The End of Oak Street Review: Hathaway Anchors Very Fun But Flawed Time at the Theater

Alex Schlerf
Aug 14
5 min read

Director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) makes a semi-return to the horror genre with The End of Oak Street, a thriller where a family has to survive when their street is moved to prehistoric times.

Synopsis:

"After a mysterious cosmic event rips Oak Street from suburbia and transports their neighborhood to someplace unknown, the Platt family soon discovers that their very survival depends on them sticking together as they navigate their now unrecognizable surroundings."

Cast:

Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery, Jordan Alexa Davis, PJ Bryne

Release Date: In Theaters Now

Thrilling Chase Sequences

The best part of this movie, by far, is all the extended chase sequences. You get the characters running away from all kinds of creatures and it really does feel like a wild ride once we really get into that. The entire film revolves around this family trying to survive in this absurd enviorment, and you do really feel invested in that due to these chase sequences. The big ticket attraction is obviously the dinosaurs, but there's actually a whole plethora of different characters that add to the horror. When you add in flying creatures, what I think is an earthworm, and plenty of others, we've got a really fun time at the theater. This especially stands out in the third act, where it feels like the movie is finally committing to its absurdity and horrific situation. There's a decision they make with about 20 minutes left that is very bold, but really leads you to lean forward because nothing feels predictable or expected.

Director David Robert Mitchell and all the filmmakers clearly had the time of their life shooting this. I was incredibly impressed with his direction, not just because of what I said earlier, but also because it allows this to really feel like a Jurassic Park-like blockbuster. There's a lot of very classic camera work, with the audience being let in on things before the characters are. It also makes this a very fun theater experience, as my crowd was definitely gasping all at once when certain creatures are brought into their life. There's plenty of sequences with really creative camera work as well, doing some 360 shots and allowing things to really play out instead of too many jump cuts. I don't want to spoil anything, but I think the sequence with the earthworm towards the end was genuinely a 10/10 scene and absolutely freaky. I had my issues with some of the slower moments, which I'll detail later, but there's no doubt the intense swings are totally satisfying.

Anne Hathaway Continues To Own 2026

I don't have a ton of outstanding positives outside of that first section, just because that is the main draw for this film, but I did want to single out Hathaway since she's just killing it all around right now. Wether it's Devil Wears Prada 2 or The Odyssey, she continues to reinvent her career and I'm just loving watching it. For this film, she is our quasi-main character, and in that sense you definitely needed a presence that could stand her ground amongst this absurdity. Hathaway absolutely fills that role and also elevates it in a lot of parts. You aren't really sure how to feel about her mental state early on, before disaster strikes, but I love that she went into full protection mode the second everything delved into chaos. Not only that, but you can see her motivations form in real time, and any emotion you'll feel in this one will come from her. It's both a silly, smart and determined character, one that is definitely worthy of leading a project like this.

I also do want to point out Maisy Stella and Christian Convery, who did a good job when they were on their own for some extended periods of time. They have to form a bond with some unlikely people and it didn't feel out of place or silly (which I was worried about after the "bullying" sequences earlier in the film). There's a really sweet through line with Stella's character and it does help you stay invested in the back half.

Family Drama Is Underbaked

One big standout problem of this film for me is that I don't think the family ever really felt like an actual family. Right off the bat, they try to start some drama within the main couple and it just feels bland. No shade against Ewan McGregor, the guy is an incredible actor, but I didn't really enjoy his character in this film. It could have been a script problem, but they want you to get invested in his character especially at the end, and instead they really make him out to be the bad guy throughout the entire movie. It's hard to be super into that twist at the end because they don't really paint him in a positive light in the first two acts. The drama between him and Hathaway's characters was never really explored enough to make a huge impact on me. It comes up in certain areas, but you are more just invested in the fun action sequences. That makes it so when there are slower scenes, you just find yourself bored and ready to jump back into a chase. It also made it harder for me to get into the film right away. I totally agree with the decision to slowly build into the main plot, but I just wish the writing would've got me more invested.

Struggles to Find Its Tone

When going into this film, I wasn't really sure wether to expect a mostly serious thriller or something with comedy elements. This is because in the trailer you see really scary scenes, like the one in the picture above, but you also get some goofier moments that don't totally feel grounded in reality. I also assumed this was rated R, later to find out that it was PG-13, so I really was just going into this blind. Unfortunately, I think the film itself struggled to find this balance. There's an equal amount of ridiculous and serious scenes, which means that it's hard to ever really emotionally connect with anything. Anytime it feels there is going to be a sincere moment, we just get a dinosaur sequence that is shot a bit like a comedy. Those sequences were fine by me, but just kind of felt like tonal whiplash with its placement into the story. I again really loved a decision they make towards the end because of how bold it is, but because of the tone being all over the place, it almost felt like we skipped over it too quickly. I just wasn't sure what emotion they wanted me to feel in certain parts and that became a big issue.

Final Thoughts

The End of Oak Street has all the elements for a great summer blockbuster. It's funny, has good action and a star-studded lead duo. It is certainly not without issues, but is a worthy trip to the theater with friends or family!

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

The End of Oak Street is Ranked 23rd out of the 57 new releases that I've seen this year.

Editor's Note: I've only included the top 20 from my 2026 new releases list, for editing purposes.

2026 Ranked: