Dangerous Animals is the tale of what happens when you make fun of the kid in class who knows way too much about sharks. The entire time I’m watching this film I’m learning way too much about sharks. And this is more than the tidbits I learned in Finding Nemo. If Nick Lepard, who wrote the film, ever reads this, I need to know your origin story and if it included sharks.
So, in a nutshell, Dangerous Animals follows Zephyr. It should be noted that there are only first names used in this film. Not a last name in sight. Zephyr is an American who came to Australia to surf. She’s living out of her van and we meet her stealing ice cream from a local connivence store. I want to pause here to tell you how she stole the ice cream because it bothered me and I will tell you why. Most people would slip the ice cream in their bag because she does have a bag with her when she goes in the store. She buys some rolls, that we find out later she loves to eat, and a slurpee or a slush. (Whatever you call it in your hometown.) She goes outside to her van and dumps the slush in the dumpster and takes out the ice cream. Now, this is why this upset me. She could have just slurped the slurpee and got the ice cream out that way. Why pay for that slush to steal the ice cream and waste it?!
Anyway, after her heinous crime of tossing the slurpee, she encounters Moses. Moses needs to find his care and needs a jump. Now, I would have left him where he stood. I don’t care that he would have told the cashier that I stole ice cream from the store. I just would never go to that store again. After some conversation, her and Moses become intimate and I’m telling you this because it becomes a central part of the film, and that bothered me. Zephyr has abandonment issues so she leaves Moses just when he thinks she’s going to stay forever or whatever. Of course she leaves to go surfing. It is here where she is kidnapped and she meets Tucker.
Rewind to the beginning of the movie where we meet Tucker. He’s the guy who gives shark diving sessions. He gives on to two friends who are taking a gap year. Surprise, surprise, he kills the guy and kidnaps the girl. So her and Zephyr are handcuffed on this boat with this man. It seems like all hope is lost until Moses starts to wonder about a women he met in a day whose last name he doesn’t know.
The movie is visually stunning. It looks as if I’m standing next to whoever is in the scene. The ocean looks so blue and serene which makes what happens in the film that much more terrifying. I’ve seen a lot of reviews where they say they love this film and it’s a perfect horror film. Besides me screaming at the TV as I watched, I don’t share the same sentiments. I love how crafty and smart Zephyr is. I believed that if Moses didn’t come looking for her that she would have found a way out, and honestly, I was right either way. What I didn’t like was Tucker and his shark facts. I feel like this was supposed to make him creepy or terrifying in some way, but for me, my best friend, and her cousin watching this film, we were just annoyed. It became, “We get it. You like sharks. Move on!” Every scene he was in annoyed me. If the goal was for me to be so ready for someone to kill this man, you all succeeded. Also, I don’t think we ever got any kind of backstory on why he had this obsession with sharks and women, specifically women being eaten by sharks. As crazy as it sounds, I kind of wanted to know what this all was for him. What drove him to this besides my thinking that some girl he liked didn’t think his rolodex of shark facts was cool. He did mention that he was attacked by a shark when he was a kid, but that just wasn’t enough for me.
I loved Zephyr. We went on a journey with her that was kind of obscure. We learn she was a foster kid, and most of the time she was alone or forgotten, which gave me the impression that she taught herself a lot of things. It was funny when Heather, the other girl kidnapped with her, asked her if she knew how to pick a lock because she went to juvie. And yes, Heather, she took offense to it but she didn’t have time to be mad at you about it when a man was waiting to feed you both to sharks at night. The underlying story with her was she really did long to care for something or someone. She came off as cold, but she had always been in survival mode which doesn’t lend itself to being able to care or love anyone else….that is until she met Moses. I don’t hate this love story but to risk your life for someone you met in one day is quite a stretch, even for a movie.
If anyone wanted to know, yes, if you stay still you can avoid a shark attack. This caution reminded me of Jurassic Park, so I didn’t believe it until I looked it up. Did you watch this film? What did you think of Tucker? Did you think Dave somehow knew what was going on? I mean, how could you not? He advertised for Tucker, saw the people get on the boat, and had to see when no one came back. He just had to know something was going on with these “adventures.”
Let me know what rating you would give this movie. I saw B- horror film and I, personally, would give it like a strong C.
