Australian filmmaker Sean Byrne, acclaimed for The Loved Ones and The Devil’s Candy, returns to the horror genre with Dangerous Animals. The newly released trailer offers a glimpse into this chilling survival thriller, set to premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival .
The film follows Zephyr, a rebellious surfer portrayed by Hassie Harrison (Yellowstone), who is abducted by Tucker, a shark-obsessed serial killer played by Jai Courtney (The Suicide Squad). Held captive on his boat, Zephyr must devise an escape before becoming part of a ritualistic feeding to the sharks below . Josh Heuston (Dune: Prophecy) co-stars as Moses, Zephyr’s new love interest, who attempts to rescue her but also falls into the killer’s trap.
Byrne, directing from Nick Lepard’s debut screenplay, aims to subvert traditional shark horror tropes. He describes the film as a “survival horror experience with teeth,” emphasizing that the true predator may not be the creature lurking beneath the waves but the man above them .
Dangerous Animals is scheduled for theatrical release in the United States on June 12th, 2025, through IFC Films, and will later be available for streaming on Shudder.
