Jurassic Park: 10 Best Kills In The Series, Ranked

Thursday, March 12, 2020

The Jurassic Park franchise is known for its dino carnage. Here are the 10 best kills in the series, also ranked.

The one certainty in a Jurassic Park film is that there are deaths awaiting to unfold, with each film featuring demises in different varieties. For the protagonists, the islands are like survival games they have to overcome, which leaves side characters and villains to complete the death count.

However, these sequences are one of the entertaining parts of the films as the deaths have proper context attached to them, along with creativity. For this list, we haven’t considered the Jurassic World films, as that deserves another list entirely. That said, here are 10 of the best kill scenes in the Jurassic Park trilogy, ranked.

10 - The Boat Crew

To this day, we don’t know exactly what it was that got to these guys, but it’s the mystery behind it that makes it such a memorable scene. There are multiple theories over the killer either being the Spinosaurus or a Pteranodon; these remain just theories, though.

The ambiguity of the disappearance of the crew makes it out to be one of the truly scariest scenes in the series, and we have to hand it to the director for using fog to great effect in completing the kill.

9 - Udesky

Out of all the mercenaries in Jurassic Park III, it was Udesky who not only lasted the longest, but was also a pretty likable guy. This made his death scene hard to watch, although it was a perfect illustration of the cunning tactics of the raptors.

Udesky was effectively paralyzed by a raptor so that he couldn’t move anymore, save for a feeble attempt to stir awake. This was just a trap to lure in the humans’ help, as the raptors pounced on Mrs. Kirby and almost had her as well. With Udesky having served his purpose, his neck was instantly snapped by the departing raptor.

8 - Ray Arnold

This is a mixture of the previous two points mentioned, as Arnold was killed off screen yet managed to make his death both terrifying and an example of the viciousness of the raptors. As it happened, Arnold had gone to turn the power back on, and never returned.

After Ellie arrived to do what Arnold hadn’t, she was attacked by a raptor. As Ellie fell back, she had a momentary sense of relief as Arnold’s arm fell on her shoulder, only for it to turn into horror as she realized that the man had been devoured. In the case of this kill, less really was more.

7 - Peter Ludlow

The movies figured out a way to add in some comedy in a death scene, and nobody feels bad for Ludlow either as he deserved his fate. After having entered the area holding the T-Rex infant, Ludlow realizes its father was there as well.

His pathetic attempts at escape do him no good, as Ludlow is wounded and left to become T-Rex infant chow, while its father humorously watches with pride. It was a bit too comedic, but we do prefer the kill for delivering Ludlow his just desserts.

6 - Dieter Stark

Who knew Compsognathus (better known as Compies) could be so dangerous? After this scene, we’re very glad these dinosaurs don’t exist in the real world anymore. Stark found this out the hard way, as a pack of Compies began pursuing him.

The scene plays out eerily as Stark’s several attempts at scaring the Compies away fail, and it dawns on him that they’re in the mood to feast. Transitioning from an initially funny scene, we watch as Stark is brutally devoured by what seems like hundreds of Compies as they jump on him altogether. This was the kind of death where saying “Ouch!” is a gross understatement.

5 - The Raptors

While we’re considering all the raptors as part of the kill in this scene, we’re also specifically pointing toward the raptor that was taken out by the T-rex when the latter made her entry. While we've ranked it relatively lower since it was part of a fight scene, it also represented a moment of sheer triumph and an awe-inspiring piece of cinematography.

Just when it seemed like it was curtains for the heroes, with the raptor in perfect position to pounce, the T-Rex appeared from nowhere and trapped the raptor in its orifice, breaking it apart at once. She then proceeded to maul the others too, memorably smashing the last raptor into the skeleton of another T-Rex.

4 - Jophery Brown

There couldn’t have been a better opening to the series than this one, where we saw the first kill happen in scary fashion. Jophery Brown, the name of this doomed park worker, was pushed to the ground by the pack leader of the raptors.

In a testimony to the raptors’ strength and intelligence, he was dragged inside the containment, despite the many other workers attempting to save him. Robert Muldoon screaming “Shoot her!” is what brought this kill out to be a chilling depiction of more to come, and a death we won’t ever forget.

3 - Donald Gennaro

You’d think a guy getting eaten by a T-Rex while sitting on a toilet would make for a funny skit, yet this death scene has been one of the more iconic moments of the Jurassic Park series. It also makes for a superbly choreographed kill that was set up with the T-Rex reveal.

As the T-Rex released itself from its captivity, Gennaro took off from the car to save himself by abandoning the kids. However, Malcolm inadvertently guided the T-Rex over to Gennaro, who had been hiding in a toilet cubicle. With no place to go, Gennaro was devoured whole by the dinosaur, as we saw him last being swung around in the great beast’s jaws.

2 - Robert Muldoon

We’ve touted the raptors’ intelligence quite a bit, but nothing tops this moment where they used it to the deadliest effect. Bringing Alan Grant’s theory about raptor attacks eerily to life, Muldoon was played for a fool by two of these dinosaurs.

When he thought he’d got the one raptor he was targeting in his sights, it turned out to be a set-up as a second raptor reared its head right beside Muldoon. Despite him acknowledging the raptor as a “clever girl,” Muldoon was violently devoured. However, one feels like giving a hand for this death, both as a tribute to Muldoon and for the incredible tactics the raptors pulled off.

1 - Dennis Nedry

Combining everything from comedy, mystery, horror, and pure intrigue level, Nedry’s death felt cathartic as he was the one responsible for the deaths on the island. Still, it does make one queasy to see the Dilophosaurus play around with Nedry; in this case, literally playing with her food.

Even when the comedic moment of Nedry bumbling around the dinosaur takes place, there’s an uneasiness in the air marking a certain doom. There’s always a jump care when the sound and sight of the Dilophosaurus arrives in the car as she makes Nedry a late night snack. If there’s one death scene to represent the theatrics in the Jurassic Park series, it would certainly be Nedry’s demise.

Source: https://screenrant.com/