Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993) really set the tone for the science fiction monster movies to come, including its sequel, The Lost World (1997). I could say the same about the later adaptations, but that’s a discussion for next time… Jurassic Park is certainly a huge inspiration for David Robert Mitchell’s The End of Oak Street, which offers a fresh, exciting, and suspenseful take on the dinosaur movie trope.
As the director and writer, Mitchell does a great job of reinventing how dinosaur movies should feel. The movie is set in 1982, giving it a classic nostalgic, dysfunctional suburban family trope encountering a freakish scenario. It’s clearly heavily inspired by the Spielbergian 80s aesthetic with the kids on bikes, running from bullies, and listening to music on Walkmans.
The plot focuses on the Platt family, consisting of a married couple, Denise (Anne Hathaway) and Greg (Ewan McGregor), and their two teenage children, Brian (Christian Convery) and Audrey (Maisy Stella). Denise is writing a novel about a mother who plans to leave her family and is in denial about how close the story hits to home, and her husband Greg is ashamed of telling his wife that he got laid off from his job and works secretly as a pizza delivery driver. The kids obviously sense the tension between their parents and worry that they might be divorcing.
But, that’s the least of their worries, as the end of Oak Street has been transported back to the Mesozoic era, leaving them trapped. While I won’t spoil too much of the movie, The End of Oak Street does a great job of portraying these dinosaurs as ruthless creatures, which makes me question its PG-13 rating. The accurate feathers on the dinosaurs also give them a more intimidating appearance.
One of my favourite scenes showcases the use of a split diopter lens – a lens that’s capable of having two subjects at different distances in one frame. This gave the scene an unsettled and almost distorted feel, which I really enjoyed. Techniques like the split diopter make the movie feel more visually interesting.
Overall, The End of Oak Street, though not very original and ignoring the massive plot hole, is a refreshing break from the typical monster movie slop. It actually allows the audience to connect with the characters and feel the moments with its thrilling sequences, strong atmosphere, and interesting filmmaking choices. I would recommend giving this one a try.