The Most Brutal Deaths In The Jurassic Park Franchise, Ranked
If you could live in the universe of any pop culture franchise, what would it be? Kicking back in the Shire with Bilbo and Gandalf, perhaps? Blasting through hyperspace in the "Star Wars" galaxy? Or maybe — just maybe — you'd prefer to be mauled to death by a pack of hungry Velociraptors?
Yes, it's probably fair to say that life in the world of "Jurassic Park" (and "Jurassic World") is nasty, brutal, and oftentimes short. In each film in the franchise, a whole menu's worth of unfortunate human beings fall victim to the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna, and nobody really gets off lightly. There are few quick and clean deaths in the "Jurassic" universe, and even the cast and crew seem to know this. For instance, Chris Pratt once joked in an interview with Jake's Takes that his ideal death scene would involve "those little tiny dinosaurs," presumably meaning the Compsognathus, devouring him slowly over the course of a 45-minute scene.
While Pratt's dream dino death may seem a little intense, it's not that much harder to stomach than those found elsewhere in these awe-inspiring monster movies. The question is, who died hardest of them all? These are the most brutal deaths in the "Jurassic Park" franchise, ranked.
15. Surfers - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
If the "Jurassic World" movies have taught us anything, it's that you should never mess with a Mosasaurus. Introduced in "Jurassic World" as a tentpole attraction at the titular dinosaur theme park on Isla Nublar, the Mosasaurus quickly becomes one of its deadliest escapees and causes arguably the cruelest and most over-the-top kill the franchise has ever seen — but more on that one later.
Even by the time "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" rolls around, ol' Mosy is still a skilled and terrifying hunter. She makes a memorable entrance in the movie's opening scene, in which she consumes an unsuspecting mercenary in a single bite before being released into the ocean. The Mosasaurus then makes a brief appearance at the very end of "Fallen Kingdom," riding a massive wave in Hawaii while preparing to ambush a group of surfers. This scene is actually elaborated on in the motion comic "A Rising Tide," released in November of 2019, which suggests the Mosasaurus managed to snag at least one surfer during her hunt.
This isn't exactly a great way to go, and points have to be given for the total shock of dying violently in a dinosaur's jaws when you're supposed to be so far away from Isla Nublar. However, compared to some of the fates of the "Jurassic" franchise's other victims, being swallowed whole is practically a mercy.
14. Robert Muldoon - Jurassic Park
Robert Muldoon is one of the most memorable characters from the original "Jurassic Park" movie. An experienced hunter and game warden at John Hammond's park-to-be, Muldoon knows the dinosaurs — and especially the Velociraptors — better than anybody else. It seems inevitable, then, that they'll tear him apart before the credits roll, which is exactly what happens.
As the situation at Jurassic Park rapidly deteriorates, Muldoon and Ellie Sattler venture out from the safety of their bunker. Their mission is to reach a nearby maintenance shed and shut off the park's power. Along the way, they're stalked by three Velociraptors. Realizing this, Muldoon provides a distraction while Ellie runs for the shed. It's a brave move, to say the least.
Ultimately, Muldoon lasts all of ten minutes alone in the jungle. Stalking through the undergrowth, he comes across a lone raptor and slowly takes aim with his gun — only to be ambushed from the side by another. The ensuing mauling isn't pretty (or, at least, it doesn't sound pretty), but Muldoon's death ranks low on this list because, unlike most of the other victims in the franchise, he doesn't die sobbing, begging, or screaming. Instead, he delivers arguably the movie's most iconic line, coolly admiring the prowess of his mortal enemy. And then he goes down screaming.
13. M.B. Nash - Jurassic Park III
"Jurassic Park III" may not have been the most popular film, but it at least added a few new gruesome killings to the franchise. One of the casualties on the rescue expedition to Isla Sorna is M.B. Nash, a mercenary hired by Udesky and the Kirby family to safely fly them to the island.
Despite his military experience and heavy weaponry, Nash doesn't last long on Isla Sorna. The plane crashes in the jungle and swiftly attracts the attention of an enraged (and hungry) Spinosaurus. The dino then clamps down on Nash's legs with its jaws, tearing him from the wreckage of the plane and dropping him on the jungle floor. As he tries to crawl away, the Spinosaurus crushes him underfoot and then, from what little is shown of his actual demise, presumably bites off his head.
It's a classic "Jurassic Park" death, made all the more brutal by the fact that Nash almost manages to make a run for it. It also goes to show that all the tactical training and combat expertise in the world means very little on an island filled with bloodthirsty dinosaurs.
12. Ray Arnold - Jurassic Park
Hold onto your butts — things are about to get gory. In "Jurassic Park," John "Ray" Arnold is the chief engineer hired by John Hammond to run the technical aspects of the park. For much of the movie, he's forced to contend with the numerous acts of sabotage and corporate espionage inflicted by Dennis Nedry, but when the park needs resetting from the maintenance shed, Ray volunteers to head outside and get the job done.
It goes pretty badly, of course. Ray never comes back from the shed, forcing Muldoon and Ellie to set out after him. After Ellie reaches the shed and successfully resets the park, she's ambushed by a raptor and only barely escapes with her life. It's just then that she encounters Ray ... or what's left of him, at least.
Ray's death doesn't actually occur on screen, so it can't really be counted among the very worst of the franchise. But the scene in which his dismembered arm falls onto Ellie's shoulder is one of the scariest and most gruesome moments "Jurassic Park" has to offer.
11. Vic Hoskins - Jurassic World
Vic Hoskins is the main human antagonist in "Jurassic World." Leader of the rejuvenated park's security force, Hoskins' main job appears to be the protection of the thousands of tourists who visit Jurassic World every day. The truth, however, is far more sinister. As it turns out, his real interests lie in the weaponization of hybrid dinosaurs. As a result, he attempts to make off with a stash of dino DNA at the end of "Jurassic World."
While nobody is ever safe in "Jurassic Park," the bad guys usually get it worse than the heroes, and that's especially true for Hoskins. During his raid on Jurassic World's laboratory, he's found by Owen, Claire, Zach, and Gray, and he immediately launches into a classic villainous monologue. Halfway through, however, Hoskins is interrupted by the Velociraptor known as Delta, who's apparently developed some sort of awareness of the moral questions posed by Hollywood blockbusters. Delta backs Hoskins into a corner, and when her prey tries to hold her at bay using the same technique used by Owen earlier in the movie, she bites off his entire forearm. Hoskins screams, and Delta goes in for the kill.
Hoskins' death isn't pleasant even by "Jurassic" standards, and a gratuitous splatter of blood on the laboratory door only makes things nastier. Let's face it, though — it's not like he didn't deserve it.
10. Jophery Brown - Jurassic Park
You might not recognize Jophery Brown's name, but you'll definitely remember his death. He's the park employee sent to release a Velociraptor from her holding pen into the adjacent paddock in the series' very first scene. The ensuing calamity has no doubt featured in countless kids' nightmares since the premiere of "Jurassic Park" in 1993.
Displaying the unnerving intelligence for which the dinos later become infamous, the Velociraptor refuses to enter the paddock. Instead, the creature shunts the holding pen backward, knocking Jophery to the ground, and drags him inside. The best efforts of Robert Muldoon and his taser-wielding guards have little effect on the raptor, and by the time Muldoon gives the order to shoot, the lower half of poor Jophery is almost certainly mangled and maimed beyond all recognition. The raptor wins out in the end, too, as Jophery slowly but surely slips out of Muldoon's grasp.
Aside from being the first victim of a dinosaur attack in the world of "Jurassic Park," Jophery also holds the honor of suffering one of the scariest death scenes in the entire franchise. In this case, the cries of the raptor and the screams of the gatekeeper — backed by John Williams' terrifying score and some superb lighting and direction from Steven Spielberg — all come together to deliver a truly unforgettable opening scene.
9. Peter Ludlow - The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The nephew of John Hammond and would-be proprietor of Jurassic Park: San Diego, Peter Ludlow is a nefarious "Jurassic Park" villain who meets a suitably nasty end.
In "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," Ludlow hires a team of hunters and mercenaries to embark on an expedition to Isla Sorna, hoping to kidnap a bunch of dinosaurs and bring them back to the United States. Despite the near-total annihilation of InGen's hunters, Ludlow manages to survive the expedition, capture a Tyrannosaurus adult and infant, and haul them both off to San Diego. The third act of "The Lost World" – an apparent homage to the kaiju monster movies of the mid-20th century — sees the T-Rex escape the ship's cargo hold and rampage across the city in search of his lost child.
Ludlow gets his comeuppance when Ian Malcolm and Sarah Harding use the infant T-Rex to lure the father back into the hold of the ship. Making a last-ditch attempt to recapture the baby, Ludlow is surprised and cornered by the buck, who incapacitates him by crushing his legs. The adult T-Rex then encourages his child to make the kill, watching with pride as it tears Ludlow apart. It's horrifying, sure, but the weird thing about this death scene is that it's also kinda sweet. You go get him, lil' Rexy!
8. Dieter Stark - The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Compsognathus is perhaps one of the lesser-known dinosaurs to appear in the "Jurassic" franchise, and it's certainly one of the smallest, but that doesn't make it any less deadly. Just ask Dieter Stark.
One of InGen's team of hunters sent to Isla Sorna in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," Stark commits the cardinal sin for a character in a horror movie: He wanders off alone. Stark becomes lost almost immediately and loses his weapons after tripping and falling down a hill. That's when his hunter emerges: The tiny, almost cute Compsognathus. The lone Compy soon becomes a pack, however, and the pack quickly becomes a swarm. As Stark moves deeper into the jungle, the dinos pounce, overwhelming him with their numbers and tearing him to pieces.
Most people who encounter the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park" and "Jurassic World" are crushed, dismembered, or eaten whole. Stark's demise is unique to the series, however, in that he is essentially pecked to death by a horde of tiny dinos, each no bigger than a chicken. In a way, that only makes it all the more horrific.
7. Dennis Nedry - Jurassic Park
No character in "Jurassic Park" inspires quite so much loathing as Dennis Nedry, the corporate traitor who sells out John Hammond to the highest bidder and inadvertently causes the deaths of countless people as a result.
Suitably, though, the final victim of Nedry's greed is himself. On his way to the island's docks after stealing a can of dinosaur embryos, Nedry is caught up in a tropical storm. He becomes lost and crashes into a tree, then slips and loses his glasses while attempting to tow himself out. Things only go from bad to worse when a stray Dilophosaurus — a dinosaur that only escaped because Nedry shut down Jurassic Park's security systems — wanders into his path. The Dilo follows Nedry back to his car, spits a heap of black venom at his face, follows him into his jeep, and eats him alive.
Arguably the only genuinely satisfying death in "Jurassic Park," Nedry's fate is nevertheless as brutal as it gets. Not only is he butchered and consumed by a small, angry dinosaur, but he also suffers the pain and disorientation caused by its poisonous bile. Throw in the surprisingly creepy call of the Dilophosaurus itself (and those beautiful, awful frills), and you've got yourself a death scene worthy of one of the most detestable "Jurassic Park" characters.
6. Eli Mills - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
The worst thing about Eli Mills' death is that he really thought he'd made it out alive. The main antagonist in "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," Eli is a shady businessman who hopes to sell the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar and make a tidy profit. Just for added villainous kicks, he's also a key player in the whole "weaponize the dinos" plot that drives the "Jurassic World" trilogy.
Along the way, Eli runs afoul of Owen, Claire, and the rest of the so-called Dinosaur Protection Group. They sabotage his auction and release a Stygimoloch into Lockwood Manor, indirectly leading to the escape of the hybrid Indoraptor and the rest of the dinosaurs held by Eli. As he flees the mansion with a bone from the Indominus rex, which he intends to use to carry on the hybrid dinosaur initiative, a stampede of rampaging dinos emerges, killing Eli's guards and trampling his car. Somehow, though, Eli actually survives the ordeal. He brushes himself off, picks up the bone ... and is promptly snatched up by a T-Rex.
It's a pretty vivid death scene, with Eli's screams ringing out right up to the moment when he's ripped in two by the T-Rex and a passing Carnotaurus. Still, it could always have been worse.
5. Ken Wheatley - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Ken Wheatley is one of Eli Mills' chief underlings in "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom." He commands the mission to rescue the imperiled dinosaurs from Isla Nublar, but it soon becomes clear that he's actually been hired by Mills to capture the Velociraptor named Blue for the dino-weapons program. He's a real piece of work, too, constantly badgering Eli for a bonus, taking great pleasure in extracting teeth from the dinosaurs he captures, and showing a real willingness to leave his fellow humans to die. So perhaps it's no surprise that Wheatley is given the movie's most vicious death scene.
During the showdown at Lockwood Mansion, he comes across the caged Indoraptor and instantly decides to do the stupidest thing anybody in this entire franchise has ever done. He sends it to sleep with his tranquilizer rifle, climbs inside the cage, and tries to cut out one of its teeth.
Considering this is a raptor we're talking about, you can probably guess what happens next. Wheatley enters the cage, and the Indoraptor — which only pretended to fall asleep — pounces at him. It snatches his arm in its jaws, lifts him into the air, and severs it at the shoulder, leaving the sobbing, panicked merc helpless as the Indoraptor nudges him up against the back of the cage. The Indo roars, and everything ends for Wheatley.
4. Donald Gennaro - Jurassic Park
Does anyone in the "Jurassic Park" universe die a death quite as humiliating as Donald Gennaro's?
Yes, everybody's least favorite lawyer meets a truly shameful end in "Jurassic Park." When the power goes down on the group's trip around the island, a rogue T-Rex takes the opportunity to escape its paddock and chow down on an easy lunch. During the tour of the park, Gennaro had been accompanying young Lex and Tim, but he abandons them to the T-Rex almost as soon as he can, fleeing to a nearby bathroom and locking himself inside.
Unfortunately for Gennaro, a locked door has literally never stopped a Tyrannosaurus before. After being distracted by a flare-wielding Ian Malcolm, Rexy charges at the bathroom and smashes it into pieces. Spotting Gennaro cowering in the rain, she bites down on his upper half, lifts him up, and devours him. Many have died in a similar manner in the "Jurassic" franchise, but Gennaro ranks particularly high simply because he'll always be remembered by fans (and probably by Grant, Malcolm, and the kids) as "that guy who got eaten on the toilet."
3. Udesky - Jurassic Park III
Velociraptors are clever beasts. According to the "Jurassic World" movies, they're intelligent enough to follow orders, form attachments with human beings, and, inexplicably, hold people to their promises. While the "Jurassic Park" trilogy doesn't go quite that far, the raptors in it are nevertheless shown to be incredibly crafty, especially when it comes to trapping their prey.
Udeksy is one of the mercenaries hired by the Kirbys in "Jurassic Park III" to take them to Isla Sorna. He manages to survive the initial plane crash and even sticks around as they explore the island, but he eventually runs out of luck after escaping the Velociraptors at the InGen compound. Separated from the group and cornered by raptors, Udesky is knocked to the ground and sliced through the back by a raptor's razor-sharp talon. A few moments later, the rest of the group finds Udesky lying on the jungle floor, only barely moving. As Amanda Kirby goes to help him, however, the raptors attack, very nearly taking off her head.
From the perspective of the heroes, this is frightening enough, as they discover that the raptors are capable of using live bait to set traps for their prey. For Udesky himself, to be clawed in the back and then used as live bait before having his neck unceremoniously snapped by a disappointed raptor ... well, that's just the stuff of nightmares.
2. Eddie Carr - The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Alas, poor Eddie. A technical expert and mechanical engineer who's sent to Isla Sorna in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" as part of John Hammond's team of so-called "Gatherers," Eddie does his bit to protect the island's dinosaurs from abuse at the hands of InGen's hunters.
When the rest of the Gatherers take an injured T-Rex infant back to their trailer in order to treat its wounds, its two parents follow close behind. After a brief stand-off, the Gatherers give up the infant to the T-Rexes, and the T-Rexes return the favor by ramming their trailer halfway off the cliff. That's when Eddie arrives, ties a rope for his friends to clamber up, and tries to use his car to winch the trailer back up the cliff.
And then the T-Rexes repay that favor by emerging from the jungle once more and charging at Eddie. He keeps his foot on the accelerator the whole time, desperately trying to save his friends. Eddie only stops when the two massive dinosaurs pluck him from the driver's seat, toss him in the air, and recreate "Lady and the Tramp" with his mutilated corpse. It's a truly horrific death even by "Jurassic Park" standards, and it's much harder to watch knowing that Eddie was only trying to do right by his friends.
1. Zara Young - Jurassic World
The "Jurassic" movies are a lot of fun, and part of the enjoyment of each movie is getting to see massive, rampaging dinosaurs chowing down on unsuspecting humans. On one occasion, though, the series arguably went too far, setting up a death scene that felt far more schlocky and gratuitous than it ever needed to be.
In "Jurassic World," Zara Young is the personal assistant to Claire Dearing. She's sent to babysit Claire's nephews, Zach and Gray, during their visit to Jurassic World, and she's with them when the Pteranodons of the park's aviary attack the crowds of guests on Main Street. Zara is then carried off into the sky by a Pteranodon, dropped, pecked at, dropped again (this time into the Mosasaurus tank), fished out of the water tank by another Pteranodon, and then consumed whole by the Mosasaurus itself. The movie's point of view stays with Zara the whole time as she is essentially tormented, tortured, and then eaten in a truly hideous fashion.
It's a shockingly brutal death scene, and one that actually attracted significant criticism after the film's release. Even in the world of "Jurassic Park," there is such a thing as going too far.