Steven Spielberg's original Jurassic Park predicted the future when a young volunteer at Alan Grant's dig site accuses a Velociraptor for not being scary. As he would soon find out (and as the audience later saw), he was wrong, and Grant's explanation of just how scary dinosaurs can be definitely hit home. Three movies later, however, things have started to come full circle, and we all might feel a little like that incredulous kid who wasn't familiar with the dangers of a raptor claw.From The Lost World to Jurassic World, the dinosaurs onscreen went the way of most cinematic villains: they lost their luster. What once seemed impressive became dated, and what once seemed scary became familiar. In a lot of cases, reboots (or in the case of this franchise, long-delayed sequels) typically do their best to reinvigorate the key elements that made a series so good to begin with. That said, Jurassic World missed the mark. Following the "bigger is better" mindset, Jurassic World ultimately neglected returning its dinosaurs to their terrifying roots.Related: What Went Wrong In The Jurassic World Pitch MeetingSo, with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, director J.A. Bayona may well do justice to the scarier elements of the franchise. The series has already proven its ability to show off groundbreaking effects; now it has to leave its audience on edge, clinging to their armrests.This Page: Yes, Jurassic World Should Be Scary

Yes, Jurassic World Should Be Scary

Spielberg isn't strictly a horror filmmaker, but he's no stranger to the genre. Jaws, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and even Poltergeist (which he may as well have co-directed), Spielberg has expertly crafted memorable cinematic scares over the past forty-odd years. So, when he loosely adapted Michael Crichton's novel, Jurassic Park, he took some artistic liberties, condensing the story to its most vital elements and whetting the scares to a sharpened point. From there, he set a franchise standard - a standard none of the sequels have managed to reach.

The entire hook in Jurassic Park is that humans must pay the ultimate price for tampering with nature. By so doing, man is no longer at the top of the food chain - which, by extension, makes the dinosaurs strategic, cold-blooded killers. In fact, some of the most standout moments in this franchise have to do with thrills and chills in the first film alone (see: Lex and Tim against raptors in the kitchen, the Dilophosaurus attack, and "Clever girl..."). The sequels aren't completely void of tension, but the traditionally horrific elements are few and far between.

The action/adventure elements in this series is already well observed. Now, it's time that filmmakers treated these movies like the creature features they are. The "wow" factor in terms of visuals is difficult to achieve these days, but keeping audiences terrified is as doable as it is necessary. These aren't the dinosaurs from The Land Before Time, they're genetic abominations. It's high time the filmmakers treat them accordingly.

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Dinosaurs Have Become Less Scary... And Jurassic Park's Gotten Worse

There was an obvious shift in tone in Jurassic Park's sequel The Lost World. Spielberg was still in the director's chair, but it was clear he was gravitating toward something more monumental than monstrous. He wanted the dinosaurs off the island, so as to elevate the series and push boundaries. And while he did manage to weave in some genuinely suspenseful sequences (Raptors in the tall grass, T-Rexes vs. the trailer), it never recaptured the "magic," or the chills, of the first.

This carried over to Jurassic Park III, where the dinosaurs are mockeries of their former selves. Two prime examples include the Tyrannosaurus Rex being unceremoniously sidelined for the Spinosaurus and Velociraptors going from cruel and ruthless to fair and family-oriented (without precedent). By Jurassic World, it only gets worse. At this point, the animatronics that made the first film so impressive have been reduced to a CGI overhaul, and any semblance of suspense or tension has been replaced with loud noises and chaos.

While there is definitely a fine line that filmmakers need to walk when it comes to maintaining spectacle and dread, the Jurassic Park sequels hardly seemed to bother creating a balance. The monster movie elements have taken a backseat to the "blockbuster" elements, which is a shame, considering that Jaws”a film that balance these elements perfectly”was what literally coined the phrase "blockbuster" in the first place.

Jurassic World Can Make Dinosaurs Scary Again

So, can Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom fix what's been broken? When the first teaser trailer dropped in December, the verdict was in the air. Most of the footage revolved around Owen and Claire's reunion, a return to the island, and the erupting volcano. In fact, not only was there a shortage on horror, the tone in the teaser felt more madcap-action than anything else.

That said, the Super Bowl spot ultimately set things straight. A drastic change in tone was already evident from the first shot alone, showcasing a young girl alone in her bed while the film's new genetically mutated antagonist”the Indoraptor”prowls forward, arm and claws outstretched. Whether or not this new teaser was structured solely as a response to negative criticism aimed at the first teaser remains to be seen, but there's no denying the fact that "horror" is most definitely taking center stage in this go-around.

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If the bulk of Fallen Kingdom maintains the sort of tone introduced in this brief opening alone, there may be hope after all. That's not to say that there aren't components in the upcoming sequel that will inevitably keep dinosaurs from reaching their full, unnerving potential (see: Blue the Raptor becoming Owen's partner in crime), but if the Super Bowl spot is anything to go off of, audiences looking for something closer to what the series ought to represent may be pleased with the final product.

J.A. Bayona Is A Proven Horror Director

There's a reason why so many directors who started out in horror do so well in the action genre”they've got a perfect handle on pacing. Peter Jackson made the plunge with The Lord of the Rings, Sam Raimi did it with Spider-Man, and even James Wan became an accomplished genre hopper with Furious 7 and the upcoming Aquaman. So, in bringing director J.A. Bayona on board for Fallen Kingdom, the Jurassic franchise feels as though it's really in capable hands.

Though Bayona isn't an all-out horror director, he's well-acquainted with the genre. In fact, though his last two features revolved around drama and fantasy, his debut feature film The Orphanage was strictly horror. He even got the official blessing of Academy Award winner Guillermo del Toro, who helped produce the film. By comparison, the last two directors in the franchise simply weren't up for the challenge.

By the time he directed JP3, Joe Johnston had made a name for himself with films like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji. So, going off his personal experience in bringing horrific elements to the screen, he had long been limited to PG-friendly material. He was quite experienced at producing thrills and adventure, but not with establishing the necessary dread that a movie about feral monsters requires. And the same goes for Colin Trevorrow, who helped reignite the franchise with Jurassic World.

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In 2012, Trevorrow broke out with the indie darling Safety Not Guaranteed. It earned the attention of Hollywood's bigwigs, and before long, he was hired to director Jurassic World, his second feature length film (not counting his made-for-TV movie Gary: Under Crisis). While it might have been inspiring (and even inspired) to see major studios putting their faith in small-time filmmakers, the result wasn't quite as promising as most might have hoped. The film did manage to rake in a pretty penny (over a billion dollars internationally), but that's arguably less to do with Trevorrow's direct involvement and more to do with the fact that people were hungry for more dino-drama.

Trevorrow's handle on the material simply didn't result in the most engaging final product. Whether or not that directly resulted in his removal from Star Wars: Episode IX's director's chair remains to be seen, but the criticism aimed at him couldn't have made the aforementioned bigwigs feel especially confident in their gamble. So, post-Spielberg, the franchise is 0 for 2, but having a director brought on board who has already proven numerous times that he can perfectly balance style and substance is certainly cause for celebration.

Jurassic World's Threats Aren't Dinosaurs

While the Jurassic franchise has dealt with antagonists in the form of InGen's exploitation of dinosaurs to the dinosaurs themselves, Fallen Kingdom has a shot at shaking things up. Between the mysterious and corrupt Wheaton (played by Toby Jones), the volcano, and whatever malcontent might be brimming in between, there is plenty of room for the dinosaurs to simply be scary.

The best sort of horror is the kind that only pretends to make the MacGuffin seem vital. For example, in The Silence of the Lambs, the focus was on Buffalo Bill, but Hannibal Lector ended up stealing the show. This is where Fallen Kingdom can really thrive. And in a way, this is where Fallen Kingdom can even take advantage of the fact that previous installments in the franchise didn't quite nail the "scary" elements when it came to dinosaurs. Audiences are already well aware of what they'll be getting once the dinosaurs show up on screen, so to pull the rug out from underneath them”to shock them with a truly terrifying experience”is this franchise's ace in the hole. Whether or not they take advantage of it is the big mystery.

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