There are quite a few killer shark movies worth watching afterDangerous Animals. The 2025 thriller, which was directed by Sean Byrne (The Loved Ones) is set in Queensland, Australia, and follows an American surfer named Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) who is kidnapped by Tucker (Suicide Squadstar Jai Courtney), a serial killer who feeds his victims to sharks. The movie has a small cast, and the only other major characters are Zephyr’s love interest Moses (Josh Heuston), Tucker’s previous victim Heather (Ella Newton), and Tucker’s dockmate Dave (Rob Carlton), all of whom come into play as Zephyr tries to escape.
While the serial killer angle adds a new wrinkle,2025’sDangerous Animalsis part of a long tradition of thriller movies about killer sharks. While the aquatic horror subgenre also includes attacks from Lovecraftian monsters (Leviathan,Underwater), whales (Orca: The Killer Whale), and other fish (thePiranhafranchise), by far the most popular sea creature to populate this type of movie is the shark. This means thatthere is an ample supply of similar movies to watch after screening the Jai Courtney thriller, including ones that have more in common with the movie than just the species of its antagonists.
47 Meters Downcould form a tense double feature withDangerous Animalsbecause bothkiller shark moviesfeature cage diving in various forms. While the newer movie only features one intense scene in a shark cage because Tucker uses a cage-diving business as a cover for his murderous activities, the 2017 feature fromResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon Citydirector Johannes Roberts takes place almost entirely in a cage, following the trials and tribulations of sisters Kate (Claire Holt) and Lisa (Mandy Moore) after they gettrapped in an underwater cage with a dwindling air supply and sharks all around.
Shark Night, which is a very different aquatic movie vehicle forAquamarinestar Sara Paxton, follows a group of friends having their lakeside retreat descend into bloody chaos when they discover that the water is infested with hungry sharks. The movie features a strong narrative connection toDangerous Animalsbecausethe sharks are the secondary antagonists. While they pose the most physical danger, the fact that they are in the lake in the first place is due to a cabal ofShark Weekenthusiasts hoping to film the bloody deaths of various victims (much like Tucker in the new movie).
There are a number ofbrutal shark kills inUnder Paris, which isa movie that adds a major wrinkle to the classic killer shark formula, much likeDangerous Animals. In this 2024 French movie, said wrinkle is the fact that sharks have invaded the Seine river amid preparations for a triathlon and may indeed be preparing to infiltrate other major waterways across the world. Another striking similarity to the 2025 movie is the fact that the female lead (in this case played byThe Artist’s Bérénice Bejo) must face her own traumatic past while fighting to survive the sharks.
7Tintorera: Killer Shark (1977)
Directed By René Cardona Jr.
Just likeDangerous Animals, which features characters who hail from Australia, America, England, and Canada,Tintorerais a major international affair. While the movie, which follows a tiger shark endangering an island paradise, is set in Mexico and based on a novel by famed Mexican oceanographer Ramón Bravo, it is a Mexican-British co-production that also features British genre veterans Susan George (The House Where Evil Dwells,Straw Dogs) and Fiona Lewis (Dr. Phibes Rises Again,The Fury,Strange Behavior, 1974’sDracula) in major roles opposite Mexican actors Hugo Stiglitz (Night of a Thousand Cats) and Andrés García (The Bermuda Triangle).
AlthoughThe Reef, which follows a group of friends trying to reach land after their ship capsizes, is set in Indonesia,it is an Australian movie just likeDangerous Animals(which is a co-production between Australia and the United States). In addition to featuring Australian stars includingUnderbelly’s Damian Walshe-Howling and Gyton Grantley, the movie features a similar sensibility to intenseAustralian horror moviesfocusing on the terrors of the natural world, including 1984’sRazorback, 2007’sBlack Water, 2017’sBoar, andDangerous Animalsitself.
The star-studdedDeep Blue Seacast, which includes Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, and Stellan Skarsgård, makes it worth watching in and of itself. However, the movie - which followsan underwater research facility being overrun by hyper-intelligent sharks- has many similarities withDangerous Animals. This includes blending the killer shark subgenre with an entirely different genre (in this case, the action genre) and featuring a precisely curated soundtrack, which in this case includes the original LL Cool J song “Deepest Bluest” alongside tracks by artists including Smokeman, Hi-C, Divine, Bass Odyssey, Simone Starks, and Amyth.
2003’sOpen Wateris perhaps even more intense thanDangerous Animals, because it is loosely based on the true story of a married couple who were stranded on the Great Barrier Reef while on a scuba diving excursion. While their situation is very different from that of Zephyr and Moses, the fact thatthe major throughline ofOpen Waterfocuses on the main characters' relationshipgives it a similar feel toDangerous Animals, though the latter title feels like it contains more of a proper movie romance.
ThisBlake Lively movie, which was directed byCarry-OnandOrphan’s Jaume Collet-Serra, blends the director’s facility with action thrillers and horror movies into an inimitably tense cinematic experience. Just likeDangerous Animals,The Shallowsfeatures a limited cast and an isolated locationthat helps heighten the stakes considerably. In this case, the only major character is Blake Lively’s surfer character Nancy Adams, who finds herself stuck on a rock just off the coast while locked in a one-on-one battle with an angry shark, with only a seagull for company.
Bait, which is also known asBait 3D, is a movie that has many close connections withDangerous Animals, including the fact that it is an Australian co-production (with Singapore) that centers on Australian stars including Sharni Vinson (You’re Next) and Xavier Samuel (who starred inDangerous Animalsdirector Sean Byrne’s earlier horror movieThe Loved Ones). It also blends the shark movie with another robust subgenre, which is the disaster movie, asa devastating tsunami is the reason that its main characters get stuck in a flooded grocery store that also contains a great white shark.
Steven Spielberg’s 1975 shark attack movieJaws, which is based on the Peter Benchley novel of the same name, is one of the most iconic films of all time. In addition to spawning a franchise that now includes four installments, it is often credited as the progenitor of the summer blockbuster. The movie, which was nominated for four Oscars and won three, was alsoa direct inspiration forDangerous Animals, as revealed by director Shaun Byrne in the following exclusive quote shared withScreenRant:
Dangerous Animals was inspired by the greatest shark film of them all. Like Jaws, it’s character-driven; shot on the ocean for a genuine sense of danger a tank can’t replicate; and - although there are several sharks in the movie - it thrives on the pure suspense of a fin circling then knifing under the water, with victim and audience alike just waiting for the moment of attack.
It is undeniable that the entire killer shark genre would not exist without the success of theJawsmovies, particularly the original installment. For that reason, it is the perfect follow-up forDangerous Animals, as it would be for any of the killer shark movies and aquatic horror movies in general that were spawned in the wake of the combined box office of the four installments, which reached a total of roughly $800 million without adjusting for inflation.
