Warning! SPOILERS Jurassic World: Dominion.
Jurassic World: Dominion shows how little dilophosaurus was used in the Jurassic Park franchise. Despite the weak reviews, “Jurassic World: Dominion” has won box office gold, combining the modern and original actors of “Jurassic Park” in a new adventure, as humanity is forced to live in a world with dinosaurs. It also brings back the familiar prehistoric face of Dilophosaurus.
In the third act of the film, Dilophosaurus almost kills Claire Deering (Bryce Dallas Howard) before being stopped by Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and Kayla Watts (DeVanda Wise). Later, a trio of dilophosaurs attack and eat the villain Lewis Dodgson (Campbell Scott). In both scenes, a dilophosaurus with a paralyzing and blinding dinosaur venom is extremely frightening, showing how much their absence was a mistake.
The dilophosaurus was originally spotted in Jurassic Park, where Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) encountered it when he was trying to ferry dinosaur embryos to Biosyn contact. Originally presented as seemingly innocuous, Dilophosaurus’ sudden predatory turn is extremely effectively frightening (even though it has been significantly toned down compared to Nedry’s very gruesome death in Michael Crichton’s novel). Dilophosaurus was last seen before Dominion.
While dinosaurs like T-Rex and Velociraptor have been wisely preserved throughout the Jurassic Park franchise, Dilophosaurus is very similar to them in terms of presence and ability to scare viewers. In Jurassic Park, the dinosaur turned into a time bomb, lulling unsuspecting prey into a sense of false security. As soon as the collar on his neck opened due to the rattling snake sound, the transition of the dilophosaurus into killing mode caused him great fear. Director Steven Spielberg paid double for it when Nedry, believing he was safe in his Jeep, discovered a dinosaur in the passenger seat next to him.
In Dominion, Claire’s encounter with Dilophosaurus is a rather tense dying moment. Even more spectacular is the death of Dodgson in the Jurassic World Dominion, reflecting the death of Nedry from their claws. This is also the first time since Jurassic Park that a dilophosaurus spits its venom onto the screen. Using this as its trademark, Dominion leaves viewers fully aware of the attack that is about to unfold, holding it off until the last possible second.
In the films Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, many old dinosaurs were used to great effect, while introducing many new ones at the same time. Unfortunately, after Jurassic Park, Dilophosaurus somehow failed. Fortunately, Jurassic World: Dominion eventually fixed their long absence.
