Review of THE END OF OAK STREET: Prehistoric Peril

August 21, 2026

It was 1982. The Platts are a typical middle-class American family who lived on Oak Street, in the suburban Flowervale, Michigan. Greg Platt (Ewan McGregor) was in between jobs, making ends meet by delivering pizzas. His marriage with his wife, aspiring novelist Denise (Anne Hathaway), was shaky, with divorce in the conversation. Their two kids, Audrey (Maisie Stella) and Brian (Christian Convery), were not oblivious to their troubled situation. 

For the past few nights, there were odd things appearing in backyards of neighbors, like an extinct prehistoric plant or a huge pile of stinky manure.  One stormy night, there was long blinding flash of bright light, then power, phone and water all go out. That morning, their dog Starbuck was missing, so Greg and Denise went to look for him. Instead of the dog, they saw a giant beaked creature which immediately turned to chase them. 

In the opening scenes, we get our first glimpse of Oak Street during a fun neighborhood activity.  We see Brian out biking on the streets with his three pals, and we feel like we are inside a Steven Spielberg film. I felt like I was watching a scene from "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial," which incidentally was released in 1982, the time setting of this sci-fi thriller. However, it would later turn out that this would not be the only Spielberg film referenced.

When there were big flashes of light in the night sky, we were reminded of the way the aliens were gradually revealed in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), However, this time around, there were dinosaurs instead of aliens, which of course called to mind "Jurassic Park" (1993). There had apparently been a wormhole in time that their whole community was transported to prehistoric time when dinosaurs still ruled the world.

Any actor could've played Greg and Denise, but having McGregor and Hathaway there did give it some additional charm. All the characters are aware that they need to be alert and resourceful to survive the prehistoric peril around them, yet they still had the time or temerity to argue about their domestic or school issues, which were so petty now considering what they're up against. These confrontation scenes under threat of carnivorous dinosaur attacks were very corny and frankly, unnecessary melodrama. 6/10