THE END OF OAK STREET is the would-be summer blockbuster written and directed by David Robert Mitchell (IT FOLLOWS, UNDER THE SILVER LAKE). It’s not as distinct as his previous movies, but it’s a mainstream crowdpleaser type of movie with a little quirk. Or at least I’ve heard it pleased whatever crowds it was able to managed – I missed it in theaters, as most people did. But now it’s on video.
At first glance this is one of those “It’s like Amblin!” movies. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “The company that produced HAMNET?” But there was a time before HAMNET when people invoked that name to mean PG-rated movies about suburban kids having adorably mildly scary encounters with aliens, ghosts or pirate skeletons. Here we have a J.J. Abrams production set in the early ‘80s, with almost as much “you know – like Steven Spielberg” gloss as his own SUPER 8, but I think there’s a bit of a tilt to it. It has a haze of nostalgia that borders on too cute (especially with Michael Giacchino’s score laying it on so thick), but then it throws some Dinosaurs Attack! meanness at you every once in a while. Gives it some kick. (read the rest of this shit…)
IT FOLLOWS seems to be the horror hit of the season, rightfully praised for its clever premise, excellent cast and effective indie drama type naturalism. As usual I don’t think it’s as bone-chillingly spookerific or as powerfully groundbreaking as the “I don’t normally like horror movies but this is the greatest horror movie of all time” crowd, but that’s okay. They picked a pretty good one to flip out over. And maybe my respect for it will go up if somebody can convince me that it’s as about something as it seems like it might be.
