Phil Roberts 
The destruction of Isla Nublar serves as a reminder of the terror lurking in the darkness…
It is no secret that Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park revolutionised the landscape of movie making and raised the bar for every fantasy feature film that followed. The introduction of computer generated imagery or CGI was revolutionary, and its amalgamation with practical effects proved to be the recipe for success. What’s more, was the incredibly thought-provoking storyline conceived by author Michael Crichton, which underscored the dangers of the human race embracing our fast-evolving technology and using it to supersede nature and assume the role of the all-powerful.
It was a powerful narrative. One that brought the notion of cloning and genetic tampering back to the forefront of ethical debate. However, supressed by this powerful talking point was the fate of the islands’ dinosaur population which had been bred with a lysine deficiency interwoven into their genetic makeup. With the dinosaurs completely reliant on their human overlords for a regular diet of lysine, any escaping specimens would swiftly perish from the shortfall in their genetically floored diet.
With Ian Malcolm’s words ringing in our ear, life did indeed find a way to circumnavigate this deficiency and against all odds, the species began to thrive. That was until the greedy InGen corporation decided to plunder Isla Nublar’s sister site on Isla Sorna, and transport the dinosaurs to the mainland where they would be used as revenue generating commodity to rejuvenate its ailing fortunes. But in our short-sightedness, the human race failed to uphold the most basic of security safeguards and allowed a male Tyrannosaurs Rex to escape its bonds and rampage on an unsuspecting San Diego.
The Tyrannosaur’s rampage highlighted the many dangers of bringing the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park to our technologically advanced world and served to highlight the flaws in our response to the crisis. The implications were terrifying, and the morality of narrative played an intricate part in both of Spielberg’s exciting adventures on Jurassic Park.
Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World, serving as both a sequel and a reboot for the franchise omitted this rhetoric from its narratives but exploited the nostalgia factor enough to afford us a contemporary take on the Jurassic Park legacy whilst delivering a movie bathed in the familiar. Its tone was significantly lighter than its predecessors and steered away from the unnerving scare marathon of Spielberg’s masterwork, but in J.A Bayona’s sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, order is about to be restored.
As is so often the case, the lessons of the past are ignored to our detriment and a cataclysmic eruption of Isla Nublar’s volcanic region expedites the return of the dinosaurs to our suburban environment. There, they are sold to the highest bidder once InGen had plundered samples of their DNA to splice together a new fearsome hybrid monster in the Indoraptor.
The fear factor returns.
Many species of dinosaur have been revealed to escape their incarceration and unleash havoc on a nearby unsuspecting town, but the most monstrous escapee is the terrifying Indoraptor, a genetic abomination boasting the same predatory hallmarks as the fear-provoking Indominus Rex. The creature, described as the ultimate predator is seen climbing over rooftops and stalking a terrified child despite being challenged by Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady and his housebroken Velociraptor, Blue. The monster moves under the cover of darkness and is witnessed using door handles to gain access to homes in complete silence where it is free to stalk and hunt at will, a behaviour hauntingly similar to the original Velociraptor in Jurassic Park.
J.A Bayona has set his stall out early to ensure both the gravitas and menacing plot have been reinserted anew into the Jurassic Park franchise. Just as the original Velociraptor once stalked the landscape in Spielberg’s stunning first act, the Indoraptor has arrived to impart a new incarnation of fear into the hearts of its audience. The original Jurassic Park built its foundations on the morality of human tampering which in turn gave birth to the monster that would destroy us, and in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, that legacy continues.
Jurassic World had its flaws, but Colin Trevorrow’s incredibly lucrative movie succeeded in bringing dinosaurs back to the forefront of our thinking and reminded us of the implications attached to the tampering with the power of mother nature. And yet, it is its successor that will bring the Jurassic Park franchise full circle and hammer home the message.
The final act of Fallen Kingdom has been described as deliciously scary by Steven Spielberg and judging by his efforts on both Jurassic Park and Jaws, who could argue with his credentials. This only serves to make Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom a tantalising and chilling prospect. And with so many dinosaurs free to run amuck, anything can happen!
The dark side of Jurassic Park is about to strike back, and despite the words of its founder, it is no longer the welcoming place it once was.
The park is gone but life will find a way.
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Phil Roberts is the owner, daily content manager, and editor-in-chief of The Future of the Force. He is a huge fan of Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies.
If he’s not in the cinema he’s probably streaming something equally awesome!
I was ready to be scared silly in that movie theater when I watched the film for the first time but the creators of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom just wouldn’t allow the film to reach that level of horror that seemed so effortless in Jurassic Park. Hence, it was a disappointment.
Let’s hope the Jurassic World trilogy finale which is set to come out in three years can juggle the horror and the story in an enjoyable fashion.