ROCK DOWN TO...JURASSIC AVENUE

1 hour ago
7 min read

The END OF OAK STREET (12a)

Director: David Robert Mitchell

Screenplay: David Robert Mitchell

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella

Running time: 109minutes

Cinema

Review: David Stephens

Bloody Hell! At long last!! For those who aren’t aware, The End of Oak Street has had a seemingly painful journey to the silver screen. We’ve been including it in end-of-the-year previews for about 3 years. To put that in perspective, it’s been in pre-production since March 2023, and right up until March 2026 it was known as (and had teaser promotional material) for “Flowervale Street”, with a release date that bounced around more than a Baywatch bikini. The exact nature of the story was kept mostly secret up until the first official trailers this year. All we knew for certain before that was that it starred Anne Hathaway with Ewan McGregor and was being directed by David Robert Mitchell (who is best known for the superb It Follows). However, there were plenty of rumours about time-travel and dinosaurs (an early “Flowervale Street” poster was just a collage of dinosaur skulls), as well as the obligatory conspiracy theory that it was a (yet another supposed) Cloverfield stealth-sequel, as J.J, Abrams was producing. So, the first footage with an Allosaurus (not T-Rex) and Velociraptors was no great surprise but led to the immediate Jurassic Park comparisons. Warner Bros have undeniably messed up somewhat with the promotion and scheduling of the film, with previews and critical responses being very favourable for the most part, adding a very late peak in interest after the tidal wave of Tom Holland blockbusters has died down. But this may be still too late to turn a decent profit. All that aside though, it has just had a simultaneous release in cinemas on both sides of the Atlantic, and pretty much the rest of the world. So, is it murder in suburbia or a treat in the street?

It’s 1982 in America, and there’s a joyous street party in progress on Oak Street… for some reason. Denise Platt (Hathaway) and her husband Greg (McGregor) are slap-bang in the middle of the fun, with their kids (Maisy Stella as Audrey and Christian Convery as Brian). They seem like the perfect family, but beneath the surface, things aren’t so great. Denise is depressed and frustrated with Greg’s misplaced optimism, as he (literally) runs away from most confrontations and refuses to discuss family problems. They’re basically one argument away from divorce, with their children well aware of the precarious state of the marriage. That all changes, though, just two nights after the street party. Flashing lights and strong winds seem to herald a massive storm, but as it dissipates, there is no power and no water supply. Oh, and someone’s screaming for their life in a nearby house. As they (and some of their neighbours) creep out into the suburb, it soon becomes clear that this is more serious than a downed power line or broken water pipe. Strange creatures are prowling (and eating) the neighbourhood, it’s suddenly tropical, and there’s a bloody great volcano in the distance. Surrounded by swamps and sheer cliff faces, there is no way out of Oak Street. Somehow, they have been sent millions of years into the past and have no idea what to do initially, except hunker down and try to survive. But survival is never guaranteed when you’re now at the bottom of the food chain and time is short… if not broken altogether.

With all the pre-release shenanigans and delays, at least it’s nice to now report that Oak Street is a very solid piece of entertainment, and a project which the cast and director do not need to be ashamed of. Far from it, it currently sits at a very respectable 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and has had plenty of positive feedback. The go-to comparison is obviously the Spielberg Jurassic Park/World franchise, but truth be told, it is far better than most of the sequels and has a different feel to it. The later Jurassic films teased the Dinos-on-the-high-street conflict, but then quickly chickened out when it came to it, slipping back into the old experts-trapped-in-a-jungle-environment-with-carnosaurs plot structure for every single movie. But that extreme culture clash is the heart of the concept in Oak Street right from the beginning, playing off an idea that Mitchell had about such a situation. So, tick point there. Also, in structure and execution, it feels more like a long episode of classic The Twilight Zone rather than another Jurassic ripoff. If you want to be really studious about it; like a mash-up of elements from the episodes The Odyssey of Flight 33, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, and A Feasibility Study. IYKYK. And of course (as many critics have pointed out), the 80s setting also reflects the quintessential touches present in many of Spielberg’s Amblin films, as well as Stranger Things.

That’s not to say that Oak Street is just a generic nostalgia trip or content to rest on its laurels with occasional dino chases and monster chomping. There’s a lot that various parties (especially Mitchell and Hathaway) bring to this party that makes it worthy of the attention of genre fans. If you’re expecting the perennially underestimated Hathaway to just phone in her role and run with the cheque, then somebody forgot to send her the memo for that. Because she is clearly bringing her A-game here. Dinosaur exploitation and PG-movie be damned! Her Mrs Maisel-ish character is well-rounded, has compelling traits, speaks from the heart, and snarls like a good-‘un when fighting an Allosaurus. Mitchell repeats some of his trademark cine-shots from “It Follows”, which incorporate a half-screen of an actor's face emoting against backdrop details, where Hathaway excels, and she nails some reaction shots when it matters. McGregor is okay as well but doesn’t commit to the role quite as much. He does a hell of a terror scream, though. And yes, it is a “scream”. All the cast in “Oak Street” scream most convincingly, it has to be said, and with good reason. The film wouldn’t work at all if you didn’t care about the Platts and other characters, which is just as well…

… because for a PG-13/12 film, it gets pretty dark and brutal. The kills aren’t usually onscreen, but, man, you feel the emotional punch of some of them. And they often aren’t easy deaths either. One supposedly unlikeable character has such a prolonged and nasty demise that you can’t help feeling sympathy for them. There is also one standout sequence that genuinely surprises and shocks, making you realise that Mitchell might be emulating the feel-good movies from the 80s, but has no qualms about hitting you where it hurts. It’s these moments of high peril in a suburban setting where it really shines. As the Platts run around their little slice of prehistory, there are plenty of incidental details to pick up on and delight in. Feathery velociraptors chasing people down garden paths, giant snakes slithering out of swimming pools, furry sauropods brushing against windows, etc. And yes, some of the most recent biological details of dinosaurs are included in their design, along with lesser creatures from that era, including giant spiky tortoises and grumpy gators. It’s easy to get used to the high standards of SFX these days, but the realisation of these creatures (supposedly one of the reasons it was so delayed) is excellent, especially as the budget is a third of the last Jurassic movie. If you see it primarily for dino-carnage (within the boundaries of a PG-rated movie), then you won’t feel shortchanged.

A couple of excellent scenes cement these dino standards. You finally find out how a T-Rex (or Allosaurus here) manages to sneak up successfully on victims. The sequence of the snake-in-a-house is also shot with splendid tension by Mitchell. And the flying reptiles are meanness-with-wings. After a while, bodies litter the streets, and things look grim. Which is why… the final act and ending are a little disappointing. It’s hard to discuss why, without giving spoilers. But suffice to say, it might work for some, but not for others. For us, it just seemed a little too convenient and a bit condescending, spoiling some of the more effective mature beats in the narrative. Plus, the fact that it relies on not just bending a certain law of physics but telling it that its shoelaces are undone and kicking it up the ass when it bends over. Taking the course of never providing an exposition dump or clear-cut explanation for events (a bit like Happy Death Day or Shaun of the Dead), this works perfectly well until we get to the last scenes, which just feel out of sorts next to what preceded it. It’s a shame, as it affects the pacing overall but will admittedly not be a problem for some people.

There’s also a suitable soundtrack by the prolific Michael Giacchino (who also did some of the recent Jurassic World scores) that sounds like a cross between John Williams and Danny Elfman. So, it also sounds like a “big picture”. As Mitchell is currently filming They Follow (much-anticipated sequel to It Follows), it’s worth mentioning how good some of the quieter stuff is, as effective as the dino scares are (both subtle and bombastic). This is as true of the relatable arguments between Denise and Gregg as it is with a perfectly judged moment where a fearful Audrey slips into the family car and sings along to Steve Winwood’s “Valerie” to deal with the terror she feels. It’s the little moments like this that will stand out to genre fans, as much as the sight of a Spinosaurus ramming a car through a house, where the fear seems absolutely genuine in the circumstances. Oh, and Mitchell seemingly reveals himself to be much more a dog person than a cat one. You’ll understand if you see the film. In summary, Oak Street is well worth a visit, with some standout sequences and nice performances. It won’t make history, but you’ll certainly have fun watching people get eaten by it. No-joke Street.