End of Oak Street

Imagine waking up and discovering you’re no longer living in your close-knit, peace-loving, suburban neighborhood, stripped from the modern convenience good ol’ 1980s offers. Instead, you’re living in the nightmare version of an old 1980s TV series. A world where gigantic reptiles rule and you are a mere morsel on the food chain. Welcome to the End of Oak Street.

Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor star as a 1980s couple, enjoying their life while keeping secrets from their family when they are transported to a different time period during a flash thunderstorm. Determined to find their way home, they brave the new old world, dodging various creatures while putting their marriage, and their children, through the ultimate test of survival.

Something to Roar About

After a barrage of superhero films bursting their way to the silver screen, The End of Oak Street (EOS) brought a refreshing breath to this filmgoer. Think of it like Jurassic Park sans corporate greed. The film opens right up with a mystery in their world, sprinkled with marital problems, and gradually weaves in the plot and other story arcs during the first act. Once the climatic event occurs, it quickly transforms into a wild rollercoaster for survival from wild and hungry reptiles and frightened humans alike. Filled with action, it will keep you entertained for it’s 100 minutes run time.

The film’s point of view works well. Throughout the film, the audience rides alongside the main characters. They experience every dino bite, death, and panic. The audience becomes part of the family, trying to figure out if they’re stuck in this wild world forever, or an escape route. This simple decision allows the solution to unfold slowly while delivering both terrifying and comedic surprises. One particular scene sneaks up on the audience, but ties up neatly at the end of the film.

Dino Doodoo

The film offers a different story arcs from the main family. Whether or not necessary, to me it seemed out of place. The choices some of the character make follow the sci-fi troupe of being too curious for one’s own good, or becoming the unnecessary hero only to create more problems. Honestly, it seems ridiculous. For example, if a town suddenly time-slipped into the past filled with carnivorous creature, would people still focus on petty issues? Of course, some scenes added to the comedic element of the film, while sustaining the theme of “secrets.”

The film lacks the emotional bridge connecting the audience with characters. Perhaps the filmmaker made that decision to push more of the sense of urgency. For example, an emotional scene occurs where the characters want time to make sense of the situation. Normally, the audience follows the emotional impact for a while, but EOS throws and dinosaur in there, forcing the characters to run for the life, again. This could be both a negative and positive for movie lovers. Admittedly, one scene caught me cheering for the dinosaur for ridding the audience of an annoying character.

Overall Rating

Truthfully, I was expecting more horror than comedy with the film, especially after seeing the first trailer. The film falls more under science-fiction than it does horror, but I really loved the dark humorous approach to the plot. I felt that worked. Throughout the film, we learn a little about each of the family members, which I think took away from the plot more than it should. We slowly see the inner problems of the family unfold, but I think some of that tension up front could have delivered a stronger connection between the audience and the characters on screen. Some story arcs did not need to be introduced. I appreciate how the camera followed only the family, keep the lens on their experiences instead of bouncing to other characters. Making this wild ride worthy of watching. I was expecting a horror film, but the ending solidifies the film’s standing as more Sci-fi. I love how the film held to the “secrets” theme. Despite the theme, I felt the film would have worked better if the family’s marital problems was introduced earlier instead of the slow reveal. However, the film’s ending support the decision to “reveal slowly.”

All in all, I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Did you watch the film? Let me know what you think in the comments below.