PLOT: When Zephyr, a rebellious surfer, is kidnapped by a shark-obsessed serial killer and held captive on his boat, she should work out the right way to escape earlier than he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks under.
REVIEW: I’ve by no means so shortly been on board for a movie as when the trailer for Harmful Animals first dropped. There’s simply one thing a couple of 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 system, 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 right sufferer for Tucker, a neighborhood tour information who makes a behavior of kidnapping folks and filming the act of feeding them to sharks. Zephyr must try to discover a means 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 looking for her, so it’s not completely hopeless, but it surely results in many corny, stereotypical plot beats. That is the movie’s major downside. All the drama feels so melodramatic and hammy that it’s onerous 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 good distance. As a substitute, we’re given monologues that don’t work and a few actually convoluted moments meant to increase the narrative.
Like several 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” surprising 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 upcoming 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 could be minimize with a knife. But it surely loses steam every time Tucker is offscreen.
What works so properly with Tucker is that his character is actually a touch upon society’s lust for shark violence. We’ve Shark Week yearly devoted to those creatures, and it’s typically the tales of once 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 mould. 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 lovely visuals. Often, it’s the Nice White or Tiger Shark that will get all the eye, however there are some attractive 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. Totally 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 making an attempt to make some extent about how sharks don’t deliberately feed on folks, it’s nearly instantly upended with a Hollywood-style bombastic ending that appears to overlook that time.
I actually loved the shark puppets which can be used, as they appear real looking and work properly. The CGI on the sharks (outdoors of 1 second) can be dealt with rather well. However that one dangerous second stands out a lot that it’s onerous 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 actually haunting. And there’s a motive for the assaults being how they’re as a result of, outdoors of the very hammy remaining kill, they’re presenting these sharks in a sensible mild. They aren’t these sentient beings which can be susceptible to leap scares like each shark film in existence makes them out to be. These sharks transfer at regular speeds and have regular conduct. It was a breath of contemporary air.
It could simply be me, however I used to be very distracted by how nonetheless the digital camera/boat have been throughout a number of the ocean-set scenes. I perceive that these have been probably achieved 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. Possibly 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 offer 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 wonderful. There are some good moments, with Jai Courtney being an absolute standout. But it surely feels just like the idea isn’t absolutely 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, but it surely 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.
