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The original 1993 Jurassic Park is really "horror disguised as a family adventure," according to Jurassic World Rebirth director
In creating the Scarlett Johansson-starring dino-adventure, Rebirth director Edwards said he "pushed the horror element" to keep the tone closer to the original Jurassic Park

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In 1993, Jurassic Park introduced a generation to a majestic world of resurrected dinosaurs, sweeping landscapes and the most iconic image of a shirtless man that's every been on film. With all that going on, then, you may forget that so many of those viewers ran screaming out of the theater, and not because of Jeff Goldblum's chest. The original Jurassic Park film has all the trappings of a horror movie, and as he worked on the latest entry to the saga it began, director Gareth Edwards wanted to remind viewers of that fact.
Edwards took part in a Rotten Tomatoes interview to promote Jurassic World Rebirth, the brand-new movie set in the same universe as Jurassic Park, its several sequels, and the reboot/sequel series Jurassic World. And despite all the action and fantasy that's come since the orginal Steven Spielberg classic, Edwards said some of his biggest focus was returning the film to its horror roots.
"The first movie is very much a horror film," said Edwards, "Sort of disguised as a family adventure. It scared the hell out of me, even as a 17-year-old when it came out. Now, everyone who got inspired by that movie and became filmmakers are now adults and it’s a lot harder to scare them."
But that doesn't mean Edwards & Co. weren't going to at least try to scare those same, now-desensitized viewers.
"We sort of upped the ante a little bit," the Godzilla and Rogue One director confessed, "And kind of pushed the horror element a little bit. And I couldn’t wait for the studio to tap me on the shoulder and say, You can’t do that.'"
According to Edwards, that never happened.
"They never did," he concludes, "I think because they felt the same way. But it’s that kind of fun scare, like a rollercoaster, like when you leave, it’s all okay. But if you came to Jurassic and weren’t scared, then I’ve probably failed at my job."
Jurassic World Rebirth is in theaters now.
In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we've cobbled together a couple pieces to send a chill up your spine. Join Popverse as we explore:
- The best horror movies of all time, according to horror aficionado Greg Silber
- The most underrated horror movies from the past couple years
- All the new and upcoming horror movies for 2025 and beyond
And much gore. Er, more. Much more.
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