Dangerous Animals (Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Sean Byrne

Cast: Hassie Harrison, Jai Courtney, Josh Heuston

Release Date: October 7, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

When Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a savvy and free-spirited surfer, is abducted by a shark-obsessed serial killer (Jai Courtney) and held captive on his boat, she must figure out how to escape before he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks below. From Writer Nick Lepard and Director Sean Byrne.

‘Dangerous Animals’ tells the story of shark obsessed serial killer Tucker who utilizes his shark experience business to capture unsuspecting tourists and hold them hostage on his boat before carrying out an almost ritualistic event where he feeds them to the sharks below in the deep waters. But when he abducts a clever American surfer named Zephyr he ends up with more than he bargained for as the determined young woman refuses to give up in her attempts to escape his clutches before she meets the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Directed by Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones, The Devil’s Candy) from a screenplay written by Nick Lepard (Keeper), Byrne does a terrific job at the helm of ‘Dangerous Animals’ guiding along the tense thriller with care and style, while repeatedly showcasing the gorgeous filming locations. The film’s somewhat limited cast includes Hassie Harrison (TV’s Yellowstone), Jai Courtney (Suicide Squad), Josh Heuston (TV’s Dune: Prophecy), Ella Newton (Girl at the Window) and Liam Greinke (Rippy), with most offering largely capable and fitting performances in each of their respective roles, although Courtney often tends to steal most of the scenes he occupies with his dark and over the top portrayal of the villain.

‘Dangerous Animals’ delivers a fun, brutal and tense ride that follows a madman who revels in the thrill of feeding his live victims to the sharks below that he holds in high esteem, and the free-spirited American surfer who tests his limits and abilities once abducted and slated to become the next victim. It’s a terrific thriller that manages to balance the dark subject matter with a few fun characters including a wildly over the top performance by Jai Courtney that works splendidly and a perfectly aggressive and capable heroine portrayed by Hassie Harrison.

It serves up a handful of brutal moments including at least one that provides a truly cringe worthy scenario, paired with some utterly spectacular filming locations that repeatedly stand out; offering some stunning looks at Queensland Australia’s Gold Coast (and they only look even more remarkable in UHD) that will have you admiring the beauty in between the chaos and carnage. It’s original in many respects while also following some more typical patterns at times, but none of it ever detracts from the fun to be had throughout or the almost humorously insane performance by Courtney and it all forms together into a great thriller that isn’t afraid to get a bit wild with the material.

Overall, ‘Dangerous Animals’ is a solid serial killer thriller with a twist that features some notable performances and stunning visuals for a wild ride that should have no trouble pulling you in and keeping you engaged throughout. ‘Dangerous Animals’ is highly recommended for any fans of filmmaker Sean Byrne and stars Hassie Harrison and Jai Courtney, along with any genre fans or those intrigued by a unique thriller that may not be groundbreaking and entirely original but is still quite clever in its own right and an absolute blast from start to finish. It’s one of the more enjoyable recent thrillers and should certainly prove worthy of your time and the cost of a rental for anyone that’s intrigued and tempted to give it a chance. Fans interested in the 4K release should also be pleased with the release as a whole which may be absent of a Dolby Atmos soundtrack but in a rare occurrence for a Shudder release does in fact feature Dolby Vision and HDR10.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Dangerous Animals’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks great as a whole and it offers a clean, sharp and beautifully detailed presentation that never suffers from any noteworthy troubles along the way. Detail is terrific on characters, sharks and the gorgeous shots of the water, while in a welcome surprise the release also features Dolby Vision HDR which offers richer, more lifelike colors on water, clothing and more, which is nicely complemented by deep, rich and capable black levels. Overall, this is a solid Ultra High Definition presentation that holds up well and should excite fans and newcomers alike.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack is pretty solid in its own right and it provides a clean, crisp and fairly aggressive audio presentation throughout. It takes advantage of all five available channels in order to send music, water and other nature related effects, plus a fair bit more moving throughout the various speakers whenever fitting, and never resulting in any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously becoming distorted or rendered problematic in the process. Overall, this is a very nice 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that delivers splendidly and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Dangerous Animals’ does not include any bonus material.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 7/10

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‘Dangerous Animals’ Arrives on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Steelbook & DVD on October 7, 2025 & is Now Available on Digital from SHUDDER & IFC

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You can purchase ‘Dangerous Animals’ on 4K Steelbook at Amazon HERE!

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