The 5 Best Horror Movies For 'Jurassic World' Fans
Jurassic World (2015) took what made Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993) so special and cranked it up a couple of notches. Now, the dinosaurs are bigger and the stakes are higher. And while all that action is cool, the franchise works best as a cautionary tale about humans playing God and pissing off nature in the process. Truthfully, there's nothing quite like the Jurassic World series or the preceding Jurassic Park movies. Still, if you're craving more creature feature encounters with plenty of suspense, scares, and wonder, you've got options.
From morality lessons in scientific overreach to silly dinosaur fun, here are the five best horror movies for Jurassic World fans to watch next, listed in order of release date. Netflix, HBO Max, and more are at your service for planning an easy scary movie night.
It feels cliché even to put Jaws on this list, but out of Steven Spielberg's entire filmography, it might be the movie closest to Jurassic Park when it comes to adventure, suspense, and sheer terror. When Brody (Roy Scheider), Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and Quint (Robert Shaw) ship off into open water to hunt the movie's man-eating shark, it mirrors the isolation the characters face in nearly every Jurassic World movie when they find themselves pitted against a massive creature with way more teeth than them.
If you haven't seen Jaws yet, watch it. There's a reason people are still talking about it 50 years later. The summer blockbuster element gives it mainstream appeal. However, horror movie fans will take particular delight in the slow-creeping suspense Spielberg masterfully evokes from start to end.
Even though it's part of the successful Riddick franchise, Pitch Black remains somewhat of a cult classic sci-fi spectacle. This 2000s sleeper hit stars notable names like Vin Diesel (Riddick himself), Keith David, and Radha Mitchell, who find themselves stranded on an alien planet with an abundance of twisted, creepy creatures that prefer to attack under the cover of darkness.
While its low-budget shows these days, Pitch Dark is a fitting companion watch to Jurassic World. It carries a similar brand of mayhem meets sci-fi, as the group faces off against creatures they had no business ever encountering in the first place. If Jaws isn't quite thrilling enough for you, Pitch Black is pure survival horror action.
The Host is Parasite (2019) director Bong Joon Ho's love letter to monster movie franchises like Godzilla. Here, the monster in question stems from the Han River in Seoul, Korea, and wreaks havoc on any humans that cross its tentacled path.
While the movie lacks dinosaurs, its underlying message feels akin to Jurassic World. With the creature created by the illegal dumping of toxic chemicals, The Host provides ample commentary on the dangers of contaminating nature. Just like the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchises, the real villains aren't the monsters, but the people who irresponsibly brought them to life. If monster movies like Alien (1979) and Shin Godzilla (2016) rank among your favorites, The Host should keep your interest.
Listen, nobody said these had to be critically acclaimed recommendations (right?), which is why The VelociPastor rounds out this list as one of those "so bad, it's good" movies. Everything you need to know is right in the title. After sustaining an injury from an ominous Chinese artifact, a pastor gains the ability to transform into a Velociraptor—and, yup, that's pretty much it.
In some ways, the movie has more in common with The Hulk than Jurassic World. However, The VelociPastor has enough dino action and stupid fun to delight B-movie lovers. If that's not really your thing, give it a try anyway. Who knows? Maybe a broken, butt-kicking dino-priest is exactly what's missing from your watch-list.
Godzilla: Minus One being a horror movie may be up for debate. Some argue it's more of a thriller, while others maintain that it's a suspense-heavy horror movie on par with Jaws. Regardless, it might be one of the best films of 2023, and if you have any affection for Godzilla or giant monster movies in general, then you're going to love this one.
Like Jurassic World, Godzilla: Minus One evokes fear with its giant reptilian Kaiju while pointing the finger at humanity's hubris. Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, Minus One carries a strong anti-war message and thrusts our protagonists (and Godzilla) right into the tail end of World War II. It's equally beautiful and heart-wrenching. And while it might not be as scary as Shin Godzilla, it's arguably more compelling.
