THE END OF OAK STREET movie poster | ©2026 Warner Bros.

Rating: PG-13
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery, Jordan Alexa Davis, P.J. Byrne, Anne Gee Byrd, Emily Kuroda
Writer: David Robert Mitchell
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release Date: August 14, 2026

THE END OF OAK STREET is a giant-dinosaurs-in-suburbia movie that isn’t what we might expect from its premise. Granted, the template for this sort of thing has been pretty much set by the JURASSIC PARK franchise, so deviations should be actively encouraged. It’s just that this one feels a little odd.

Apart from a Spielbergian opener that sets up the characters, and another mood shift near the climax, instead of wonder and suspense, THE END OF OAK STREET goes largely for straight-on monster horror. The dinosaurs are immediately so destructive and deadly that nobody has time to go, “Kinda cool” before jumping into survival mode.

Directed and written by David Robert Mitchell, maker of the memorable 2014 IT FOLLOWS, THE END OF OAK STREET is set in 1982, presumably because this was before the advent of technology that would bring the government running the moment a big anomaly occurs.

We focus on the Pratt family – aspiring writer mom Denise (Anne Hathaway), working-man dad Greg (Ewan McGregor), teen daughter Audrey (Maisy Stella), and dog-loving preteen son Brian (Christian Convery) – as they prepare for the annual block party on their cul-de-sac.

There are marital tremors to go with the ground tremors and gigantic tropical plants cropping up here and there. Something peculiar is found in the yard of grouchy neighbor Mel (P.J. Byrne). Brian sees a blinding light in the sky.

And then, a night or so later, the power goes out in the whole neighborhood. There are prehistoric grasses, flowers, and trees – and enormous carnivorous beasts from 150 million years ago or so.

Is there a way out? Should any of the Pratts seek it, or simply concentrate on making it through the next crisis?

There are plenty of cool predicaments and set pieces, but we also spend what seems like an inordinate amount of time on the relationship problems between Denise and Greg. These scenes might be more interesting if the characters and the nature of their disputes weren’t so very familiar.

Likewise, young Brian spends a lot of the movie searching for his beloved dog Starbuck – except when he and everybody else seem to forget about the canine for stretches. This seems a little schizophrenic and counterintuitive. Once an audience is concerned about the well-being of a dog, they worry that the filmmakers are going to do something awful or ignore the topic altogether, leaving viewers less invested in the human figures.

THE END OF OAK STREET movie poster | ©2026 Warner Bros.

THE END OF OAK STREET is shot in IMAX so, if possible, see it in that format, as the seats shake along with the buildings and the ground, and the creatures have depth and scope.

The dinosaurs range from looking great and scary to sometimes not quite fitting properly in the shots. THE END OF OAK STREET goes with the theory that dinosaurs had feathers, which are depicted here as more marabou-like and ropy than those of most birds. The impact again varies depending on the species sporting the feathers.

For a while, THE END OF OAK STREET plays as going for the terror of a zombie movie, with colossal beasts instead of the undead. The finale snaps it over to being more of what we anticipated at the outset.

THE END OF OAK STREET is reasonably enjoyable and offers a distinct alternative for those who want to see thunder lizards in something other than the JURASSIC model. However, a little more attention to characters and some mood stabilization would not have gone amiss.

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