It’s Like ‘Jurassic Park’ but in Your Own Backyard!
I remember when my wife and I went to see the original Jurassic Park in 1993. It was opening weekend and this was something we didn’t usually do. I don’t think we even read any reviews. Going with another couple, we went into this thing blind. It scared the pants off of us – but in a good way.
The End of Oak Street is similar to Jurassic Park but without all of the science-y stuff. It’s like the a “B” movie from the 1950s but with a much bigger budget. The film is full of jump scares and humor and heart. It’s the perfect popcorn movie of the summer.
David Robert Mitchell is doing triple duty serving as the film’s writer, director and producer and from what I can tell, The End of Oak Street turned out just as he hoped it would. Since he was a kid, Mitchell has dreamed of making a dinosaur movie, but what really intrigued him was making the movie a fish-out-of-water story. Instead of having dinosaurs running around in their own habitat, he was fascinated with the idea of having these dinos running around in Suburbia.
These beasts are angry buggers. In fact, I imagine that this is how it really would be if Rick, Will and Holly really did fall down that waterfall and landed in the Land of the Lost.
The End of Oak Street is more than just dinos running amuck. The central story is told from the Platt family’s point of view. The Platt’s loves each other but they are going through some stuff. It’s a perfect story about imperfect people stuck in a bizarre situation that looks like home, but no longer is.
Teenage Audrey (Maisy Stella) is a science nerd. Her brother Brian (Christian Convery) is afraid of his own shadow. Greg (Ewan McGregor) and Denise (Anne Hathaway) are passive aggressive people. Greg is passive, Denise is aggressive.
When the next-door neighbor is on a rampage for what he thinks is a prank done to his backyard, it’s all Denise can do not to threaten him with her rifle. Greg however manages to smooth things over. They make a good team whether they know it or not. This is a likeable family that can root for. Unlike other Hollywood families, they’re not rich. All the rooms in their house are small. They are very relatable.
The movie begins in 1982 during a block party on Oak Street. (How many people actually live on this street anyway?) The Platt’s seem to be having a great time with gunnysack races and water balloon tosses. Jaunty music is playing. Everything is ideal. Except for that strange plant growing in Mrs. Huddleston’s backyard…appearances can be deceiving.
The story starts out slowly but ramps up quickly with thunderstorms, strange flashing lights and a cosmic event that mimics something you might see in during an old episode of The Outer Limits or The Twilight Zone. In fact, whether intentional or not, this movie seems to be inspired by some other summer movies from the past. The beginning builds tension much like Spielberg did with Jaws by not showing the shark right away. Jurassic Park did the same thing, and this technique really works.
There are some downright terror scenes that play out much like Poltergeist and some creepiness like what you see in Arachnophobia. I see some of J.J. Abrams influence too. Abrams serves as a producer for the movie, but I wouldn’t doubt that he had some ideas for the movie’s soundtrack especially during some of the chase scenes. The music resembles what you might hear from an episode from the TV show, Lost.
The End of Oak Street really needs to be seen in the movie theater with a bunch of strangers all screaming and then laughing that they are all screaming. It’s a nostalgic thrill ride. No cell phones – no home computers. Sometimes you’re shaken by a jump scare, other times you can see danger coming from a long way off, but none of the characters are aware of it. And when you least expect it, there’s a huge surprise that will leave you speechless.
I love this movie, but there are a couple of things that bother me about it. For one, while there is an explanation for the sudden appearance of dinosaurs, it isn’t much of one. Audrey shares a line or two about what she thinks could be happening and the rest of the family just nods. It’s doesn’t really make sense but just go with it. The flimsy explanation leads to a really great ending, so in the end, it’s all good.
And my other beef? … why is Brian so whiny? He whines all the way through the movie. By the time his mother has had it with him, so are we. He really doesn’t get much of a redemptive storyline for his trouble.
Even if your little ones are huge dino fans, leave them at home with the sitter. This thing is pretty violent and disturbing at times.
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