‘Jurassic Park Is A Stealth Horror Movie.' Ryan Coogler Is Obsessed With Steven Spielberg. How It Made Him Want To Play In The Horror Sandbox

Sinners is the relatively rare springtime horror movie that critics can’t stop raving about, no doubt due it being written and directed by the Oscar-nominated talent Ryan Coogler, who reteamed with star Michael B. Jordan for the fifth time here. Despite his past films focusing on racial tension, boxing legacies, and Black superheroes, Coogler explained why it was a natural career move for him to jump into the horror sandbox, and how Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was an influence.

Though moviegoing audiences might not necessarily slot Jurassic Park right alongside 1993’s more straightforward scary movies like Leprechaun or Night Terrors, Ryan Coogler does indeed hold the Michael Crichton adaptation high as an inspiration, but definitely isn’t ignoring the Jaws filmmaker’s other contributions. Speaking with Deadline about the myriad ideas that smashed together and crystalized into Sinners, he said:

Rewatching Jurassic Park all these years later is a reminder of just how sensory-heavy and harrowing many of the movie’s scenes were, despite coming across more as action set pieces given their scope and scale. After all, what is a T-Rex if not the largest and loudest slasher movie villain of all time?

Coogler continued, speaking to how the legitimate thrills and chills quickly turned Jurassic Park into a brand well beyond theater multiplexes:

It's no coincidence that Universal, the same studio that built a two-tiered franchise out of Jurassic Park, also developed the blockbuster into a theme park ride, arcade games, VR experiences and more. Or that it's the studio with the biggest investment in themed horror experiences, from the annual Halloween Horror Nights season to the impending arrival of Las Vegas' standalone park Universal Horror Unleashed. Hopefully we'll get to see Sinners represented through one or both of those attractions this year or next.

As far as other horror influences go, Ryan Coogler points to other classics from the 1970s, both in terms of films and the directors themselves. He addressed that both of his parents favored John Carpenter movies, but were on different sides of the aisle, His dad preferred the brutal realism of Halloween and Assault on Precinct 13, while his mom was more in touch with the mysterious cosmic horror of The Thing.

Coogler also named one of my very favorites, and easily one of the best horror movies of all time, despite not getting namechecked as often as others, Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie's grief-laden shocker Don't Look Now. In his words:

For a quick rundown of some other horror movies that Coogler named, both modern and classic, we have: The Faculty, From Dusk Till Dawn, Green Room, Rosemary's Baby and The Silence of the Lambs. Not a bad option in the bunch.

Horror fans should show up to watch Sinners in droves to prove there's money to be made in smart, quality horror, and it's currently in theaters everywhere.