Top 10 Scariest Movie Dinosaurs

“Jurassic Park III” (2001)
While they never quite matched the thrills of the original, both “The Lost World” and “Jurassic Park III” managed to introduce some terrifying creatures. The compys attacking a young girl and then eating Peter Stormare are definitely nightmare fuel. But we have to give it up to the dino that took down the T-Rex in the third film, the spinosaurus. The beast stalks Alan Grant and company across Isla Sorna, able to hunt them both on land and in water. After the spino devours the world's most indestructible cell phone, the ridiculously loud ringtone serves as a warning, letting everyone know the call is coming from inside the paddock.

“65” (2023)
Playing the space-traveler Mills, Adam Driver finds himself stranded on the strange alien planet Earth. However, the film takes place in the distant past and he just happens to land right as a certain asteroid is about to strike. Making his way across the harsh landscape, he and his companion are pursued by an array of prehistoric creatures. The biggest and baddest among them is one invented for the film, a towering thing that seems to combine elements of both dinosaurs and crocodilians. In a thrilling conclusion, the hulking monstrosity chases Mills across a geyser-filled plateau as the killer rock approaches, its massive jaws mere moments from making Mills its last supper.

“Fantasia” (1940)
Animated to the music of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” the fourth segment of this Disney classic highlights the power and ferocity of these titanic animals. The T-Rex is revealed like a classic movie villain, staring down a herd of herbivores and showing off its dagger-like teeth and claws. The plant-eaters flee with fear on their faces as the classical score heightens the sense of dread. An unnerved stegosaurus faces down the rex, who looks on with rage as lightning strikes in the distance. The battle of these titans ends with the carnivore landing a brutal killing blow. The life slowly drains from the stegosaurus' eyes as the T-Rex roars triumphantly to the swell of the music.

“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” (2018)
The “Jurassic World” trilogy has no shortage of bigger, badder dinosaurs that could scare the pants off you. These include the massive Giganotosaurus, which hunted our heroes in “Dominion,” and the genetic hybrid Indominus rex from the first film. However, when it comes to sheer terror, a smaller dinosaur is the one that really takes the cake. In “Fallen Kingdom,” a scaled down and more feral version of the Indominus, known as the Indoraptor, hunts humans with the single minded determination of a slasher villain chasing its prey. Like Michael or Jason, the Indoraptor even stalks a teenage girl, coming close to stabbing her in her bed with its fearsome talons.

“The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” (1953)
Coming from master monster-maker Ray Harryhausen, this colossal prehistoric beast is awakened from its icy slumber by nuclear testing. The 200-foot long monster terrorizes the coast as it makes its way to its ancient breeding grounds, which unfortunately happen to be located in the middle of New York City. The scenes of it destroying New York, created with techniques like rear projection and stop motion, are still scary to this day and would go on to influence “Godzilla.” This was hardly the last time that Harryhausen would create an iconic dinosaur. His career was filled with them, culminating in “The Valley of Gwangi” and its titular Allosaurus, one of the fiercest dinos put to screen.

“Jurassic Park” (1993)
Many of the scariest dinosaurs in this movie don’t appear on-screen for quite some time, with the characters instead dropping hints about just how deadly they are. The frighteningly beautiful but venomous dilophosaurus is no exception. So when Dennis Nedry comes face to face with one, we know what he doesn't: this animal will brutally kill him. The dilophosaurus appears friendly and almost cuddly at first. It’s not until it’s too late, when it opens its frill and attacks, that Nedry realizes he’s dinner. Blinded by venom spat in his eyes, Nedry attempts to flee into his Jeep, right where the dinosaur is waiting for him.

“King Kong” (2005)
Kong isn't the only oversized beast living on Skull Island, which is filled with gigantic versions of prehistoric animals that survived the extinction of the dinosaurs. Not only did they survive – like everything else, they kept evolving. Growing even larger and more fearsome than their tyrannosaur cousins, the Vastatosaurus rex is even more of a killing machine. One hunts Ann Darrow, snapping at her with colossal jaws that could swallow her in one bite. Although Ann is saved by Kong jumping in, a second and then third rex soon arrive to triple the terror. The chomping of those jaws fills us with anxiety thanks to some impressive sound design.

“The Land Before Time” (1988)
Big, ugly, snarling, with a glaring red eye, this T-rex seems a little too scary for a kids’ movie about cute talking dinos. So when he shows up out of nowhere, interrupting a playful moment, it’s all the more shocking. He chases Cera and Littlefoot across a barren landscape, sniffing after them like a bloodhound when they flee into thorn bushes. Although Littlefoot’s mother is able to save the day, the triumph doesn't last long. The behemoths battle on the crumbling cliffside as the earth splits in half at their feet. Despite seemingly falling to his death, Sharptooth would return, ruthlessly pursuing Littlefoot and friends with a single-minded devotion.

“Jurassic Park” (1993)
In a suspenseful moment that only Steven Spielberg could deliver, the first sign of danger from the T-Rex is its distant, yet powerful footsteps. The characters see the creature before we do, looking on with pure terror as it escapes its enclosure. It stares down Lex and Tim in the motionless Jeep, unleashing a bone chilling roar before breaking through the vehicle’s glass roof and giving viewers one heck of a jump scare. Many of the characters barely escape with their lives, with the exception of Gennaro, who meets a grisly end. The sheer power and violence displayed in the scene make even the sound of a distant roar into a harrowing moment later in the film.

“Jurassic Park” (1993)
Introduced in a brutal opening scene, we know right from the start of “Jurassic Park” that these pack hunters are some of the scariest things ever to live on planet Earth. To drive the point home, Alan Grant terrifies a child by describing their unrelenting ferocity in graphic detail. When we see what they do to a cow, we know he wasn’t exaggerating. The kitchen sequence in which they hunt Tim and Lex is pure horror. The raptors are perfectly designed killers, but their deadliest weapon is their intelligence. As Muldoon learned the hard way, just when you think you have the upper hand on a velociraptor, another is ready to pounce.


Which creature from the distant past do you think made the scariest movie monster? Let us know in the comments below!