A mysterious cosmic event rips Oak Street from suburbia and transports a neighborhood to someplace unknown. The Platt family soon discovers that their very survival depends on sticking together as they navigate their now unrecognizable surroundings.
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery
Release Date: August 14, 2026
Genre: Action, Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated PG-13 for some strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language and suggestive material.
Runtime: 1h 40m
Review:
The End of Oak Street is a throwback on multiple levels with it taking cues from Steven Spielberg, Steven King and Ray Bradbury to deliver a family adventure that’s as fun as it is bloody. David Robert Michell paints the prototypical 80’s suburb with its neighborhood cookouts, bullies and marital discord simmering underneath it all. He avoids the usual pitfalls of going for the super garish 80’s styles and goes for a more typical look and feels that should feel familiar to anyone who lived through the decade, which is refreshing. Michell spends little time before thrusting this generic suburban neighborhood into prehistory carnage which become increasingly bloody and brutal. He slowly reveals the reality of the situation of the confused community and then stages some thrilling set pieces as the carnivorous start attacking before even larger predators show up. It’s briskly paced for the most part, with small character moments thrown here and there for the family with Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor doing the majority of the heavy lifting. Hathaway and McGregor carry the film by delivering thoroughly committed performances as they add so much nuance and texture to their relationship. There’s nothing groundbreaking about their fractured marriage as a storyline but they both give their characters enough nuance and shades of grey which would be missing in hands of lesser performances. They give you a solid sense of their frustrations but underlying love that keeps them together, especially as they try to deal with the insanity of the situation they are in. It’s a testament to the talent of both performers because they pull everything they can out of the script to make you care about them, especially once the film takes a surprising turn. Unfortunately, the rest of the supporting cast don’t fair as well with the script offering up fairly one-dimensional cookie cutter types. Their kids, played by Maisy Stella and Christian Convery, get the most screentime and there are tidbits dropped here and there about their personalities, but they’re never really explored. The rest of the neighbors serve as little more than cannon fodder for the marauding monsters running about. Still, the script’s shortcoming doesn’t keep The End of Oak Street from being a fun ride that feels like a theatrical episode pulled from the 80’s series Amazing Stories created by Steven Spielberg.
B+
