Dangerous Animals

2025 Shudder

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 38min

Horror ~ Survival ~ Thriller

Starring: Hassie Harrison, Josh Heuston, Rob Carlton, Ella Newton, Liam Greinke and Jai Courtney.

You’re Safer In The Water

Jai Courtney stars as Bruce Tucker, a boat captain on the Gold Coast of Australia who runs Tucker’s Experience. a shark cage attraction. As he is returning to his boat with supplies he finds Tourists Greg and Heather waiting to be taken out and experience the shark cage experience. After talking to them and realizing that know one knows where they are, Tucker is more than happy to take them out to sea for the shark cage experience. After taking them out and throwing out chum to attract the sharks, Tucker lowers Greg and Heather into the ocean in the shark cage. After bringing them back up, Tucker promptly stabs Greg repeatedly with a knife and kicks him overboard for the sharks to feast on. Heather screams and Tucker smiles wickedly at Heather and says, “Welcome Aboard!”

Zephyr (Hassie Harrison) is a free spirited American surfer living out of her van and travelling the Gold Coast of Australia. She is running from her past and searching for solace in the sun and the waves. She meets Moses (Josh Heuston) one day as he is looking for someone to help him start his car. Reluctant at first, Zephyr agrees to help him after she realizes that he is also a surfing enthusiast. They get his car started and then form a bond which leads to a one night affair. Zephyr, afraid of any kind of commitment and being a solitary creature, sneaks out as Moses is sleeping. She heads to the beach to do some early morning surfing but realizes she has lost her fin key for her surf board. She notices Tucker’s truck parked behind her and thinking he was probably an early morning surfer like her, rummages through the back of his truck looking for a key. Tucker shows up and she explains that she wasn’t breaking into his truck, only looking for a fin key. He has one and gives it to her. and when she turns her back to go to her van, Tucker ambushes her and knocks her unconscious.

When Zephyr comes to she is laying on a bed handcuffed to a metal railing. Frantic she tries to break free and realizes there is another girl laying in the same situation as her. It is Heather the Tourist who calmly tells her they are on Tucker’s boat and that there is no chance of escape. Tucker eventually shows up and gives the girls bread and water. Zephyr quickly realizes that Tucker has drugged the water and passes out. When she comes to, Tucker has Heather attached to the shark cage crane in a harness. She is drugged and Tucker has thrown chum into the water. As he starts to lift Heather up it becomes clear that he is about to feed the sharks with Heather that she is about to witness “The Greatest Show On Earth!” Tucker lowers Heather into the water and videotapes the whole episode for his perverse viewing later. When Zephyr comes to again she is back handcuffed to the bed in the boat. She frantically tries to escape knowing that she will be the shark’s next meal.

And what follows is a frantic thrilling and desperate journey to survive the psychotic serial killer Tucker and his perverse fascination with feeding people to the sharks. Moses is so taken with Zephyr, he tries to find her and eventually figures out that she is on Tucker’s boat and that Tucker is a “Dangerous Animal”. Like the solitary creature the shark, Tucker looks for his victims and attacks them when they least expect it with no mercy. Moses and Zephyr have grown very fond of each other and both realizing the other is in danger, they team up to escape from Tucker’s madness. Dangerous Animals is like Jaws, Hannibal and American Psycho all rolled into one. It is more terrifying than Jaws, more evil than Hannibal and more devious than American Psycho. If you love the Horror genre or Thrillers in general, this is a must watch! Jai Courtney and Hassie Harrison are fantastic in this, I absolutely loved it and would definitely watch it again!

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Scream,

I mean Stream This Movie

on Amazon Prime and Shudder

Trap

2024 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 45min

Drama ~ Horror ~ Thriller

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Night Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, and Alison Pill.

“This whole concert? It’s a trap. They’re watching all the exits, checking everyone that leaves. There’s no way to get out of here.”

Movie Synopsis from Netflix Tudum:

To celebrate her good grades, Philadelphia firefighter Cooper Abbott (Josh Hartnett) takes his daughter, Riley (Ariel Donoghue), to see her favorite pop star, Lady Raven (Saleka Shyamalan), in concert. But when they arrive at the event, Cooper notices that security is on extra-high alert. He watches as, one by one, guards remove other dads accompanying their daughters from the show, and realizes that every exit is blocked off by police. An employee at the arena tells Cooper that the FBI has reason to believe a notorious serial killer known as The Butcher is attending the concert, and they’re using the event to try to ensnare and arrest him. With the entire arena under surveillance, and thousands of armed police officers ready to sniff out the killer, The Butcher will have to find his way out without drawing attention to himself — or his daughter.

Movie Backstory from Netflix Tudum:

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Watchers, After Earth), Trap isn’t directly based on a true story, but the plot was partially inspired by a real-life sting operation known as Operation Flagship. In 1985, the US Marshals Service and the Washington, DC Metropolitan Police Department sent out more than 3,000 invitations by mail to fugitives with outstanding warrants living in the DC area. The invitations, which were sent using the name of the fictitious television company Flagship International Sports TV, stated that the individuals had been selected to receive free tickets to a Dec. 15 NFL game between the Washington Redskins (now known as the Washington Commanders) and the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as a chance to win an all-expenses paid trip to Super Bowl XX in New Orleans.

When the fugitives arrived to retrieve their tickets at what they were led to believe was the network’s headquarters, they were greeted by undercover marshals and police officers posing as ushers, cheerleaders, mascots, and other event staff. Operation Flagship resulted in the arrest of 101 people. Speaking about the inspiration behind Trap, Shyamalan told BBC News that he heard about Operation Flagship as a kid. “I thought it was totally absurdist, that this actually happened … This was real-life criminals, FBI and police,” he said, “They dressed up as cheerleaders and mascots and were dancing around with them and goofing around with them.”

What I thought about Trap:

What a Trap! I couldn’t resist, it was too easy. It was a little cheesy, a little campy. If I was a young teenage girl I might be really drawn in by Saleka’s character, but otherwise it just wasn’t that good. It really was kinda silly and implausible and I didn’t think Saleka is that good an actor. After the fact I started thinking you know…that seemed like M. Night Shyamalan was trying to showcase his daughter’s talents.

So I googled that and that is exactly what Trap is. A showcase by M. Night Shyamalan to showcase his daughter’s music and acting aspirations. “Daddy…….can you make me a star? Please daddy…” I just don’t think she was that good on either front. Teenage girls might think otherwise, I don’t know. Kind of a letdown for an M. Night Shyamalan movie. I expect more after his track record of really good thrillers.

That’s a no for me Dog……

Woman Of the Hour

2024 Netflix

Rated: Unrated

Length: 1 hr 35 min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Thriller

Directed by: Anna Kendrick

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Tony Hale, and Autumn Best.

“Bachelor number three, I’m counting on you. What are girls for?”

Anna Kendrick stars as Cheryl Bradshaw, an aspiring actress from Pennsylvania, who relocated to Los Angeles. Desperate for work and not having any luck, her agent books her on “The Dating Game” TV show. Among the three male contestants is Serial Rapist-Murderer Rodney Alcala played by Daniel Zovatto. I just can’t talk too much more about the plot of the movie without giving any spoilers, so I will give you more background on the movie and the real life story.

Woman Of The Hour is based on the true life story of Cheryl Bradshaw’s account of being on the episode and meeting Rodney Alcala. It focuses more on that story than the life and deeds of the convicted serial killer Rodney Alcala. At the time he appeared on The Dating Game September 13, 1978 he was wanted for the rape and murder of several women and the rape and attempted murder of an 8 year old girl. He was also employed at The Los Angeles Times and was interviewed by the Los Angeles police as part of their Hillside Strangler investigation.

Rodney Alcala hid behind the façade of being a photographer. Always carrying a camera around his neck and pretending to be interested in photographing his victims as a ploy to get them to remote spots. Charming and personable be the devil that lurked behind the camera, peering at his victims through the lens. Quietly watching and capturing their last moments of freedom before he unleashed his unsuspected savage terror. He would beat and strangle his victims to the point of unconsciousness, then bring them back to life so he could rape and abuse them. Mercilessly over and over again until they died.

It reminds me of Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, the true life depiction of serial killer Ted Bundy. Another ruthless savage who hid behind the façade of his charm and good looks, using them to lure his victims into a false sense of trust before he brutally raped and murdered them. Woman Of The Hour does depict some of the most famous Rodney Alcala cases to give you a better sense of the suspenseful Game Show appearance. One of the other male guests is quoted as saying that Rodney gave him the heebie-jeebies, something very unnatural about his presence made him want to get as far away from Rodney as possible.

Like Ted Bundy, Rodney Alcala evaded capture by running and hiding, assuming a new identity wherever he went. Always leaving the state they perpetrated their crimes in for new territory and an untapped victim pool. Bundy wore a cast and pretended to be helpless as he asked victims to assist him, Alcala always wore the camera around his neck and pretended to be taking photographs as he hunted for his next victim. He had over a thousand photographs he had collected that the police found when he was finally captured. It is believed that he potentially raped and murdered hundreds of women.

This movie marks Anna Kendrick’s Directorial debut. Nice job, I say. It is a great depiction of how the devil hides in plain site waiting to pounce on his next unassuming victim. I think she did a great job with the story, the movie and her role as Cheryl Bradshaw. Daniel Zovatto also did a great job portraying the many sides of Rodney Alcala, going from personable and charming, to a horrific murdering animal in the blink of an eye. Autumn Best also did a great job of portraying the victim Amy (The real life case of Monique Hoyt) who managed to trick Rodney into letting her live and escaping while they stopped at a gas station. She alerted the authorities and he was apprehended at the gas station.

So, that’s a big thumbs down on serial killers and rapists and………..

Two Thumbs up for Woman Of The Hour, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto and Autumn Best!