Movie Review: 'The End of Oak Street' Is a Gonzo Good Time

"The End of Oak Street," the new film from director David Robert Mitchell, is a "bonkers blast" that channels 1980s blockbuster showmanship without irony, Associated Press Film Writer Jake Coyle writes in his review.

Set in a 1980s suburban neighborhood modeled on the San Fernando Valley, the film follows the Platt family — Denise (Anne Hathaway), Greg (Ewan McGregor) and their two children, Audrey (Maisy Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery) — whose seemingly ordinary lives, including a marriage on the edge of divorce, are upended when their street is transported into a prehistoric world overrun with dinosaurs.

Mitchell, who also wrote the script, builds the mystery gradually before dinosaurs invade front porches and living rooms, turning Oak Street into what Coyle calls "a suburban island in a prehistoric world." The setup recalls Steven Spielberg's classic family-in-crisis blockbuster formula, but Coyle notes Mitchell leans further into horror and absurdism than sentimentality, aided by a score from composer Michael Giacchino that evokes John Williams.

Despite the over-the-top premise, Coyle writes that the film's success lies in how grounded its characters remain, crediting Hathaway's performance in particular. The combination of earnest family drama, CGI spectacle and increasingly wild plotting makes the movie, in Coyle's words, "a fairly nonstop hoot."

Mitchell previously directed the 2014 horror film "It Follows" and the Los Angeles noir "Under the Silver Lake." Coyle gives "The End of Oak Street" three stars out of four, calling it "a gonzo good time that gives an old-school family adventure a darker, modern spin."

"The End of Oak Street," a Warner Bros. release opening in theaters Thursday, is rated PG-13 for strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language and suggestive material. Running time is 99 minutes.