Anyone who saw It Follows in 2014 knows that David Robert Mitchell is a rare gem of a director. While that film relied heavily on practical effects and psychological tension, his new film, The End Of Oak Street, is a CGI-focused, chaotic, beautifully bizarre journey that brings the Mesozoic period into the relatively modern world — and vice versa.

Denise Platt (Anne Hathaway) is a quick-witted suburban mom who has aspirations of being an author. Her husband, Greg (Ewan McGregor), is a workaholic who desperately wants to pretend as if everything is perfect in their marriage, optimistic to a fault. Whilst this family dynamic is one that is perhaps a bit overdone in Hollywood, it’s what Mitchell does with it that sets it apart from being overly tropey or reliant on stereotypes: their less-than-idyllic relationship is further tested when their entire neighborhood is transported back in time to the era when dinosaurs roamed this world. 

In this Amblin-esque adventure, despite the tone shift from his previous works (and about eight times the budget), Mitchell continues his practice of using suburbia as a way to explore the darkness beneath the surface of the American Dream. Greg is in denial, Denise is fed up with her discontent, and their children Audrey (Maisy Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery) know something’s off. But, they’re living the dream! They have a roof over their heads! It can’t be that bad, right? It’s better to just ignore your problems and shove your feelings deep, deep down…right?

Throughout the film, there are moments that continue this thread of isolation, as well as the selfishness of the average suburban citizen. When the dinosaurs begin wreaking havoc on the neighborhood, it becomes an every man for himself situation, with the Platt family retreating into their home and boarding up the windows. As they fight to survive the terrifying situation they’ve found themselves in, they are forced to confront everything they’ve been running from — while they quite literally run for their lives.

The opening scene does a phenomenal job of introducing us to these characters in exactly the right way. We immediately understand who they are, where they’re at, and what problems they’re having. The chemistry between the family is also established in that scene. It’s clear these actors got along great and were having fun on that set, which is always nice to see translate onscreen.

Despite the film only being 99 minutes long, it does spend a good bit of time at the start on establishing the various emotional stakes. There are a few scenes that could’ve perhaps been trimmed down a little — and a bit more could’ve been added to the ending — but it does make the characters feel very real, and once the film gets going, it goes and doesn’t let up.

Anne Hathaway is the undeniable MVP here. She is always a phenomenal performer, giving 110% to whatever role she takes on, but she is just pure gold in this. Her micro-expressions and the little details of personality she infused into Denise were so good, and she was also such a badass. She wields a shotgun, defends her dog, and runs towards danger for her kids. What’s not to love? I truly do not believe this story would have worked without her. Mitchell layers complexity into this action-packed film with his metaphors, and that level of detail requires a very strong lead to convey it all.

Hathaway delivers in every way imaginable. She also has some of the funniest line reads of the entire movie. No spoilers, but I cannot wait for this film to come out on digital because there are several moments of hers that I am certain will end up going platinum on social media. Between this, The Odyssey, The Devil Wears Prada 2, and Mother Mary, I think it’s safe to say this is Hathaway’s year. And she’s still got one more (Verity) coming out soon!

McGregor is a close second with his portrayal of this overly-optimistic mess of a husband (even despite his less-than-perfect American accent), and Stella and Convery do a great job being both extremely frustrating and yet incredibly endearing, as most children often are. It’s an all-around stacked cast who do very well in their respective roles.

I also really appreciated that there was casual, normalized queer representation in this. It wasn’t used as a marketing ploy, or thrown in as a joke, it was simply…a part of life. It was a very nice surprise, and I wish we had more of that.

The CGI was pretty great throughout the film; there was only one moment towards the end that stood out to me as too noticeably fake, but it’s very difficult to make giant dinosaurs look real so I’m not mad about it, and I really liked their designs in this! Always nice to see some biblically accurate dinosaur representation. 

If you are someone who gets scared easily, I will warn you that it is pretty terrifying at times. I was deeply concerned for the family the whole film, but it does a great job of breaking the tension with moments of sincerity or comedy that give you a moment to breathe. There are not so many jumpscares that you are on edge the entire time, but not so little that the movie had no tension or stakes to worry about. The score also does a really great job of adding to that tension and underlining the danger.

I’m sure everyone will be raving about the split diopter shots in this film, as they should. I mean, come on, there’s an entire conversation in this that is filmed solely as shot/reverse-shot with split diopters. Amazing work. There are, of course, Mitchell’s signature slow zooms, as well as cool tracking shots, and some very classic Spielberg-style movements in this that I enjoyed.

All-in-all, this is a fun, scary, wild ride that is 100% one you should see in theaters. The audience experience definitely made this so much better; I had a great time listening to everyone’s reactions. I think my screening audience was particularly cool, though, to be honest. We were all on the same wavelength. Shoutout to the woman sitting next to me; we were reacting in exactly the same way at the same time. Should’ve gotten her number. Oh well. 

It’s been a great year for cinema, and this is another addition to the roster of solid films that I have enjoyed watching so far. I hope the Hathaissance lives on forever, and I hope this movie inspires other filmmakers to tell silly, absurd, fun stories like this more often — and that it inspires studios to give those filmmakers the funds they need to get those movies made. 

The End of Oak Street opens in theaters on August 14th (USA).
Rated: PG-13.
Run Time: 99 minutes.