Dangerous Animals (MA) – 98 minutes

Jaws (1975) meets Dead Calm (1989) on steroids in the new Australian psychological horror Dangerous Animals.

Jai Courtney is positively chilling as Gold Coast charter boat operator Bruce Tucker.

He specialises in taking tourists out to sea and dropping them into the ocean in a shark proof cage to watch the Apex predators up close and personal.

We witness just what that is like when Canadian Greg (Liam Greinke) and Brit Heather (Ella Newton) take the plunge, after missing a trip to Seaworld.

But there is more to Tucker than at first meets the eye.

Enter, strong willed American Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), a loner with a harsh background who has come to Australia to surf.

 She has a chance meeting with real estate salesman Moses Markley (Josh Heuston), who is trying to buy some jumper leads to start his car.

At first, Zephyr is wary of him, but in time she warms to him and the pair ends up making out.

Not looking for any ties though, before dawn she hits the road in the battered camper van she calls home, leaving Moses without so much as a goodbye.

Next thing you know, she is prevailing upon Bruce Tucker for a fin key, which is used to screw fins into the tail of her surfboard.

And that is when the real drama begins for her because the seemingly affable Tucker is anything but.

He is, in fact, a serial killer who likes trapping women and feeding them to the sharks, all the while filming their agonising final moments.

Still, Zephyr is a real fighter, who despite the invidious position in which she finds herself, isn’t going to go down without an almighty struggle.

Writer Nick Lepard has crafted quite an outrageous screenplay, which benefits from a series of twists.

 If you think the first hour is twisted enough, wait for the final forty minutes, which really pushes the boundaries.

Far-fetched, in fact preposterous, to be sure, but there is much about it that is original and creative.

I also appreciated the acting. I have already referenced Courtney. As Tucker, he orchestrates kills with a smile on his face. In short, he takes pride in his work.

Hassie Harrison is potent as the highly pragmatic Zephyr, to whom she brings attitude to burn.

Josh Heuston, too, makes a good fist of it as the decent guy Moses, who is not about to let Zephyr get away for he sees in her more than she sees in herself.

There is a persistence about his characterisation.

Also watch out for Rob Carlton as a dishevelled opportunist neighbour of Bruce Tucker’s when the latter’s boat is in port. He has impact in the few scenes he is in.

Director Sean Byrne has milked the radical conceit of Dangerous Animals for all he can, often without signalling hi punches. The tension is palpable.

The boat itself is like a steel trap for those caught in Tucker’s sick net.

With a strong score, the movie is provocative and grisly, but it offers up thrills aplenty.

Rated MA, it scores a 7½ out of 10.