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A family are caught in the crossfire between warring dinosaurs at their campsite.

At just under nine minutes, Colin Trevorrow’s in-universe Jurassic World short is more of a teaser than a complete story, but it’s a welcome bridge between J A Bayona’s 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Trevorrow’s upcoming (and currently untitled) third big screen instalment in the second Jurassic Park trilogy.

As you’d anticipate with this running time, the family at the heart of this drama are rapidly sketched in so that the dino-action can begin. Andre Holland (Castle Rock) and Natalie Martinez (Death Race) have taken their blended family on a vacation in an RV to Big Rock National Park; It’s a year after the events of Fallen Kingdom, which ended with dinosaurs being released into the world. We’re told via news reports that multiple dinosaurs sightings have been coming in, this being the new norm.

When a family of Nasutoceratops (a variation on Triceratops) are spotted outside, the family recall the rangers’ advice that they should be treated like bears (i.e. kept at a safe distance) but there’s no such insight on how to manage a carnivorous Allosaurus, and it’s not long before the vehicle is on its side (shades of The Lost World).

This is of course a minor taster of what’s to come, but the fact that it was unexpected makes it especially tasty. Filmed in forests on the outskirts of Dublin, the screenplay by the writers of the next movie (Emily Carmichael – Pacific Rim: Uprising and Colin Trevorrow) knows what we’re here for and delivers the jaw-snapping peril and tension we’ve come to expect. Kudos to composer Amie Doherty for integrating Williams’ and Giacchino’s previous themes and especially a refrain from The Lost World.

Verdict: Whether a coda to Fallen Kingdom or an entree to Jurassic World 3, this is an exciting eight minutes that even manages to tantalise in multiple end credits stings. Summer 2021 can’t come round soon enough. 8/10

Nick Joy

 

 

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