Sufficiently fun. Dangerous Animals is the kind of horror movie that is sufficiently fun and entertaining once, but not a movie that commands a rewatch. The premise is fantastic: a serial killer that kidnaps young tourists (usually young women) and feeds them to sharks as he uses a old VHS camcorder to capture the victim’s demise. Dangerous Animals takes inspiration from other movies such as Shark Night (2011), Cabin by the Lake. and even The Silence of the Lambs. Between truncated first and third acts, is a protracted second act that foils any suspense, tension, or proper pacing setup in the first act. Performatively, the film is quite good; had it not been for the compelling and entertaining performances, the movie would’ve fallen quite flat for me. Like with many indie films, the cinematography and editing outclass the screenwriting. The evidence of thoughtful directing is there, but its potential is hampered by the poorly paced and structured screenplay. This feels like a short film idea that was augmented to fit a feature length runtime. Without giving it away, there is a particular scene about a third of the way through the movie that is straight-up an homage to an iconic scene from Silence of the Lambs, which I really appreciated. Releasing on the 6th of June, if you enjoy shark and/or horror movies, then its worth checking out. But like I said, for me, as sufficiently entertaining as it was, it isn’t one that I am going to rewatch anytime soon.

Ryan is the general manager for 90.7 WKGC Public Media in Panama City and host of the public radio show ReelTalk about all things cinema. Additionally, he is the author of the upcoming film studies book titled Monsters, Madness, and Mayhem: Why People Love Horror. After teaching film studies for over eight years at the University of Tampa, he transitioned from the classroom to public media. He is a member of the Critics Association of Central Florida and Indie Film Critics of America. If you like this article, check out the others and FOLLOW this blog! Follow him on Twitter: RLTerry1 and LetterBoxd: RLTerry