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 though we’ve just about simply gotten the one good one. And with so many following the identical formulation, it’s good to see one which detours from the anticipated. As a result of having a madman (Courtney) who baits sharks with kidnapped ladies 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, an area tour information who makes a behavior of kidnapping individuals and filming the act of feeding them to sharks. Zephyr must attempt 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 needed someone who’s on the market trying to find her, so it’s not solely hopeless, nevertheless it results in many corny, stereotypical plot beats. That is the movie’s important drawback. The entire drama feels so melodramatic and hammy that it’s onerous to take any of it critically. It clashes a lot with all the strain 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 rigidity of the primary huge 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 are simply doing what sharks do: eat when there are signs of food in the water. There’s a second the place we get to search 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 strain may be lower with a knife. But it surely loses steam at any time when Tucker is offscreen.
What works so properly with Tucker is that his character is actually a touch upon society’s lust for shark violence. Now we have Shark Week yearly devoted to those creatures, and it’s typically the tales of after they assault people. It doesn’t occur naturally sufficient on the earth, 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 attempt to break from the same old mould. And Courtney is totally 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 principle 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 some extent 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 might be used, as they appear reasonable and work properly. The CGI on the sharks (outdoors of 1 second) can also be dealt with very well. However that one unhealthy 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 specifically of somebody’s higher physique floating within the water that’s actually haunting. And there’s a purpose 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 might be 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 have been throughout among the ocean-set scenes. I perceive that these have been possible 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 earth. Perhaps being pulled out of the world with moments like because of this 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 high quality. 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 strain on board. I get its function, nevertheless it feels a bit sloppy in execution. Fortunately, Courtney is so maniacal, and the strain on the boat is sort of a tightrope, that it nonetheless makes for a enjoyable time. You simply have to shut your mind off greater than anticipated.
DANGEROUS ANIMALS IS IN THEATERS ON JUNE 6TH, 2025.
