'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' director J.A. Bayona on making a 'haunted house' story

While the lush and exploding trappings of Isla Nubar might be featured more prominently in the marketing campaign for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, fans of the dino franchise might have noticed several shots taking place inside an expansive mansion. It's in that setting that Fallen Kingdom swaps out-and-out action for suspense and horror. Yahoo Entertainment welcomed the highly anticipated (and already successful) sequel's director, J.A. Bayona to our Los Angeles studios to discuss how Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is, in many ways, a haunted house movies with dinosaurs instead of boogeymen. Bayona told us that he was hired by executive producer and co-writer Colin Trevorrow with that in mind. "It was in our first conversation that he told me I was the right guy to do this film because of The Orphanage, which is a horror film I did," said Bayona, referencing his major motion picture directorial debut. "I was very surprised about that. He explained to me that he thought the second half of [Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom] was a haunted house story...Having the dinosaurs in a tight space, that gothic mansion sounded a lot of fun. I was immediately in." In many ways, Fallen Kingdom is returning to its Jurassic Park roots. The 1993 classic, which just recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, had the elements of a suspense/horror film. Who can forget Tim and Lex's close shave with the velociraptors in the kitchen? Bayona wants his film's audience to feel the connection between Fallen Kingdom and Jurassic Park, not just by the return of beloved characters, but in the way it makes you feel. "I really like that kind of Hitchcockian suspense that Spielberg did in the first Jurassic Park," shared Bayona. "I tried to do the same in this one. Colin and I worked together, trying to make the best set pieces possibles and create that sense of fear we all loved from the original movies."