The Naughty and Nice List: The 12 Slays of Christmas Part 2

Down the chimney Santa came late one night,

Not for gifts or cookies, but horror film fright

 

A yearly tradition this was, a title I would pick,

To watch a horror movie with Jolly Old St. Nick

 

It was BLACK CHRISTMAS we watched in the dark,

The original from '74, the one directed by Bob Clark

 

Soon as we got to the shocking reveal, you know the part,

Santa's eyes grew big as he put his hand over his heart

 

While outside waited his reindeer and sleigh full of presents he forgot,

Wanting to watch one more, Santa looked at me and said, "Hey kid, what else you got?"

 

The original 12 Slays of Christmas article from December of 2016 documented the best examples of holiday horror with a handful of Bad Santa's mixed in for good cheer (you can read it HERE). This time around, we're looking at ten years of twelve lesser known films ranging in quality, and all featuring killer Claus's, feuding families with murder on their minds, or both. Not everything can be as magnificently chilling as the original BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) or as shockingly controversial as the original SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984). The former has had two remakes--one riotously gruesome and the Grandest of Guinol, and the other isn't worth opening at Christmas or any other time during the year; the latter has had four sequels and a just-released remake to illustrate the power and influence of the two films.

 

From 2015 to 2025, it's a Naughty and Nice List, a Christmas Deadly Dozen; so gather around and let's see if there's something for you under the Cool Ass Cinema Christmas tree.

1. A CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY (2015)

Vengeful and malevolent spirits, Krampus and a zombie elf outbreak at the North Pole make up four holiday horror tales that are connected to a deadly incident in the town of Bailey Downs.

Starting things off on the Nice List is a film that is bound to become a Kringle Kult Klassic. William Shatner plays a radio DJ who bookends four horror tales that are actually one complete story, segmented into an anthology in the style of 2005s TRICK R’ TREAT. As with most films done in the omnibus style, quality of stories varies, yet all of them have some level of creep factor. The best one is the last tale, and this is suitable considering the unique twist in the tale that ties them all together into one surprisingly satisfying present you may find yourself opening again and again over the holidays.

2. BETTER WATCH OUT (2017)

On Christmas Eve, a babysitter and the 12 year-old boy she’s watching believe they’re being targeted by intruders trying to get inside the house… but the truth is far more sinister.

BETTER WATCH OUT is a film that the less you know going in the better. A dark version of HOME ALONE (1990), the film becomes more shockingly vicious to the point where you're unsure whether to laugh at the onscreen depravity or be repulsed at the contents of this blackly superb Christmas gift. The typical horror movie conventions of the babysitter stalked by a killer trying to get inside the house are turned inside out in this unexpectedly taut holiday shocker. Inarguably the most creative Christmas horror film on this list, there are no killers in Santa suits or a seasonal slasher with a vendetta, but something far more evil. BETTER WATCH this movie. And stick around for a mid-end credits scene.

3. ONCE UPON A TIME AT CHRISTMAS (2017)

Starting on December 14th, two Santa-dressed serial killers, Nicholas Conway and Michelle Weaver, use the 12 Days of Christmas as the basis for a wild killing spree in the town of Woodridge, New York.

There’s a lot of bad festive horror out there; ONCE UPON A TIME isn’t one of them. Director Paul Tanter gets more mileage out of his low budget than the usual independent horror feature. The film’s wild card are the performances of the two lead maniacs, Mr. and Mrs. Claus played by Irish actor Simon Philips and British actress Sayla de Goede. Both are righteously over the top comic book personas; so much so that one wonders if the mental facility they've escaped from wasn't Gotham's own Arkham Asylum. This was a nice surprise and would make a great stocking stuffer for its place on the Nice List. 

The Terrible Two returned to slaughter anew in THE NIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS (2020). That title suits the first film better since the events cover twelve nights leading up to Christmas Day. A third film was announced for production in 2021. Christened ONE CHRISTMAS NIGHT IN A TOY STORE, the concluding chapter was to find Mr. and Mrs. crazy Claus spilling more blood and taking hostages inside a toy store while the FBI try to get them out alive. Sadly, the film has stalled.

4. MRS. CLAUS (2018)

Sorority members at a Christmas party are targeted by a killer wearing a Mrs. Claus outfit. The deaths are connected to a hazing prank that resulted in a murder-suicide years earlier.

An ugly, mean-spirited movie, MRS. CLAUS feels more like a DTV horror flick from 1988 than 2018. The gore is nowhere near Savini superlativeness but effective nonetheless; the camera lingers on the gory finality making this mediocre movie a grimier experience. A by the numbers slasher, the film’s main inspiration is apparently BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974), the greatest holiday horror of all time. 

 

Set mostly inside a sorority house (or someone's apartment), the plot of MS. CLAUS (formerly STIRRING) follows Bob Clark’s creepy classic minus the obscene phone calls along with the polish and chilling atmosphere. Former Scream Queen Brinke Stevens is top-billed even though she pops in and out of the movie as a local police officer. There’s a double twist at the end and a third, downbeat cliffhanger in the final shot that, for such a low budget effort, shows that the filmmakers definitely had the holiday spirit.

5. SECRET SANTA (2018)

An annual family gathering for one wealthy, and heavily malfunctioning family, descends into a bloodbath on Christmas Eve.

 

SECRET SANTA is an hilarious movie. The pacing is perfect in building the outburst of violence that escalates to bloodthirsty murder. The film then devolves into a more serious tone, leading to a final scene that suggests what afflicted this family was about to spread like a virus. Director Adam Marcus was behind the most daringly creative Jason Voorhees adventure with JASON GOES TO HELL: THE FINAL FRIDAY (1994). He does the same for Christmas with this insanely wacky holiday horror about a family that redefines dysfunction. There's a great homage to THE THING (1982) via one of that film's funniest lines. And as divisive as this film will likely be (much like Marcus's FRIDAY flick), any movie that goes from a festive slaughter-thon to zombie outbreak via contaminated Christmas punch deserves your attention at least once. SECRET SANTA is Naughty and Nice in the best possible way.

6. THE NIGHTS BEFORE CHRISTMAS (2020)

Three years after the Woodridge massacre, serial killers Nicholas Conway and Michelle Weaver, alias Santa and Mrs. Claus, track down the remaining victims on their Naughty List while evading the FBI who are in hot pursuit.

This is the bigger, more ambitious sequel to 2017s impressive holiday fright-fest ONCE UPON A TIME AT CHRISTMAS (at one point, going by the title of TWICE UPON A TIME AT CHRISTMAS). Think SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Clarice Starling versus the NATURAL BORN KILLERS in Santa Claus outfits. 

 

The plot is more convoluted due to the increased number of characters; although most of them are eventually killed off by the deliciously overacting pair of scene-stealing seasonal slashers. NIGHTS is bigger in scope and even more polished than its already slickly made predecessor. The movie ends on a cliffhanger so hopefully we’ll get that intended third chapter--ONE CHRISTMAS NIGHT IN A TOY STORE--to give this impressive series proper closure.

7. SILENT NIGHT (2021)

A family and their close friends gather for a final Christmas dinner before an impending apocalypse wipes out all of humanity.

Not to be confused with the awful John Woo movie SILENT NIGHT (2023) also set at Christmas, this is the bigger budgeted version of SECRET SANTA (2018); only instead of the family killing each other, they come to grips with the possible reality they will all be dead by the next day whether by the forthcoming apocalypse or via suicide pills the government urges citizens to take. Camille Griffin’s film starts off with this off-kilter, kooky and comical atmosphere but halfway through, the tone changes to THE MIST without the monsters. There’s lots to digest at this last supper, so if you’re expecting blood and guts flying everywhere, you’re probably better off partaking anywhere else besides the most depressing film on this list.

8. CHRISTMAS BLOODY CHRISTMAS (2022)

 

A young record store owner must battle a malfunctioning robo-Santa delivering death on Christmas Night.

Likely inspired by recent robotic killers seen in the CHILD’S PLAY remake and then M3GAN (2022) that came shortly thereafter, we have here a robot killer Santa Claus. Unfortunately, aside from the ROBOCOP footfalls, it never moves like anything more than an actor wearing a Santa Claus suit. The practical gore is refreshing and it's occasionally entertaining, but that's as far as the gift-giving for this movie is going to go. CBC is never as hip as it wants to be with the Tarantino-like dialog written for grandly unlikable characters generously peppered with annoyingly excessive use of the word 'fuck'. It's used so much, you expect Rob Zombie to be seeking legal action.

9. SANTA ISN’T REAL (2023)

 

Nikki awakens from a year-long coma after nearly being killed by what she described as Santa Claus. The following Christmas, her friends take her to a secluded, snow-bound cabin to relax. The vacation turns to a night of horror when Jolly Old Saint Nick returns.

There are several movies of varying genres featuring Santa Claus as the main character, but this is the first to feature Old St. Nick as a purported slasher killer. SANTA ISN’T REAL revels in holiday ambiance, even going so far as to write new Christmas songs for it by a band called The Imaginaries. One of the best things director Zac Locke (executive producer of the second and laughably anti-male, feminazi-fueled BLACK CHRISTMAS remake from 2019) does with his movie is the sense of dread he creates; this isn’t always wrangled visually but audibly—such as the sound of blowing wind pounding the house from the outside. 

 

The lead actress Kaya Coleman is a standout and a huge plus for this under-seen independent horror. The depiction of Santa as Slayer is genuinely creepy with his almost waxen facial image, reminiscent of the electronic Santa seen in the toy store stalk and kill sequence of the original SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984). Watch out for a mid-end credits scene where a pizza delivery man is greeted by Old St. Nick.

10. SLAY RIDE (2024)

 

The Kris Kringle Killer has slain 11 women and plans for one more to complete his 12 Days of Christmas killing spree. His last potential victim ends up being a woman who lives in the house the killer grew up in.

Starring, produced and directed by Olivia Dunkley (she also contributed to the music), the rambunctious SLAY RIDE is definitely on the Naughty List (as the psycho Kringle killer keeps saying) but has more than a few Nice things going for it. A film with a main character named Holly Woods (played by Dunkley) is clearly in on its own joke; and Holly isn’t having a jolly Christmas… at all. It’s like an 80 minute Texas Death Match—no disqualification, falls count anywhere. Anything goes. Did everyone do their own stunts? 

 

Mitchel Gene Shira as the crazed Santa slasher is hilarious; and the most enjoyably over the top krazed Kringle performance since Eric Freeman in SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT PART 2 (1987). This RIDE operates on the same level of lunacy as FREEWAY (1996). It’s a gift that keeps on giving, totally unwrapping itself during an unexpectedly outrageous finale. SLAY RIDE could've used a much better advertising campaign, but it's the thought that counts; a lot of that went into this goofy, blackly humorous, Yuletide surprise.

11. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST CHRISTMAS (2025)

 

A group of friends meet at an isolated cabin for a Christmas reunion only to discover they're being set up for the kill over a deadly holiday prank a year earlier.

Just by the title alone, this barely feature-length flick (72 minutes including end credits), is the biggest rip-off on the Naughty List. It takes the plot of the popular slasher franchise (heavily influenced by the recent 2025 sequel) and turns into a lazily plotted holiday horror. Never leaving the confines of the vacation home it's set in, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST CHRISTMAS feels much longer than its scant running time. Easily forgotten once it's over, watching this movie is akin to receiving a last minute gift with the feeling that little to no thought went into it. 

12. HE SEES YOU WHEN YOU’RE SLEEPING (2025)

As a small boy, Chester witnessed his parents slaughtered by a maniac in a Santa suit. 17 years later, he returns to his childhood estate where conniving and vindictive members of his family plot to steal his inheritance from him. Meanwhile, an axe-wielding madman wearing a Santa suit begins a new murder spree.

One of the better Christmas horror films about bickering, back-stabbing (literally) families is this nifty thriller mixing CLUE-style theatrics with familiar holiday tropes and an occasional nod to merry scary horrors of Christmas past. The crazy old man warning the young Chester about Santa Claus recalls the similar sequence in SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984) where Grandpa scares the absolute hell out of Billy about what Santa Claus does to little kids who haven't been good all year. 

 

Caroline Williams (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2; THE STEPFATHER 2), one of the best Scream Queens still working in the horror genre, headlines the show, and resoundingly steals it in the films last half. The most recent example of the maladjusted, and quite demented, holiday family gathering features a killer Santa Claus, too; and looks back to the similar and underrated seasonal slasher, ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE (2015). HE SEES YOU WHEN YOU'RE SLEEPING is worth staying awake for.

 

On this 25th Day of December,

In the year 2025,

A Christmas you'll always remember,

If you're lucky to still be alive,

 

Till next year's season of Yuletide,

When Santa stalks anew,

For the Naughty with nowhere to hide...

 

Death Roll: The Best & Worst of Crocodylia Cinema

Other than sharks, horror movies about alligators and crocodiles are the second most prolific among the killer animal kingdom. In the last few years, these films have begun to run neck and neck, if not outpace, their man-eating competition. This flood of alligators and crocodile menaces means that for every single decent entry, you're all but guaranteed four or five worthless ones. The following is a year-ranked list of twenty of the best and a few of the worst this reptilian sub-genre has to offer.

1. THE GREAT ALLIGATOR (1979)

Kruna, the giant alligator God of the Kuma tribe, wrecks havoc at a tropical resort. A photographer and anthropologist try to stop the demonic reptile God, but also face danger at the hands of the giant alligator's tribal worshipers. JAWS (1975) took a big bite out of box offices around the world. It took a few imitations like a giant octopus and then an alligator before the Italians flagrantly ripped off the Spielberg blockbuster with a shark of their own. This is the last of a trio of jungle adventure films from Italian director Sergio Martino; the other two being the gruesome MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD (1978) and the kid-friendly ISLAND OF THE FISHMEN (1979). The cast of THE GREAT ALLIGATOR {IL FIUME DEL GRANDE CAIMANO [THE RIVER OF THE GREAT ALLIGATOR] in its original Italian) is superb, starring Claudio Cassinelli, Barbara Bach, Richard Johnson and Mel Ferrer. It’s a little slow in places, but the catchy music by Stelvio Cipriani is an energetic mix of jungle and horror cues; the Sri Lankan locations are incredible; and the alligator action is shot well even if it looks like a toy in a pool at times. The finale, combining live-action and miniatures, is far more creative than the desk-top special effects of many more recent rampaging reptile movies with zero creativity in concocting interesting attack sequences and satisfying finishes. For an Italian picture, TGA was an unusually expensive production for its time and still an adventurous good time today.

 

2. CROCODILE (1977/1979)

One of the absolute worst films ever made, but was a big hit in its native Thailand. CROCODILE spurred on a slew of other giant croc flicks made for domestic audiences. This one got international exposure and was the Thai answer to JAWS. Hong Kong had a minor investment in the film. Erotica actress Tanny Tien Ni has a supporting role as a woman who is killed at a resort and her husband and some friends take to the sea to kill the giant, God-like saltwater crocodile. The big croc dizzingly changes size from any number of shots; and it has the ability to turn itself into a cyclone, leaping out of the water and flying over boats. Tobe Hooper must've watched this for inspiration for his own shitty version also called CROCODILE (2000). The poster artwork for the film's American release is one of the most stunning pieces of horror film art you'll ever see. It's a perfect description of the film, but makes it look like a million bucks when the movie looks more like a buck fifty. 

3. ALLIGATOR (1980)

The World Champion of Crocodylia cinema is still Lewis Teague’s 1980 monster on the loose classic. It started life in 1976 as a more straightforward, 50s style monster movie instead of the humorous, if bloody horror favorite it became. ALLIGATOR is a perfect blend of horror and humor you rarely ever see that's actually scary and funny at regular intervals. The kid being gobbled up in the swimming pool is still frightening as hell. The attack sequences and mightily spectacular finale are a testament to practical effects--a superior showcase compared to the CG-centric monsters that proliferate this genre. Performances are magnificent across the board, especially Robert Forster's superbly naturalistic delivery. Lewis Teague's bonafide cult classic is a benchmark of killer animal cinema, and for the purposes of this list, there's no topping it.

ALLIGATOR was a massive success on television for the ABC Network. Funnily enough, there’s a scene where a reporter for rival network NBC is interviewing Henry Silva who plays Brock, the big game hunter. It took over a decade, but the anxiously awaited sequel finally surfaced in 1991; only what emerged in ALLIGATOR II: THE MUTATION wasn’t what fans wanted. Basically the same movie as the first but minus the horror, humor and action, it’s toxic waste instead of a growth hormone that supersizes the title reptile. It has Richard Lynch in the gator hunter role, but less of the gator and nothing of what made the 1980 original so much fun.

4. DARK AGE (1987)

In the last 20 years, Australians have held a large market share of Croc flicks and this one from the 80s takes a different approach to the material. If you're expecting the typical 'nature strikes back'  model, Arch Nicholson's movie takes things beyond the standard monster movie cliches. The deadly saltwater croc featured here has a mythical status built around it, placing it in the same camp as others like THE GREAT ALLIGATOR (1979); and like that film, there are human villains as well. John Jarratt, the Australian actor who terrified audiences in the two WOLF CREEK movies and a two-season television series, co-stars as as a park ranger trying to keep the enormous croc from being destroyed. If you’re looking for a different kind of killer gator movie, venture into the DARK AGE.

5. KILLER CROCODILE (1989)

After a decade of ripping off American blockbusters like JAWS (1975), the Italians swapped out finned man-eaters for reptilian ones in KILLER CROCODILE and its 1990 sequel. The minimal plot has environmentalists finding not only toxic waste being dumped in a swamp, but an enormous crocodile with an even bigger appetite. Fabrizio De Angelis's monster picture doesn't have the photographic beauty of Sergio Martino's THE GREAT ALLIGATOR (1979), but it has an even more energetic creature built by makeup effects master Giannetto De Rossi. Among many other films, he worked on PIRANHA 2: THE SPAWNING (1981), the underrated creature feature directed by James Cameron. De Rossi's juiced up crocodile is a wild design, and one of the best you'll ever see in these movies; and the Italians never shy away from showing it to you.

 

KILLER CROCODILE and KILLER CROCODILE 2 are a package deal--shot back to back using the same monster model in both films. De Rossi got behind the camera to direct the sequel that, ironically, and coming from a makeup effects artist, is inferior to its predecessor. The time wasn't there for De Rossi, nor was the money. However, he did manage a few cool attack scenes on top of there being a lot more of them. Curiously, the sequel draws inspiration from the plot of JAWS, with a jungle resort being built by a gangster after all the toxic chemicals have allegedly been accounted for. A journalist goes missing and Richard Crenna's son, Anthony, encoring from the first movie, sets out into the swamps to find her. Even with its noticeable lack of money, Director De Rossi uses his ingenuity to keep the production afloat.

6. LAKE PLACID (1999)

This story of a giant crocodile living below the depths of a lake in Maine was heavily hyped and expected to clean up at the box office. Key to this was a foul-mouthed Betty White in a role unlike any she’d done before. LAKE PLACID under-performed but still managed to be a hit on video and got a handful of mostly worthless sequels. There’s no real plot to speak of, but the photography both above and below the water is superb. The film doesn’t feel as big as it should and when it ends, you’re expecting a little more out of it. Even so, like what DEEP BLUE SEA (1999) did for Shark movies, PLACID did the same for their reptilian colleagues. Stan Winston’s effects are top notch and blend well with the CG shots that put the Walmart software effects of most of these movies to shame. 

 

7. CROCODILE (2000)

Tobe Hooper’s five year filming hiatus ended with arguably the most generic movie on his resume and one of the worst. At the time it was shooting, Hooper said he wanted to capture the same atmosphere of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974). At no time does CROCODILE even remotely come close to that. His earlier slasher-croc flick, EATEN ALIVE (1977), certainly did. Despite the atrocious CG shots, CROCODILE has a few good “boo” moments and a bizarre backstory for its 40ft croc named Flat Dog. Plot-wise, it’s just FRIDAY THE 13th with a giant crocodile eating college kids lost and adrift on a houseboat. It becomes jaw-droppingly stupid at the end when, in an apparent nod to the Thai CROCODILE mess, the monster leaps out of the water, twists like a cyclone, and flies over the boat; then eats a guy before throwing him up again… and he survives! Possibly Hooper drank too many Dr. Pepper's during the shoot, as CROCODILE becomes an insane sugar rush that never resembles the hands that guided not just TCM, but SALEM'S LOT (1979) and THE FUNHOUSE (1981).

The sequel, CROCODILE II: DEATH ROLL or CROCODILE II: DEATH SWAMP (2002), is slightly better in that it plays it straight from start to finish. Gary Jones of MOSQUITO (1994) fame, took the director seat for this one—about bank robbers who hijack a plane that ends up crashing in a swamp during a storm. A crocodile attacks and they kill it, leading to the much bigger mother going after them. The hydraulic croc gets lots of screen time although the cast is killed off virtually the same way in every attack scene. Martin Kove (THE KARATE KID; STEELE JUSTICE) is the hero of the piece; if only he had more screen time this one would possibly rate higher.

8. BLOOD SURF (2001)

The dumbest movie on this list is, ironically, one of the most entertaining due to how exceedingly terrible it gets the longer you stick with it. There’s a surprising amount of sex, nudity, and bad special effects of both the desktop and practical variety. The plot is as incredibly stupid as the movie itself. A group of surfers cut themselves and catch waves while avoiding being eaten by sharks; but doing this attracts a giant saltwater crocodile. It’s an outrageous movie but a strangely entertaining one. The monster is killed in an original way so that’s a plus. Duncan Regehr (like Ree-ger) plays the croc hunter role that most of these movies demand. The film was originally titled KROCODYLUS, and was in production around the same time as Hooper's CROCODILE crap-fest. BLOOD SURF is directed by James D.R. Hickox (CHILDREN OF THE CORN III), the brother of Anthony Hickox (WAXWORK; HELLRAISER III; WARLOCK: THE ARMAGEDDON), and son of Douglas Hickox, director of the absolute classic THEATER OF BLOOD (1973).

9. BLACK WATER (2007)

Director Andrew Traucki’s killer animal career began with this tension-filled horror movie about a hungry crocodile stalking three people trapped in an Australian swamp. The use of a real crocodile composited into shots with the actors is a strikingly effective visual that director Traucki would replicate a few years later, putting it to even better, more horrifying use in his superior shark shocker THE REEF (2010). And just like that hit shark flick, BLACK WATER is based on true events. Back in 2003, three friends were riding ATV's through the Australian swamps near the Finniss River. They stopped for a breather and were attacked by a crocodile that took one of the group into the swamp. Two of the friends managed to climb a tree where they remained for 22 hours before being rescued. The body of the third was never recovered. BLACK WATER is one of three gator movies on this list with some true-to-life elements in them.

10. ROGUE (2007)

The year 2007 was a banner year for these movies. ROGUE is quite simply the best of its kind since its release and the closest you'll get to matching ALLIGATOR (1980). Greg McLean is a masterful suspense builder. He did wonders for his grueling slasher movie WOLF CREEK (2005), and does the same with giant crocodiles. Here, an American journalist goes on an Australian river cruise with various other tourists. Upon answering a distress signal in a remote area they shouldn’t be in, the group are trapped and preyed upon by an enormous crocodile. Originally intended for a wide release, when it didn’t do well in Australia, and PRIMEVAL, another croc flick that bombed in American theaters, McLean’s film made its nest on home video instead. The special effects, a combination of CG and animatronics, are some of the best this sub-genre has seen. One key to the success of the FX is the CG croc moves like a real one would move instead of the warp speed mobility given them in so many of the poorly rendered genre offerings. Occasionally tense as hell, ROGUE deserved better than it got and is as close to JAWS as this sub-genre has gotten in 15 years.

11. PRIMEVAL (2007)

 

Of all the titles on this list, PRIMEVAL is the most mean-spirited, and brutally violent. The attack sequences are surprisingly vicious and varied compared to most every movie in this sub-genre. Based on the man-eating exploits of Burundi, Africa's infamous Gustave, the 20ft long Nile Crocodile alleged to have consumed upwards of 300 people, it isn't the only plot element taken from real life; the other being brutal civil war in Africa. A group of reporters join up with Jurgen Prochnow as a big game hunter to capture the headline-making, sprint running crocodile. They encounter another danger, this of the human kind, in a barbaric local gangster referred to as Little Gustave. Similar to THE RELIC (1997) a decade earlier, PRIMEVAL was initially marketed as a serial killer thriller. Regardless, it was ignored during its original theatrical run. It's a dark, sadistic film that deserves a second look since so many killer croc flicks have been made since 2007. Gustave bests a great many of them.

 

12. CROC (2007)

CROC is one of many SyFy Channel killer animal movies populated with plentiful desktop special effects imagery. This one’s a co-production with Thailand and stars Michael Madsen who is on-camera for approximately 10-15 minutes. This is a rare flick of this style that’s a clear clone of JAWS (1975). Most of these movies stopped imitating Spielberg's iconic horror film years ago, so this one has a retro feel to it. It even gives a nod to JAWS 2 (1978) when the croc is electrocuted (but doesn’t die). The threadbare plot is about a Thai resort besieged by a 20ft saltwater crocodile. 

 

It being shot in Thailand, there’s lots of real croc footage as well as cultural staples like sideshow performers placing their heads inside the mouths of real crocodiles. It also means the size of the monster changes from one scene to the next. Aside from JAWS and the more well known but no less awful Thai croc movie from 1979, the flick even rips off the most famous scene from ALLIGATOR (1980) where a guy jumps into his pool and never seems to notice there’s a huge reptile in it with him. Not to be confused with CROC! from 2022 (see insert pic), a British crap-odile flick about a wedding party at a mansion where a crocodile lives in the basement that's far worse than this one.

 

13. FRESHWATER (2016)

 

One of the most unique killer gator flicks is this no-budget curio executive produced by, and starring, Australian stuntwoman Zoe Bell. It's a cross between Agathie Christie's 1939 novel 'And Then There Were None'  and Tobe Hooper's TEXAS CHAINSAW styled slasher-killer croc flick EATEN ALIVE (1977). If that description sounds intriguing to you, prepare for a massive level of disappointment. The film is largely a failure on all levels, but definitely worth seeing once to see a good idea go to waste. The film's first mistake is killing off that gorgeous actress at the beginning. There's a few bad editing choices, and the albino alligator that infrequently crunches the cast is possibly the worst rendering of a CG gator put to film. In its favor, there's a curve-ball at the end you won't see coming, and the final moments close the film with a downbeat touch. FRESHWATER is a fresh idea lousily executed. 

 

14. LAKE PLACID: LEGACY (2018)

Where the previous three sequels to 1999's LAKE PLACID were better described as LAKE FLACCID, this fifth film is a nice surprise. The last and best of the sequels, LEGACY stands out due to it taking the material seriously. After LP2 (2007), LP3 (2010), LP-FINAL CHAPTER (2012), and LP VS ANACONDA (2015), few probably had faith in another one being any good, much less deviating from the excessive campiness of its predecessors. It’s a talkative script and features an all-CG, 50ft prehistoric crocodile. Moreover, the filmmakers make a genuine effort in creating some modest tension that, up to this film, was an alien concept. The finale is different from what you usually get and recalls vintage cult flicks like THE CRATER LAKE MONSTER (1977) and CARNOSAUR (1993). This would’ve gotten more attention had it been titled ALLIGATOR III, or a new title altogether than associating itself with the jokey nature of the LP series.

15. CRAWL (2019)

The last wide release for swamp-roaming, rampaging reptiles, this one coming from French horror specialist Alexandre Aja. This one's the alligator version of the exceptional Aussie shark flick, BAIT 3D (2012). A hurricane traps a woman and her injured father in a storm. The town is flooded, letting in several hungry alligators that feast on several locals before turning their appetite towards those trapped inside the house. It's a fun film, with some inventive attack sequences and CG alligators that move realistically. What isn't believable is the amount of punishment the leading actress takes, making it appear her skin is made of metal as she's able to survive multiple bites about her body. If you can suspend disbelief in that area, you'll have a good time with this one; only don't expect any humor like in Aja's 3D PIRANHA remake from 2010. CRAWL isn't slow in the horror department, and easily the best of its kind to slither onto the screen in the last ten years.

 

16. BLACK WATER: ABYSS (2020)

 

Andrew Traucki sequelizes his earlier BLACK WATER (much like he did with his shark sequel, THE REEF: STALKED) with a follow-up crocodile terror flick. The concept is rife with scares aplenty, but only a few genuine shocks are delivered. This is THE DESCENT (2005) with crocodiles. A group of friends descend into a cave system before a storm floods the place with reptilian predators. Needless to say, not everyone makes it out alive. Compared to the first BLACK WATER, this sequel is lacking in thrills; which is ironic considering the tension Traucki created with just a few cast members whereas he has many more potential victims the second time around. There are too many stretches where the film slows down when it should be building tension. If Traucki weren't the director, this could be overlooked, but he's much better than what he turns in here. ABYSS is definitely recommended, just don't expect it to surpass its predecessor. Even so, there are a few intense sequences that many of the filmmakers behind some of these other titles could learn a great deal about building horror from.

17. THE FLOOD (2023)

This Aussie guns n' gator flick isn’t a patch on its Ozian antecedents like BLACK WATER or ROGUE, but it’s marginally better than your average SyFy drivel. Think ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1977) mixed with 2019s CRAWL and you have this water-logged thriller starring Casper Van Dien, everybody’s favorite Starship Trooper. An assortment of cops and convicts try to escape a Louisiana jail during a hurricane that’s flooding the place with both water and hungry alligators. The premise is good and populated with colorful characters, but the lack of suspense and the laughable, bulletproof alligators brought to life with drunken CGI prevent THE FLOOD from being anything more than a natural disaster.

18. METH GATOR (2024)

A new trend (and hopefully a brief one) in horror is the drug-addicted killer animal movie. First there was COCAINE BEAR (2023), then CRACKCOON (2024) and now there's a giant, galloping gator hooked on methamphetamine that goes on a rampage. And that’s the plot. Consuming bags of hard drugs apparently makes an alligator invulnerable to bullets, too; and it doesn’t stop people from firing endless rounds at it. It’s a surprisingly decent movie with occasionally better CG shots than usual. Director Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray is the son of the famous Fred Olen Ray, purveyor of Drive-in style horror, action, SciFi and DTV soft core sex flicks. METH GATOR is mildly enjoyable and certainly better than some of the lesser entries on this list.

19. LAKE JESUP: BONECRUSHER’S REVENGE (2024)

Marketed as being based on true events, Lake Jesup in Florida is the most heavily populated alligator oasis on the planet, home to over 13,000 of them. This also makes it the most dangerous body of water in the world and a place where a number of deaths have occurred. As for the movie, which now goes by the more generic title of GATOR LAKE, is the JAWS: THE REVENGE (1987) of killer gator movies. Both the giant reptile named Bonecrusher and ex-convict bodybuilder Bubba have personal agendas. The movie badly wants to be hip with its colorful Florida locales and rock and roll music; if only it wasn't so indecisive about which genre it wants to be since it's sloppy as hell trying to be comedy-horror with cult film aspirations. It needed more gator action and a better, punchier ending. However, Derek Russo is shockingly good in this, outshining his scaly co-star in every scene. Actually, you don't see much of Bonecrusher, and when you do, it's mostly the top of his head or closeups of his teeth as he rips and tears into the people on his hit list that are dumb enough to go into the water.

20. THE BAYOU (2025)

This is the deadly serious version of the campy METH GATOR (2024). A plane goes down in the Louisiana swamp lands and the survivors must fend off becoming the next meal for meth-infused alligators. The photography creates the right amount of mood and the film takes itself seriously. There are a few effective “boo” moments and the mix of CG and practical effects is welcome. The film was originally marketed as GATOR CREEK, but probably due to the similarly titled GATOR LAKE that came out around the same time, the filmmakers wisely changed the title of their film to the more suitable THE BAYOU. But unlike that picture's Florida locations, the Philippines stands in for Louisiana. Also in its favor, there's practical gore effects and a well done finale. THE BAYOU isn't bad.

With CRAWL 2 reportedly set to begin shooting soon, more scaly reptiles are bound to continue stalking danger-filled rivers, murky lakes and dense, isolated swamp lands... and maybe a flooded city or two, for a good while longer.

The Evolution of the JURASSIC PARK series

"This is not a science fiction movie by any stretch of the imagination. This is just science eventuality."--Steven Spielberg, FantaZone Magazine, 1993

 

As far back as I can remember, I’ve had a lifelong fascination with dinosaurs. It’s difficult to ascertain what the initial trigger was; whether it was seeing Godzilla films on television, or airings of THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT (1975) and THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT (1977), both were defining factors. This led to my mother purchasing me numerous books on prehistoric life; one item in particular was a set of dinosaur cards purchased for me at the Natural Science Center. They came housed in a hard plastic case and told you valuable information on a variety of species from the Mesozoic Era—these being the Triassic, the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods—also known as the Age of Reptiles.

 

Flash forward to 1993, and the next step in the advancement of dinosaur/giant monster cinema and special effects began...

This article aims to look at this constantly evolving series that, as of this writing, has a seventh entry hitting theaters on July 2nd, 2025. Possibly some of you reading this have had a similar adoration for dinosaurs since your childhood; and because of that, a fascination with this series 65 million years in the making—which, stunningly enough, began 32 years ago.

JURASSIC PARK (1993)

Businessman John Hammond creates a unique park cloning dinosaurs using 100 million year old DNA extracted from prehistoric mosquitos trapped within ancient tree sap. Hammond brings a varied group of individuals to see his island attractions in the hopes they’ll sign off on its viability so as to turn it into a functioning park for all the world to see. A self-serving park employee intending to enrich himself by selling dinosaur embryos to Hammond’s rival causes a security malfunction that sets the dinosaurs loose, endangering the lives of everyone trapped inside.

 

Based on Michael Crichton’s novel, Steven Spielberg “spared no expense”  in the realm of creativity, special effects and child-like wonder. His Dino-sized blockbuster became a phenomenon and made prehistory more popular than it had ever been before. A year before the film came out, it was already being described as the movie event to see, with the largest effects crew in film history. There was an impenetrable level of secrecy surrounding the production. Stan Winston, who was in charge of the live-action creature effects, teased what audiences were in for by commenting in interviews, "what I can tell you is that [JURASSIC PARK] is more than you've ever seen before, and beyond anything you can imagine".

 

Since the 1970s, both Spielberg and George Lucas have revolutionized motion pictures beginning with JAWS in 1975 and STAR WARS in 1977. Spielberg did it again with JURASSIC PARK (Lucas helped finish the picture). The filmmaker and his crew brought dinosaurs to life in a way never seen by human eyes. The tagline for 1978's SUPERMAN was "You will believe a man can fly".  With JURASSIC PARK, the film's makers made you believe dinosaurs were alive. This advanced special effects magic was done by a combination of computer generated imagery and live-action animatronics. Seeing it in the theater was an experience not unlike seeing JAWS or STAR WARS during their initial release; to use two examples. And it was possibly the last time a sense of awe overcame an audience witnessing something they'd never seen before.

Twenty minutes into the movie when we see our first glimpse of dinosaurs (the friendly sort, or course), you could hear gasps of amazement throughout the theater. Each sequel would have a scene like this where docile herbivores cross paths with humans while John Williams's bombastic musical cues soar on the soundtrack. This turned to screaming and yelling when the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptors and other assorted carnivores made their first appearances after being built up in expert fashion. JURASSIC PARK's narrative structure would be replicated near identically in the next two sequels. And because of this, a sense of stagnation and repetition sets in.

 

Spielberg harnessed that same mix of characterization, fear, horror and adventure that he'd done with JAWS nearly 20 years earlier. He had a penchant for capturing intense horror that pushed the boundary of the PG rating that eventually led to the PG-13 rating in 1984. Spielberg showed he still had the knack for potent "boo"  moments throughout his groundbreaking movie. JURASSIC PARK remains a masterfully made motion picture that retains both its wonderment and its intensity 30+ years later. 

As mentioned above regarding the early hype, Spielberg and everyone involved with the project had a strong feeling this film would be a gigantic moneymaker. It ended up being the most transformative motion picture of the 1990s. Just about every big studio picture with the hoped for blockbuster brand attached to it would be compared to JURASSIC PARK. The most prescient moment in the movie is when the lawyer representing the parks investors, stunned at the living creatures from millions of years ago stomping around before him, prophetically remarks “We’re gonna make a fortune with this place”.

THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK (1997)

Ian Malcolm meets with John Hammond and reveals to him there’s another island, Isla Sorna, where the dinosaurs were originally cloned before being transported to Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. After an incident involving a family vacationing on the shore of Isla Sorna, Hammond’s nephew, Peter Ludlow, takes advantage by using the mishap to take Hammond’s company, InGen, away from him and make money off this island of dinosaurs. In a bid to save his integrity, Hammond wants Malcolm to lead a team to document the creatures in their new and natural habitat in the hopes they can be left alone. Malcolm reluctantly agrees to the journey only when he discovers his girlfriend, a paleontologist, is already there. Malcolm and his team land on Isla Sorna and it isn’t long before Ludlow, a group of mercenaries and big game hunters arrive unexpectedly to capture dinosaurs to use as attractions for a San Diego park. This time there’s no fences. No safety. Plenty of danger--human and reptilian.

 

It’s hard to capture lightning in a bottle twice, and Steven Spielberg demonstrates that with this sequel. It strives mightily for what the first movie achieved--only to end up a well-funded adventure picture. Jeff Goldblum returns, taking the lead while Spielberg returns as director in a rare occasion of his helming a sequel. What doesn’t return is that sense of wonder and intensity Spielberg maintained in the original PARK. When Spielberg directed INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1984), everything was bigger--the scope, the action and the adventure. THE LOST WORLD cost around $10 million more than its predecessor and delivers about $10 million less of its imagination. 

 

The film’s best moment is an extended attack on two research trailers by two Tyrannosaurs trying to retrieve their offspring and their failed rescue by Eddie (Richard Schiff). JPII never achieves this level of excitement again; but does come close during the finale when a Tyrannosaur runs wild in San Diego. FALLEN KINGDOM would revisit and rework this plot point of bringing the dinosaurs to civilization. In this film, though, it’s like an African safari only it’s not rhinoceros and giraffes they’re wrangling. THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK is an un-acknowledged remake of THE LOST WORLD from 1925; itself officially remade in laughable fashion by Irwin Allen in 1960. According to Spielberg himself, additional inspirations for this sequel were KING KONG (1933), THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953), GODZILLA (1954), and other 50s monster pictures.

 

 

As for its human cast, the returning Jeff Goldblum as the leading actor brings an air of familiarity; but curiously, he channels Alan Grant more than Ian Malcolm--lacking the eccentricities that made his character stand out in the first PARK. The performer that resonates more than anyone else is Pete Postlethwaite as big game hunter Roland Tembo. He leaves a deeper impression than Bob Peck's game warden Robert Muldoon did in the first movie. In a picture largely missing a soul, Postlethwaite is this film's heart. As an adventure picture, JPII (1997) works fine; but compared to its predecessor, it feels like a step back in time. 

JURASSIC PARK III (2001)

Dr. Alan Grant is visited by Paul and Amanda Kirby of Kirby Enterprises offering him full financial backing for his projects if he will act as a guide on an aerial trek to see the prehistoric life on Isla Sorna. Since they won’t be landing he agrees to accompany them. Unfortunately, Grant discovers too late the Kirby’s have lied to him about everything. They’re divorced. There’s no Kirby Enterprises. And they do indeed land the plane on the island of dinosaurs. The Kirby’s son went missing on the island and they wanted Grant’s assistance since he’d been on the island before, only that was Isla Nublar… not the even deadlier Isla Sorna. Shortly after landing, the group is attacked by a Spinosaurus, pterodactyls and, of course, Velociraptors.

JPIII is an astonishingly mediocre sequel. We are once again back on the restricted dinosaur island Isla Sorna, but this time to find a missing boy. Joe Johnston (HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS; JUMANJI) takes the directing reigns and, despite the production problems and shooting the film without a completed script, he manages a few moments of excitement in addition to moments of absurdity. Everything feels rushed or like an afterthought. Since the first movie, Spielberg has showcased resourceful children. JPIII takes it to ridiculous levels in depicting the young kid Eric as some sort of a survivalist who’s been able to avoid death for two months despite being surrounded by carnivores. At only 93 minutes, it’s a brisk rehash of the same dinosaurs and set pieces from the previous two movies. 

 

The Spinosaurus, one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs, gets no buildup and makes no impact other than it kills a Tyrannosaur. There are a few scenes where it exudes menace, but with little tension bridging the dinosaur attacks, the Spinosaurus is the weakest main antagonist of the series thus far. Pterodactyls make their debut after getting a cameo in the closing moments of JPII (1997). The sequence is fine, but there was more peril in Raquel Welch being snatched by a Pterodactyl and dangled over a nest of hungry hatchlings in ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966).

 

Sam Neill (who praised the film in 2022 prior to the release of DOMINION) returns and looks as bored as you’re likely to be after all but one of the supporting cast is wiped out 25 minutes into the movie; and you know nothing will happen to the main cast. A strength of Spielberg's original movie is that the characterizations are strong and the situations immersed in high levels of tension that you believe something could happen to anyone at anytime. JPIII dispenses with all of that by annihilating its supporting cast as if they were wearing red shirts from STAR TREK. 

 

 

The most effective sequence is when the cast are surrounded by Velociraptors that want their eggs back. You're left wondering how they'll escape what is certainly instant death. The Raptors had grown stale but are reinvigorated here because the script has them doing things we haven't seen before. Had there been more creative scenes like this, JPIII wouldn't feel like an "asleep at the wheel"  sequel. This sequence must've left an impression on Colin Trevorrow. He incorporates scenes with people surrounded by Raptors in each of the next three films. Aside from Sam Neill, Laura Dern returns for a cameo at the beginning; although she figures into the films weak-kneed anti-climax. The shortest JURASSIC movie is also short on everything else. It moves at such a fast pace, the filmmakers forgot to give it a proper ending.

 

This was the second and last JURASSIC picture I'd see in a theater. It was a full house although the atmosphere in the theater was the opposite of what I experienced the first time. There were no gasps, or shouting, screaming or even clapping. Aside from some groans when the young boy they're looking for demonstrated a RAMBO-level of survival skills, it was quiet across the theater. Spielberg's original movie is such a benchmark motion picture, expectations are preset to a certain level that JP3 never reaches. You could blame production problems, but look at JAWS (1975); the shark didn't work but the movie did. Here, the dinosaurs work but the movie they're place in doesn't.

 

This would be the last film in the series to feature the amazing work of makeup effects artist Stan Winston. He died in 2008. His work on the first three movies was absolutely incredible. Even though there was gradual decline in parts 2 and 3, Winston and his crews' work remained impressive. The succeeding sequels maintained the mix of hydraulically controlled creatures and computer generated ones; although there was a greater emphasis on the latter. After his death, Stan Winston's Studios was renamed Legacy Effects. His crew continued to work on some of the sequels, but in a smaller capacity.

Shortly after the release of JPIII, it was announced that JURASSIC PARK IV was in the planning stages. The proposed fourth installment was originally about an underwater theme park. I remember thinking it would be a refreshing direction to see water-based beasts like the Plesiosaur, the Elasmosaurus, the Ichthyosaurus, and the Megalodon. It would’ve been intriguing to see a Megalodon had this version been made, and especially with JAWS's Spielberg on board as executive producer. When the fourth film finally arrived, it retained elements of the aquatic dinosaur park. Although this was the fourth film in the series, it was a second trilogy with new characters.

JURASSIC WORLD (2015)

An all new prehistoric theme park has been opened on Isla Nublar. Jurassic World is even bigger, expanding on John Hammond’s original Jurassic Park. Zach and Gray Mitchell are sent to Jurassic World for a week of fun and to also spend time with their aunt Claire who works there. But unlike the old PARK, the new WORLD has to find new avenues to keep attendees young and old interested and enthralled. To give the public something they’ve never seen before, the scientists of Jurassic World use gene splicing to create creatures with “more teeth”. The result is the first genetic hybrid, Indominus Rex; designed by Doctor Henry Wu, previously a scientist working under Hammond at the old Jurassic Park. Meanwhile, Navy vet Owen Grady works at the park training Velociraptors. Once the Indominus Rex, which was created using a variety of animal and reptilian DNA, escapes captivity and kills everything it sees, park owner Simon Masrani orders its destruction. Things don’t go as planned, leading to mass chaos and death inside the park at the claws of the ferocious Indominus Rex.

 

It took a hard reset to get the series back online, and 14 years for another visit to the PARK. By 2015, it became a much bigger WORLD. Special effects had changed even further. Depending on one’s point of view, the advent of computer generated imagery is either an evolving or a devolving in the natural order of storytelling. Since the opening of the first PARK, CGI gradually became a dominating force that far too often took the place of exposition; and for a while there, threatened to make practical effects and animatronics extinct. Thankfully, that didn’t happen; but where special effects were used to enhance a movie, special effects then became the movie.

 

JURASSIC WORLD is Disney World with teeth and claws. Director Colin Trevorrow’s movie is certainly next-level for the series, successfully replicating and sustaining the tension, the terror that Steven Spielberg brought to the screen way back in 1993. Spielberg is still aboard as executive producer, but otherwise, it’s the same story told by fresh eyes. It feels like a Spielberg movie, too. And while it may be the same story, it takes elements of Spielberg's movie and expands on them; such as the quasi domestication of the Velociraptor that also retains the creature's ferocity. It's treated in such a way that successfully pacifying 65 million years of predatory nature is unpredictable.

 

And whereas the human cast of JURASSIC PARK were intricately drawn and identifiable, the same applies in JURASSIC WORLD. Chris Pratt as Owen Grady and Bryce Dallas Howard as Claire Dearing make a great, unlikely couple--the opposites that they are. From their light bickering in their initial scenes together, "it must be love"  is an easy conclusion to make. Pratt essays one of the most natural, as well as traditional, action heroes to come along in a long time. Owen Grady is the John Wayne of the Jurassic franchise. 

 

Unlike most movies these days where women are unbeatable killing machines, Claire is a realistic, human interpretation of a woman. She has moments where she's trying to hold her emotions together in a crisis; and others where she shows strength in a dangerous situation while maintaining her natural femininity. The entire cast of characters are a wide array of good and evil; strong and weak; wise and impulsive; and people die whom you're not expecting to.

 

Just because dinosaurs were real creatures that once roamed the Earth, movies about them can still be referred to as monster pictures. If one film in this series could be classified as a monster picture, it's JURASSIC WORLD. Its primary villain is the Indominus Rex, a new, and righteously indomitable creation--a literal Frankenstein Monster of the 21st century. The beast's rampage rivals if not surpasses the Tyrannosaur assault on San Diego in one of the few bright spots of THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK (1997).

JURASSIC WORLD is a part 4, but essentially a new trilogy with new leading characters. There’s connective tissue with the previous films such as mentions of the late John Hammond; then there’s BD Wong, who played Doctor Wu, a scientist seen briefly in the first movie, returning here as the same character, but in a larger, more sinister capacity. And we’re back on Isla Nublar, the setting for the original movie. JURASSIC WORLD is the best of the sequels; which makes it the best installment next to the original. The next two sequels bring new elements to the table but the series won't be this good again.

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (2018)

Owen and Claire are hired by John Hammond’s former partner, Benjamin Lockwood and his advisor Eli Mills to lead an expedition to Isla Nublar to rescue as many dinosaur species as possible—including Blue, the human-trained Velociraptor—before the island is destroyed by a volcanic eruption. The former Jurassic World employees are told Lockwood’s plan is to save the creatures and place them on a new island preserve where they will live without human contact. Owen and Claire learn too late that they’re only being used and the real plan isn’t to save the animals but to sell them on the black market and for military purposes. This includes Dr. Henry Wu’s plan to mix Blue’s DNA with that of the Indominus Rex to create an even more intelligent predator, the Indo-Raptor. 

 

The series begins to fall apart in this fifth entry—much like the island Isla Nublar does in the movie. Whether intended or not, there’s an anti-human message making its way through the film like the molten lava consuming the island. Near the beginning, Lockwood quotes something he claims Hammond once said, “These creatures don’t need our protection, they need our absence”. It’s odd that such a statement would be attributed to Hammond considering human interaction with dinosaurs was the point of the prehistoric park; and also that none of the Dino-disasters would’ve occurred had he left well enough alone in the first place. 

 

 

You could say Hammond's alleged quote was a reference to the new island preserve; but in one of the stupidest endings ever, cages of dinosaurs are opened, letting them loose into civilization so now everyone can experience running, screaming and potentially being devoured or trampled to death. So, our absence is actually our extinction. Spielberg remarked in a 1993 interview that "DNA cloning may be viable, but is it acceptable?"  FALLEN KINGDOM answers this by dictating everyone should accept the consequences of a few. Presumably by moralizing such an irresponsible decision, and backing it with a soaring musical cue, it will become more palatable to an audience; that it was the right thing to do. Unlike Ian Malcolm's statement to Hammond in the first movie, in the case of FALLEN KINGDOM, nature didn't select man for extinction, man did.

 

On the other side of the coin, there’s good things here like the darker tone that returns to the elements of horror in the first movie and amplifies them. The destruction of Isla Nublar is well done and a poignant closer on familiar ground before switching to an isolated, but no less ominous setting halfway through the movie.  The impossibly spacious mansion with its cavernous basement and darkened hallways cinematically splices dinosaurs with a gothic horror, haunted house ambiance. This plays in the favor of this film's leading monster, the Indoraptor; a nasty, scarily intelligent creation smaller than a Tyrannosaur but enormous in its fright factor. The monster is no longer in the closet, nor under your bed; it's opening your bedroom door or raising your window to get you. The Velociraptor learned to open doors in the first movie, but it resonates on a greater fright-filled level here.

JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION (2022)

Owen and Claire secretly raise Maisie Lockwood, the clone of Charlotte Lockwood, in the Sierra Nevada mountains. They learn that Blue has reproduced asexually. Poachers hired by Biosyn have tracked them down and captured both Maisie and Blue. Doctors Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm come together to investigate a giant species of locusts that is wiping out American crops. They discover a link between the locusts and the Biosyn Corporation, run by Lewis Dodgson (seen briefly in the first JURASSIC PARK), a scientist who started with good intentions, but descended into nefarious ones. Owen, Grant, Claire, Ellie and Malcolm, along with others like the redeemable Dr. Wu, uncover Dodgson’s mistakes as he attempts to erase them. But to expose him to the outside world, they must escape the Biosyn facility and surrounding valley that’s inhabited by innumerable and deadly dinosaurs.

 

JURASSIC PARK: DOMINION is the current title holder as the most expensive movie ever made. It's also the reigning Clutter Champion of the series--loaded with dinosaurs and every conceivable action movie cliche. If you're going to take a series this far, you have to take it in new directions while maintaining some level of recognition to let viewers know they're still within parameters that they know; a comfort zone, if you will. Even so, DOMINION is the kitchen sink sequel. It veers further from the PARK by taking a detour into a ‘Spies and Dinosaurs’ plot, trotting not just across the US but around the globe. It’s also a western with poachers who are after dinosaurs and Maisie Lockwood, the clone of Benjamin Lockwood’s daughter, and also the most unnecessary character in the series. Tradition dictates there be a child character so we get a human cloning sub-plot that's treated  in a non-traditional way. 

 

 

Instead of dealing logically with the "dinosaurs are loose" scenario by tranquilizing them and taking them to the prehistoric preserve mentioned in the previous movie, DOMINION expands on the stupid "kill all mankind" ending of FALLEN KINGDOM by depicting a society content with being trampled or eaten by dinosaurs. There's so much going on the rest of the time, this moronic plot point is only visualized a handful of times. The set pieces are unusually elaborate and more outrageous than before as both the JP characters and the JW characters embark on separate missions before they finally meet--ending up together in familiar surroundings—a research facility nestled within a mountainous, jungle setting. When the two trilogies come together, it’s like another movie has started wherein both casts work together to fend off one prehistoric threat after another. 

 

The entire film is a whirlwind of cliffhangers and craziness wherein a new breed of Raptor, the Atrociraptor, are used as assassins, controlled by laser pointers; and any number of carnivorous creatures are seemingly around every corner. Blue, the blue-colored Raptor Owen trained from a baby, is at the center of the film's plot although she is only seen at the beginning and the ending. Her offspring is kidnapped and Owen and company rescue the little one. It doesn't make the scenario of humans existing alongside dinosaurs any less alarming, but in the movie world, seeing Owen say goodbye to Blue is a satisfying conclusion to end the series. 

There’s several new dinosaurs showcased in DOMINION, such as the Dimetrodon and a few species of Velociraptors. Then there's the Giganotosaurus and a Therizinosaurus--both of which feature in the climactic, titanic tussle with a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The ending is a replica of JURASSIC WORLD’s ending; even down to the human characters running around in circles to avoid being trampled by the battling dinosaurs. Unlike the masterful buildup and characterization of the terrifying Indominus Rex in JURASSIC WORLD (2015), the Giganotosaurus of DOMINION is a visual development. If you're watching the extended version, you see it kill a Tyrannosaur at the beginning. The two meet briefly in the middle, and a few characters mention the creature before the concluding monster melee.

 

Ian Malcolm's 'Chaos Theory' applies to this big, bloated mess--but a fun mess--that obeys no rules and cares about nothing but spectacle. Had the filmmakers stopped with the sixth entry, DOMINION would’ve been a satisfying series finale (and that's in reference to the extended version that restores approximately 15 minutes of footage). This sixth installment was another billion dollar grosser, so it was only a matter of time before filmmakers would be digging for more dinosaurs.

 

So, as Dr. Ian Malcolm once said... "sequels find a way".

JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH has no connection to any of the previous characters. There's now a third island we never knew anything about; so apparently there's a multitude of tropical isle's so long as this series remains profitable. Judging by the plot, it's a retread of past ideas but adds mutant dinosaurs. It even blatantly clones a kill sequence from ALIEN: ROMULUS (2024). Gareth Edwards of 2014s GODZILLA and ROGUE ONE directs. Depending on how this new sequel turns out, many may find themselves questioning the need for future entries, “Since 1993, filmmakers have been so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should”.

 

 

If I were to rank them, the order would be: 1,4,6,2,5,3. No matter how many sequels are made, Spielberg's larger-than-life adventure thriller will always take the top spot.  With the over-reliance on CGI these days, it's intriguing to go back to where CG life began, and marvel at how well the film holds up against countless others that came after it that abused the technology. The characterizations, the special effects, the photography, the set-pieces, the musical score... all perfect. Ironically, the ascension of CGI replaced much of what was real about Spielberg's incredible JURASSIC PARK. If we're still around in a hundred years, Spielberg's dinosaur classic will remain a milestone motion picture that started a franchise and, for good or ill, revolutionized special effects for decades after its release.