Hassie Harrison (“Yellowstone”), Jai Courtney (“Terminator Genisys”) and “Heartbreak High’s” Josh Heuston, soon to be seen in “Dune: Prophecy,” will star in the horror thriller “Dangerous Animals.”
Adding edge to the package, Australia’s genre auteur Sean Byrne (“The Loved Ones,” “The Devil’s Candy”), one of the highest rated horror directors of all time on Rotten Tomatoes, is directing “Dangerous Animals” which will be brought onto the Cannes market by David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment.
Starting principal photography on Australia Gold Coast on May 7, “Dangerous Animals” is produced by London and Sydney-based Brouhaha Entertainment, behind Karim Aïnouz’s “Firebrand” and Guy Pearce-led “The Convert,” sold by Mister Smith, in conjunction with LD Entertainment (“Jackie,” “Ben Is Back”), Oddfellows Entertainment and management-production firm Range Media Partners.
Producers on the film are a prestige alliance of Brouhaha’s Troy Lum and Andrew Mason, Pete Shilaimon, Mickey Liddell for LD Entertainment, Chris Ferguson for Oddfellows Entertainment and Brian Kavanaugh Jones for Range Media Partners.
Range Media Partners oversees U.S. rights; LD Entertainment is providing finance;Kismet will release the film in Australia and New Zealand.
Written by Nick Lepard, “Dangerous Animals” exhibits the same play with genre tropes of “The Devil’s Candy,” a classic horror thrill ride which unspools to the sounds of heavy metal. In “Dangerous Animals,” Zephyr (Harrison), described as a savvy and free-spirited surfer, is abducted by a shark-obsessed serial killer (Courtney). “Held captive on his boat, she must figure out how to escape before he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks below. The only person who realizes she is missing is new love interest Moses (Hueston), who goes looking for Zephyr, only to be caught by the deranged murderer as well,” the synopsis runs.
“‘Dangerous Animals’ is a super-intense and gripping story of survival, in the face of an unimaginably malevolent predator. In a clever melding of the serial killer and shark movie genres, it makes the shark look like the nice guy,” said Mister Smith Entertainment’s Garrett.
Byrne made an auspicious feature debut with “The Loved Ones,” which won the People’s Choice Award at Toronto’s Midnight Madness sidebar, and scored a 98% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. “The Devil’s Candy,” which won the Audience Award at the Gérardmer Festival, took a 93% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating. Byrne is represented by Innovative, Echo Lake, and Paul Hastings in the US, and by the Fleming Agency in Australia.
Reprising her role in November 2024 as barrel racer Laramie in Season 5 of Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone,” Harrison was most recently the female lead in “Tacoma FD,” now on Netflix. She is represented by the Gersh Agency, Range Media Partners, Vault Creative Group and Johnson, Shapiro, Slewett & Kole.
Captain Boomerang in James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad” for DC Comics and Warner Bros, Courtney will next be seen in the upcoming Netflix limited series “American Primeval” alongside Taylor Kitsch. He is represented by UTA, 734 Media, Morrissey Management and Viewpoint.
Hailed as the breakout star of the Netflix hit “Heartbreak High,” Heuston will next be seen in the upcoming Max television series, “Dune: Prophecy” as series regular Constantine. He is represented by UTA, The X Division, Platform Public Relations, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.