The End Of Oak Street film review: Fearsome family fun
David Robert Mitchell’s latest turns the all-ages blockbuster into a sinister spectacle
Fresh from fending off suitors in The Odyssey and tangling with formidable fashionistas in The Devil Wears Prada 2, the hard-working Anne Hathaway fronts her third high-profile release of the year, The End Of Oak Street. It’s a Spielberg movie mash-up, nodding to the likes of Jurassic Park, Poltergeist and Close Encounters, along with the Amblin-produced Back To The Future.
At the helm is writer-director David Robert Mitchell, the man behind cult horror It Follows, coming-of-ager The Myth Of The American Sleepover and divisive neo-noir Under The Silver Lake. It begins sentimentally at a suburban American street party in 1982 where we’re introduced to the Platts: Denise and Greg (Hathaway and Ewan McGregor) and their teenage kids Audrey and Brian (Maisy Stella from My Old Ass and Christian Convery from Frankenstein and TV’s Sweet Tooth). Denise and Greg’s marital problems (he’s feckless, she’s unsatisfied) become small fry when their entire neighbourhood is transported into prehistoric times following a cosmic event and suddenly it’s all about survival.
The film’s neat, high-concept premise never feels fully fleshed out, with Mitchell keeping firmly focused on the family in question and offering the most meagre explanation for events. Hathaway adds clout and emotional credibility and the teens are well-cast, but attempts at humour don’t always come off. The effects are impressive and if seeing dinosaurs in a domestic context is no longer the novelty it was, The End Of Oak Street is more sinister and gory than comparable blockbusters, with Mitchell’s knack for suspense producing some marvellous results. With its fearsome family fun, this is a great gateway for kids not yet ready for truly hair-raising horror.
The End Of Oak Street is in cinemas from Friday 14 August.