The open sea hides many threats, but in Dangerous Animals, the most lethal one isn’t circling below — it’s on deck. Director Sean Byrne’s third feature dives into a brutal blend of serial killer terror and aquatic dread, landing in theaters on June 6, 2025.
Set against the sun-soaked backdrop of the ocean, Dangerous Animals follows Zephyr, a rebellious surfer played by Hassie Harrison, who finds herself held hostage by a man with a twisted obsession: feeding his victims to the sharks. Jai Courtney steps into the role of Tucker, a deceptively charming predator who lures his prey onto a boat they won’t leave alive.
Courtney’s turn as Tucker was a deliberate choice for Byrne, who wanted a villain that could both seduce and scare. “That’s how the spider catches the fly,” he explained in an interview with Bloody Disgusting. “He’s got to be charismatic to get people on the boat, but then equally terrifying… I really feel like it’s one of those iconic villains. And in a way, he does see himself as the shark.”
Co-starring Josh Heuston and written by Nick Lepard, the film leans into both psychological tension and physical peril. Byrne emphasized that much of the shark footage used was authentic. “The majority of the time, we’re actually using 4K footage of the water that the real sharks are in,” Byrne said, referencing makos, bull sharks, tiger sharks, and gray nurse sharks. “The only CG is the fins.”
While the premise might sound pulpy, Byrne is no stranger to turning genre into something personal. With The Loved Ones and The Devil’s Candy, he proved he can layer emotional depth into horror — and Dangerous Animals looks no different. At its core, it’s not just about surviving nature’s most feared predators, but about outsmarting the human one holding the leash.
Dangerous Animals is set to hit theaters on June 6, 2025, just in time to kick off the summer horror season. With real shark footage, a sun-drenched setting, and a villain who’s just as deadly as the creatures circling his boat, director Sean Byrne promises a nerve-jangling ride that dives deep into fear.
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