Published Aug 11, 2026, 2:08 PM EDT

EXCLUSIVE: David Robert Mitchell and J.J. Abrams had a unique range of inspirations for The End of Oak Street.

Hailing from the It Follows writer/director, the new sci-fi thriller centers on the Platt family, consisting of father Greg, mother Denise, daughter Audrey and son Brian, as they find their quiet suburban neighborhood mysteriously shifted from their quiet Midwest American town to a dangerous new location full of dinosaurs and other prehistoric entities. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor lead the End of Oak Street cast alongside Sweet Tooth's Christian Convery and Nashville's Maisy Stella.

Ahead of the film's release, ScreenRant's Tatiana Hullender interviewed J.J. Abrams and David Robert Mitchell to discuss The End of Oak Street. While discussing the sci-fi thriller's various inspirations, Mitchell recalled having grown up in the '80s, and subsequently was "thinking about my childhood and my time with my family" while developing the story for his new film.

However, the writer/director also acknowledged there being "a lot" of cultural references for The End of Oak Street, listing everything from Ray Harryhausen's iconic genre classics to the classic sci-fi anthology Twilight Zone series. Mitchell further pointed to multiple Steven Spielberg movies from his childhood having an influence on his new film, particularly "Poltergeist being a key inspiration point."

Abrams went on to recall when he first received the End of Oak Street script, praising Mitchell's vision as being "so fully formed" for the film, acknowledging that, while "there were some things that changed along the way," the producer "undeniably just wanted to see the movie" as it was presented to him:

JJ Abrams: It wasn't about either adding onto or changing anything that David was doing, it was trying to help him get on the set as quickly as possible in the best possible place with the best possible team to make this movie, because David had such a clear sense of what the film was going to be from the beginning.

Though much of the movie's central mystery may still be unknown, it's hard to deny that The End of Oak Street is already wearing plenty of its genre inspirations on its sleeve. The sci-fi concept of a suburban street suddenly found out of time does feel like a high-concept narrative The Twilight Zone would have explored if it had the budget and effects to do so, while the various dinosaurs seen have sparked various Jurassic Park comparisons.

It is interesting that Mitchell primarily found himself drawn to Poltergeist as the key inspiration for The End of Oak Street. The 1982 film, co-written and produced by Spielberg, similarly featured an idyllic suburban family facing a terrifying new threat, albeit in the form of spirits from a relocated graveyard instead of prehistoric creatures, and the events ultimately bringing them closer together.

Much like Spielberg before him, who went from a string of sci-fi hits to making his most horrific movie yet with Poltergeist, Mitchell's The End of Oak Street also marks a notable shift in his creative work, going from R-rated surreal stories to high-concept and adventurous fare. Should the latter have found a way to successfully mix the emotional undercurrents of his various inspirations with the mysterious worldbuilding, it could further put Mitchell in the spotlight for wider audiences.