If you’re a horror geek, then you’ve probably seen plenty of serial killer movies. And if you’re a horror geek of a certain caliber, then you’ve also probably seen plenty of shark movies, a subgenre we once dedicated an entire essay to as the nadir of the horror world. But ah, have you see any serial killer shark movies? That’s a rather more rare fusion of influences, right there, but it also succinctly sums up Australian director Sean Byrne’s upcoming Dangerous Animals, which debuted its first teaser trailer today, which you can view below. The flick, from IFC Films and Shudder, will be in U.S. theaters on June 6–we assume this is a limited release–before presumably heading to Shudder sometime later in the year. The timing makes sense: Shark movies and summer have been bedfellows ever since a certain big fish codified the subgenre in 1975.
The most surprising thing about Dangerous Animals isn’t that it’s cramming together two odd corners of the horror world, though–it’s that the film with this goofy premise is coming from an actual, well-regarded filmmaker rather than some ambitious amateur’s directorial debut. This is the third feature from Byrne, and both of his previous films, 2009’s The Loved Ones and 2017’s The Devil’s Candy, were well-liked by critics and horror purists, which lends this film significantly more expectation than it would otherwise possess. Especially when the film in question appears to be about a madman serial killer played by Jai Courtney, who tortures and kills young women by feeding them to sharks via various fishing apparatus. The official synopsis, meanwhile, is as follows:
When Zephyr, a rebellious surfer, is abducted by a shark-obsessed serial killer and held captive on his boat, she must figure out how to escape before he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks below.
Well alright then. Dangerous Animals was written by Nick Lepard, and also stars Hassie Harrison (presumably the female lead) and Josh Heuston in addition to Courtney. Hopefully the relatively modest cast and self-contained premise will yield some good, pulpy B-movie action, although we can’t help but be apprehensive about the potential for horrendous shark CGI or stock footage. Give that it’s been nearly a decade now since the last shark film to exceed expectations–2016’s The Shallows–perhaps we’re due for another solid entry to the canon. Check out the first trailer for Dangerous Animals below.
