This movie is terrifying, but then again, it's produced by the same guy that directed Jurassic Park.
- Professor Screweyes' Fright Radio is quite creepy—even to older audience members. The evil device transmits the signals, soundwaves, and imagery of all children's fears. Hearing them scream for help is bad enough, but the images show them pale like ghosts.
- Professor Screweyes' blackmail of our heroes. Making a Deal with the Devil is always a disturbing concept in general, but it's so much worse when there are naive children involved, being taken advantage of. Screweyes convinces Louie and Cecilia to join his circus and sign a contract written in blood, which immediately allows him to hold them hostage, magically enslave them and force them to take pills that will physically and mentally devolve them down into mindless apes he can extort for profit as sideshow attractions. From there, he blackmails their dinosaur friends into taking their places, sacrificing their newfound sapience to save the kids.
- The Eccentric Circus itself. The entire purpose of the circus is to frighten people, with hideous demons and imps carrying pitchforks, skulls, gothic-looking people and so on (though it's all just people in costumes). Screweyes makes no secret that his circus is for scaring and not joy, laugh or wonder. His opening ringmaster speech is quite foreboding as well.Professor Screweyes: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the most terrifying show on the planet Earth— Professor Screweyes' Eccentric Circus! We will scare you! We will frighten you! We will shock you witless with our dreadful, terrifying, vile, monstrous programs!
- When the dinosaurs who ended up being turned back into wild and savage animals due to Professor Screweyes' "Brain Drain" pills go on a rampage at Professor Screweyes' circus performance and Rex nearly eats Professor Screweyes alive was a pretty intense scene.
- Prof. Screweyes' death. Part of the reason it's one of the creepiest things in the movie is that it's left rather vague as to what actually happens to him. The crows land on him but don't move afterward until they fly away, leaving only the possessed screw. It doesn't seem like they eat him (again, no movement from the crows, and Screweyes vanishes flesh, bone, clothing and all) but it's obvious that the crows are, somehow, responsible for his vanishing. All that's left is his screw, which glows ominously and emits a strange mist...and the last crow just blows the mist off and carries the screw away. The scene can leave you suspicious of crows for some time, that's for sure.Professor Screweyes: Brother, wait... when I am alone... when... I have no one to scare... I... get very frightened myself... the crows could-
- Heck, the beginning of that moment—the minute Screweyes is alone, the crows start circling him like vultures. The way they do it gives the impression that they've been waiting to do this for years.
- It goes deeper. Throughout the movie he's always surrounded by people to scare them horribly, but in his last scene when the audience flees and the heroes are rescued by his brother, he admits that being alone is the only time he feels deftly scared himself. And it's because, for some reason, being alone is the only time the crows can "kill" him, which means he's been avoiding that for years and years.
- A deleted scene
gives us telling information about Screweyes; as a kid, he was snoozing nearby a berry bush and a berry fell on one of his eyes, causing a hungry crow to peck it out, which is why he has his metal eye now (which is really just a screw thrust into the socket). He's now a cynic who believes that the world makes no sense and acts accordingly, scaring other people; he also admits that he is, understandably, afraid of crows, and keeps them for company as means to master his fear. One has to wonder about the state of his mind.Prof. Screweyes: (Captain Neweyes) most likely did not let fall how I lost my eye. But I will tell you. I was a boy. I was lying in the shadow of a berry bush, taking a snooze. One of the berries, just one, fell upon my eye. Just...there. (Taps screw-eye) A hungry bird spied the berry. It was a crow, I believe. He pecked for the berry, but got my eye as well. Senseless?! Yes!! I had done nothing to earn such a fate, so ever since I've known that the world made no sense, and have acted accordingly! I have a peculiar fear of crows, so, I keep them by me! I watch them with a real eye, and a steel eye! I am afraid of them, but I am their master! I am the master of my fear!! (Crows fly off his shoulders, making him gasp and cower in fear)
Rex: This guy's nuts...
