While Jurassic World Dominion is an action/adventure first and foremost, the film made it clear that humanity is living in a world where dinosaurs are running rampant. Plenty of tension and Nightmare Fuel are bound to be present as the film pulls fewer punches on the ramifications.
All spoilers are unmarked.
- The first appearance of the locusts is their Biblical-level swarming through a farm with only two children in their way. The terrified kids flee screaming and barely avoid being swamped by the insects. Adding to the horror, locusts low on protein readily consume meat (cannibalism is rife among them). It's not hard to imagine what might have happened once the swarm had burnt through their energy reserves after stripping the crops.
- The locusts represent one of the worst-case scenarios of uncontrolled genetic technology: irresponsible introduction of an uncontrollable element into the wider world. Once out, they're virtually unstoppable and will lead to an ecological disaster that makes the introduction of dinosaurs to the wild seem like a footnote.
- The fact that Dodgson's locusts could very well cause The End of the World as We Know It is truly horrifying. One man's attempt to hold the world ransom by creating prehistoric super-locusts to destroy the world's crops threatened the entire biosphere. The results of which would have essentially been The Road but with dinosaurs had Wu not had a Heel–Face Turn and eradicated the locusts before that happened.
- The dinosaur traffickers lurking in the Wretched Hive beneath Malta show just how low humanity can sink when they refuse to show nature respect. Once-regal dinosaurs are exploited as status-symbol pets and beasts of burden. They're also roasted as grotesque delicacies on spits like pork and chicken. And most humiliating of all, there's a thriving fighting ring degrading the dinosaurs, both adults and babiesnote , to glorified fighting cocks, forced to kill one another to sate the bloodlust of simple-minded, drunken brutes betting on their lives. And that's to say nothing of Santos, who's successfully turned trained raptors into a weaponized industry where other villains have failed. If John Hammond were alive today, he would weep at how his beloved children are being treated now, and how low humanity has stooped to assert their dominance over creatures that existed hundreds of millions of years before they did. If there were ever a moment showcasing how Humans Are the Real Monsters of Jurassic World, this would be it.
- As Claire and Owen encounter a furious Blue, Owen takes his usual stance with her of hand forward, and unwavering voice and expression. Except she's in a ragenote and no amount of calming tones will satisfy her. When she lashes out, cutting his hand, he switches positions, but his face changes dramatically as he's clearly realized that, for all the strength of their bond, if Blue snaps and attacks, there is exactly zero he can do to stop her.
- Claire's encounter with the Therizinosaurus. First of all, the animal just comes across as bizarre with its huge size, giant clawed hands, and unnerving sounds. The combination of feathers and milky eyes enhances the creepy factor, almost making it come across as an undead bird. We hear its clicking calls, which are then constantly echoed back to it, revealing its use of echolocation. Then we see it casually kill a deer by simply swatting it away with its gigantic claws; despite being a herbivore, it is highly territorial and does not tolerate intruders. Claire tries slipping past, but after a moment of it clearly using its calls to track her down, we become very aware of the fact it has found her. It slowly, methodically stalks her, the sound of its footsteps gets louder, emphasizing its sheer size as it gets closer to the camera. She sinks into a pond, but as the camera drops, we see it has perfectly located her, being only inches from her head. The only thing that saves her is that it loses interest and turns away.
- After so many years of sitting out the franchise, the Dilophosaurus return, and they give one hell of a frightening scene. Claire is alone at an observation tower, waiting for a ladder to slowly descend, when we hear the all-too-familiar chirps. She spots one, but we don't see it until a pan out reveals it standing some distance away, just watching her. Then another, and another, culminating in one getting within inches of her face. All she can do is scream before Owen and Kayla thankfully step in.
- Alan, Ellie, and Maisie move through the Amber Mine, only to encounter the Dimetrodons, who come out of the shadows like cave monsters. Their roars and calls sound almost humannote . The mine has human skulls, and the Dinotracker website hints that the Dimetrodons have been responsible for the deaths of multiple miners.
- The first time one fully appears definitely leaves an impression. When it seems like the trio have managed to locate the mine's exit, Alan begins climbing the ladder to freedom...only to suddenly be confronted by a Dimetrodon roaring right in his face.
- The way that Dodgson thinks to get rid of his super-resilient, very strong, and gigantic prehistoric mutant locusts? Setting them on fire. Predictably, the flames push them to break their containment cage and breach through the air vents, and they're strong enough not to die immediately from the fire. Within minutes, the whole valley is covered in airborne flames, with the whole Biosyn Valley looking like Hell on Earth or the day the dinosaurs went extinct.
- In its anger and confusion amongst the aforementioned flames, the Giganotosaurus encounters the protagonists, and even as they try to hide in an observation tower, the facility is easily and quickly torn apart by its enormous jaws. In particular, it comes dangerously close to chomping down on Maisie when it's her turn to climb the facility's ladder, with only meager metal bars standing between her and the jaws threatening to crush her into a bloody mess, the bars visibly creaking and breaking around her. No wonder the poor girl is so terrified.
- Remember Grant's lecture about how raptors kill? Here, as he, Owen, and Maisie search for Beta, Grant gives an updated version that is just as unsettling, if not more so.Grant: You know, at first we thought... they disemboweled their prey, but now... they're smart enough to go straight for the throat. The veins, the arteries... snaps both at the same time.
- Near the end of the movie, the Dilophosaurus pack hunts Dodgson down, pinning him in the dead rail train. They don't stop at one venom spit attack, either; all three take turns coating him in venom until he's crawling on the ground before the leader of the pack leans down and kills him. We don't even see the kill as it cuts back to Owen, Maisie, Alan, and Beta with a Scream Discretion Shot. We probably didn't need to see...
- Some of the sightings in the Dino Tracker website are pretty creepy, but the most terrifying would definitely be this one
; shaky cam footage of a dark forest from the perspective of a frightened camper. The camper looks around, occasionally hearing noises in the darkness but unable to find the source of them. And finally, out of nowhere, an Allosaurus emerges from the darkness and attacks them. The whole thing feels like a Found Footage horror film.
