female lead, capable and composed. Her survival depends on grit and ingenuity. Is she entirely realistic? Perhaps not, but in a film like this, realism is not so much the point.

Jai Courtney is outstanding as Tucker, delivering a most unsettling performance. He captures the character’s deranged nature with unnerving ease, especially during a darkly funny dance sequence that is destined to become an internet favourite. In the wrong hands, this film could have tipped into camp absurdity, but Courtney’s performance keeps it genuinely frightening.

Movies set primarily on boats can easily feel claustrophobic, yet Dangerous Animals balances confinement with breathtaking shots of open ocean, making the setting feel both beautiful and perilous.

Dangerous Animals is a gripping reinvention of the shark movie; tense, stylish and bolstered by a killer score. Anchored by Jai Courtney’s chilling performance, this is the kind of film that proves Australia continues to deliver some of the most exciting cinema around.

★★★½ (3.5/5)