Last Updated on May 23, 2025 by Angel Melanson
Usually, the warnings on the ocean tell you to stay out of the water, but Sean Byrne’s newest film might suggest that you’re safer there, even with all the threats that lie within. Dangerous Animals, the director’s new serial killer film, hits theaters next month, and FANGORIA is excited to debut some exclusive images from the aquatic horror film ahead of its debut.
Dangerous Animals follows Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a rebellious surfer who finds herself caught in the clutches of Jai Courtney’s shark-obsessed killer. Captured on his boat — which, based on a previously released trailer, doesn’t seem that nice to begin with — she must determine how to escape before she becomes a part of his ritualistic feeding to the sharks below.
The exclusive images (plus a couple of additional new ones!) give us a clearer look at Courtney’s Captain Tucker, who’s got a glint in his eye as deadly as any great white. In one, he’s got Zephyr handcuffed to what looks like a modified diving contraption, which we can only presume means she’s only a few gallons of water away from certain death. In others, we see him staring at the water below, clearly fascinated with the predatory creatures circling his boat.
Dangerous Animals is the latest in a long line of horror films that place sharks at their center. Jaws, which turns fifty this year, is obviously where everything started, but we can’t forget titles like The Meg or Deep Blue Sea, which attribute a bloodlust for more than just pinnipeds and dolphins to the kings of the ocean. Byrne’s feature, however, takes the focus off the deadly instincts of sharks — most of which have no interest in people unless we give them a reason — and more on the man manipulating them for his own gain. After all, who else would use humans as shark bait other than a serial killer?
The aquatic creature feature is Byrne’s third horror film after The Loved Ones and The Devil’s Candy, and his first film in a decade, which also stars Josh Heuston and comes from a script by Nick Lepard. It’s also being screened on the water by Alamo Drafthouse this summer, featuring a live Q&A with Byrne and Harrison at the Volente Beach Resort and Waterpark in Austin on May 31. Tickets for the screening are available now.
Dangerous Animals hits theaters on June 6. Check out the new images below:
