Jurassic World has been a huge success, having the most successful opening week of any film, ever! This gives me such joy, as a massive fan of anything Jurassic Park related, having grown up with the franchise like many others. But this article I am writing, is not a general over view like I usually write, but about something very specific within the film itself; a scene that has stayed with me days after seeing it. As you read this, you may have already guessed, but it is the first on screen female death of the quadrilogy: Zara Young. I recently tweeted about this on my Twitter feed, which this blog will also be posted, so apologies if readers think this is samey.
From the scenes in the trailer, I had kind of guessed her character would meet an unfortunate end; from her very first scene on the docks waiting for the boys, Zach and Gray, holding an iPad with their names on it, her truly beautiful face taking up the screen, I thought… “yep… you’re dead, love”. We all saw it coming; she’s the perfect candidate for a good dino-death; the innocent, slightly selfish and aggravating P.A. Great! And then it happened.
She is trying to catch up to the two young boys as dozens of Pterosaurs swoop in from above. The boys stop in panic, observing their chaotic surroundings when Zara finally stops before them. “Well, don’t just stand there”! She shouts at them just as a Pteranodon grabs her by the shoulders and lifts her high into the air. OK, this bit was shown in the trailers, I could handle that. Then she is dropped and sharply caught by another flying dinosaur, before being dragged over water and released, plummeting into the tank below. This is when I began to feel a little bit uneasy. There are many shapes hitting the water, so I assume they are other guests to the park, suffering the same ill fate as Zara. In fact, they are Pterosaurs, all going for her. She is rather graphically shown in a close up, being dragged through the water, screaming in its mouth before being dropped, grabbed at, dropped again, grabbed AGAIN and then she is lost from view as the Mosasaur jaw ascends. I never noticed in the film itself, but from pictures and digging a bit on the internet, eagle eyed viewers can see her disappear into the mouth of the Mosasaur as it bites down around the helpless Pteranodon.
Well… I didn’t give a damn who died after that. My heart was racing and I felt a bit sick. Don’t get me wrong, it was a well directed death scene and for the British actress, Katie McGrath who played Zara, I can imagine it was complete fun to shoot (as director Colin Trevorrow has stated she did the stunts herself). But to a viewer I just sat there in horror, unable to concentrate on the following scene as I was in such shock that the cinematography would be pushed that far. I’ve seen the film twice now; first with my stone hearted friends, who didn’t seem particularly phased. by the trauma of it all. The second with a slightly more sensitive friend; his expression said it all. Later on in the film, as an InGen soldier mercilessly shoots a Pterosaur mid flight, my friend even said “pfft, good”! I did pre-warn him about it and it still shocked us both! I wasn’t going to write a posting about this; it didn’t seem worth it, but apparently this is a common topic among fans; her death was unnecessarily cruel and graphic for a character who didn’t deserve it. Udesky’s death in Jurassic Park III was pretty gruesome, as was Muldoon’s in the first, but Zara’s death hit me, as a member of the audience, pretty hard and it seems it has many others also. Even fellow cast member, Bryce Dallas Howard said in an interview that she felt Zara’s tortured before she dies. What does that say?
However the film was brilliant and if anyone should wish to comment; I’d love to hear others thoughts!
Read on and Prosper!
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