The Jurassic World franchise would benefit from breaking away from the adventure aspects of dinosaurs run amuck, and having an R-rated horror spinoff could truly show the series' teeth for the first time. Jurassic World: Dominion will mark the start of a new era, where humans have to adjust to dinosaurs being on the mainland after the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Expanding the world of the franchise creates the chance to tell new stories with new characters in new genres, one of which should be an R-rated spinoff that leans into the horror potential of dinosaurs on the loose.
The idea of dinosaurs being brought back to life after 65 million years is inherently adventurous, and taps into the sense of wonder kids have towards these amazing creatures. The Jurassic World franchise is the perfect embodiment of that amazement, tempered with some genuinely terrifying scenes. The first Jurassic Park, for instance, has some legitimately scary moments, with Spielberg squeezing every ounce of tension from the first T-Rex attack and the raptors in the kitchen, building on the dark and violent legacy of Michael Crichton's original novel. Similarly, The Lost World's raptors in the long grass scene is also a standout horror moment. The more recent Jurassic World movies though have focused more on the adventurous side, being happy to cater to a family audience.
This approach, as well as the primal fear instilled by carnivorous dinosaurs, means that the franchise as a whole is tailor-made for horror. Following the mixed reception to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, there was criticism that the series was just going through the motions. Having an R-rated horror spinoff of Jurassic World would therefore help to keep the series fresh and exciting. Furthermore, and notwithstanding Spielberg’s grasp of tension, the dinosaur attacks in earlier Jurassic Park movies are largely bloodless affairs, with any carnage obscured/happening off-screen, or brought to life via sound effects. Conversely, Michael Crichton's source novels are very graphic in their descriptions of the attacks and aftermath. An R-rated horror spinoff could therefore actually hue closer in tone to the novels than the movies have thus far, and would enable a more realistic depiction of dinosaur attacks.
While there are deaths in the Jurassic World movies, the family adventure movie template dictates that they are always secondary characters or antagonists, never the main heroes. Leaning into an R-rated horror template with a new cast would keep the tension high as horror movies are usually less concerned with who makes it to the end credits. An R-rated horror spinoff of Jurassic World also needn't have a blockbuster budget. While the Jurassic World franchise has consistently delivered ground-breaking effects, expensive CGI could be managed by limiting the amount of dino action and focusing on sustaining the tension and terror. Keeping them in the shadows/glimpses à la Steven Spielberg’s Jaws or Ridley Scott's Alien is a tried and tested approach to filming movie monsters, with the audience's imagination doing the heavy lifting.
Historically, any R-rated dinosaur-style movies have mainly been poorly made knockoffs from The Asylum or Syfy. While usually awful, they keep being made as there is an audience for them. A mid-budget R-rated Jurassic World horror spinoff could be really interesting if it was given the proper care and attention. Horror is a malleable genre that would work for numerous scenarios of dinosaur attacks, and focusing just on the horror aspects has worked for the series previously, with Jurassic World short movie Battle at Big Rock being critically acclaimed.
