Ryan Coogler’s Secret Horror Obsession: How Spielberg’s Jurassic Park Inspired His New Movie Sinners

by

The less common springtime horror film, “Sinners,” is receiving widespread acclaim from critics, undoubtedly because of its impressive pedigree. This movie was written and directed by the highly talented Ryan Coogler, who collaborated with star Michael B. Jordan for their fifth project together. Although Coogler’s previous works revolved around themes such as racial strife, boxing lineages, and Black superheroes, he shared his reasoning behind venturing into the horror genre and cited Steven Spielberg‘s “Jurassic Park” as an inspiration for this new direction in his career.

While audiences may not classify Jurassic Park as a straight-up horror movie like Leprechaun or Night Terrors from 1993, filmmaker Ryan Coogler acknowledges the Steven Spielberg-directed adaptation of Michael Crichton’s work as an influential source. However, he also values Spielberg’s other films, such as Jaws. In a conversation with Deadline about the various concepts that eventually coalesced into Sinners, he shared:

(This version attempts to maintain the original’s tone and content while making it more accessible to readers.)

I find Spielberg’s contributions to the horror genre to be something of a guiding light. Now, it’s tricky with him, given that he hasn’t explicitly directed a traditional horror film. However, I argue that Jaws and Jurassic Park can be categorized as creature feature horror films. In particular, I consider Jurassic Park to be a covert horror movie. The intrigue lies in the premise: what if dinosaurs were real?

Revisiting Jurassic Park after so many years brings back memories of how intensely sensory and terrifying many of its scenes were, even though they might seem like large-scale action sequences. In reality, isn’t a T-Rex the most monumental and deafening villain in the history of slasher movies?

Coogler went on, explaining how the genuine excitement and suspense transformed “Jurassic Park” into a label that transcended movie theaters and multiplexes.

However, when discussing T-Rex sequences, Velociraptor openings, or the ‘raptors in the kitchen’, we’re delving into pure horror cinema. And it’s not just popular, it’s intensely captivating. It stirs up emotions that make viewers feel like they’re on an exhilarating roller coaster ride.

It’s not surprising that the same studio responsible for turning Jurassic Park into a two-tiered franchise has also transformed the film into a theme park ride, arcade games, VR experiences and more. Moreover, it’s the studio with the most significant investment in themed horror experiences, from Halloween Horror Nights season to the upcoming Universal Horror Unleashed park in Las Vegas. Here’s hoping that we might witness the Jurassic World: Sinners represented through one or both of these attractions this year or the next.

1. While Michael B. Jordan delivers an outstanding performance in “Sinners,” it wasn’t his portrayal that lingered in my mind after the movie ended.

2. Although Michael B. Jordan’s complaints about fake blood in “Sinners” resonate with me, I find myself captivated by the behind-the-scenes story of how the team dealt with it.

3. The 4DX version of “Sinners” featuring Michael B. Jordan was expected to impress me with a single scene, but it offered so much more than that.

Regarding other horror inspirations, Ryan Coogler highlights iconic films from the 1970s, not just the movies themselves, but also their directors. He mentioned that both of his parents had a liking for John Carpenter’s works, yet they had distinct preferences. His father appreciated the raw realism depicted in films like Halloween and Assault on Precinct 13, while his mother resonated more with the enigmatic cosmic horror portrayed in The Thing.

Ryan Coogler is among my favorite directors, and “Don’t Look Now,” a haunting horror masterpiece featuring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, ranks high on the list of all-time greats, even though it isn’t frequently mentioned alongside others. To quote him directly, this profoundly moving film is a chilling shocker.

After that, there was a movie I had long wanted to watch called Don’t Look Now. It was an incredible piece of work, truly outstanding. What struck me the most was its intimate scene – one of the best I’ve ever witnessed in a film. The way it depicted the characters’ feelings and heightened pleasure added depth to the movie’s dark themes, shedding light on relationships and the world as a whole. In essence, this movie left me utterly amazed.

As a cinephile, I can’t help but share some spine-tingling horror films that Ryan Coogler mentioned, both modern and timeless classics – “The Faculty”, “From Dusk Till Dawn”, “Green Room”, “Rosemary’s Baby”, and “The Silence of the Lambs”. Not a bad pick among them if you ask me!

Enthusiasts of terrifying tales should flock to catch Sinners, demonstrating that there’s profit in intelligent, high-quality horror. Right now, you can find it playing in cinemas nationwide.

Read More

2025-04-20 20:08