Jai Courtney is chewing all the scenery in a wonderfully over-the-top performance in Dangerous Animals. In it, he plays Bruce Tucker, a psychopathic serial killer who uses sharks as his weapon.

Set in Australia, Tucker runs a tour boat that takes people swimming with sharks. When he chooses his victims, he chums, and then hooks them up to a shipboard crane to lower them into the bloody waters, recording it all for his later enjoyment.

I don’t know how these things aren’t getting reported, or how he keeps getting customers, but that’s fine, it’s just a really well put together b-level horror movie. Courtney is channelling his inner Buffalo Bill and seems to be having a great time.

Tucker has had an easy time of it so far, selecting his victims and enjoying his kills. But now, he’s taken Zephyr (Hassie Harrison), and she’s determined to survive and maybe, if there’s any karmic justice beat Tucker at his own game.

The film goes to pains to eestablish Zephyr as a bit of a loaner who is just beginning to connect with Moses (Josh Heuston). Until now, she’s been living in her van, and catching waves wherever she can. Moses offers her a new opportunity at life and love, but she runs out on him. But texts him to meet her anyway.

And then she gets grabbed by Tucker. While we check in with Moses throughout the film, this is Zephyr’s story as she fights for her survival against Tucker’s madness.

There’s some really interesting things at work in this film. The story goes out of the way to show how amazing and beautiful sharks really are. They aren’t Jaws, they are just animals being what they are. In fact, the underwater photography is gorgeous, and almost all of the shark stuff, attacks included, are done really well, except for the final shark attack of the film – and that’s got some pretty bad visual effects.

While we’re talking about the film though, let me take a moment to talk about Harrison. She comes across as a cross between Madeline Stowe and Jennifer Lawrence, and that is all good for me. She’s funny, likable, and you believe that as the further she gets pushed, the more she’s willing to do to survive.

The kills are great, the sun-drenched photography is gorgeous, and everyone seems to be giving it their all. It’s a great tale of survival, has some really unnerving moments, and Harrison and Courtney both get to shine.

It doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t, and it has a really good time doing it. Check it out, I had a lot of fun with it.