The End of Oak Street (2026) – Review

Quick Thoughts:

1. David Robert Mitchell loves featuring swimming pools in his films. 
2. It’s a good time. The world needs more 100-minute movies featuring dinosaurs.
3. Anne “Action Hero” Hathaway!
4. Don’t watch any trailers or look for spoilers.
5. Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis (It Follows, Us, Split, Old) deserves praise for some cool shots. The running scenes are legit.
6. Sit back, relax, and don’t think too much about the plot mechanics.

With a brisk running time of 100 minutes, The End of Oak Street is a fun creature feature that harkens back to Spielberg’s 1980s Amblin films, in which families were forced to deal with science fiction (or supernatural or horror) shenanigans. The high-concept films mostly took place in the suburbs, put kids in danger, and featured boring lives being upended spectacularly  (think E.T., Goonies, Back to the Future, etc..). After directing his Amblin-homage Super 8, J.J. Abrams teamed up with director/writer/producer David Robert Mitchell (It Follows, Under the Silver Lake) to bring the summer blockbuster to life. It’s nice to see Mitchell’s name in film credits again because he’s been in director’s jail since directing the $8 million budgeted A24 film Under the Silver Lake. Typically, director’s jail is meant for directors who helm massive stinkers, so it’s been a bit mystifying that an indie film (and now cult classic) sidetracked his career. It’s smart that he made his comeback with an accessible PG-13 monster movie that doesn’t feature hidden clues, a smelly protagonist, and homeless kings.The End of Oak Street was manufactured for summer audiences looking for a fun movie that keeps them out of the August heat for a couple of hours. The result is a fun summer popcorn film that has the potential to be a sleeper hit. During the press screening, the audience cheered multiple times (I won’t spoil anything) and genuinely seemed to be engrossed in the mayhem. 

The End of Oak Street begins with an idyllic summer barbecue in a well-manicured suburb. The main characters are Denise Platt (Anne Hathaway), a tough housewife (and secret writer), and her husband Greg (Ewan McGregor), who, despite having a day job, still spends his nights delivering pizza for extra cash. Their kids, Audrey (Maisy Stella – watch My Old Ass) and Brian (Christian Convery), are reasonably well-behaved and the family seems to exist in a pleasant world where the biggest problem is money and job security. Since it’s an Amblin-type film, the parents are having marital struggles, and it’s affecting their children who know exactly what’s going on when their parents step away to “talk.” Before the marital issues can be investigated further, a bright light appears, and the following morning Mel (P.J. Byrne), their grumpy neighbor, pounds on the Platts’ door to complain about a massive pile of poop in his backyard. The following day, there’s another bright light, and the family wakes up to a world that’s stuffed with hungry dinosaurs treating the suburbs like an all you can eat buffet. From there, they need to survive in a dangerous suburb that makes the post-apocalyptic world of Love and Monsters (wonderful movie) seem quaint. 

Once the action starts, the film never lets up and features solid athletic work from Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, who must’ve been in great shape when the film wrapped. Together, they sprint around the Georgia-filmed suburbs (which were also used in Stranger Things) and evade huge snakes, hungry raptors, and slow-moving turtles. The production design by Maya Shimoguchi (Werewolf By Night, Hawkeye) utilizes on-location work and sound stages to recreate the 1980s. The costume design by Erin Benach (The Bikeriders, Roofman, Drive, Loving, The Place Beyond the Pines, Devil) is perfection, and I love how it incorporates Saucony shoes, short shorts, high socks, and nightgowns to capture the spirit of the 1980s. 

The cinematography by Mike Gioulakis (It Follows, Us, Split, Old) is the film’s MVP as it allows the various characters to run for their lives in expertly constructed wide shots. The chase scenes in The End of Oak Street were intelligently conceived, and when more information becomes available, I’m going to research how they were brought to life. There is something thrilling about watching actors test their cardio during long takes that see them sprinting across multiple lawns to avoid the hungry dinosaurs chasing them. Also, Anne Hathaway has showcased her physicality in The Dark Knight Rises and Mother Mary (excellent dancing), but it was a fun surprise seeing her play a tough-as-nails mom with cardio for days. 

Final Thoughts: David Robert Mitchell is back!