The 2009 production of The Hole features a problem in the basement. There’s something down there and it is not pleasant.
Directed by Joe Dante and written by Mark L. Smith, The Hole is a horror film that is aimed at the teen audience no doubt. Despite the fact that the targeted demographic is quite a lot younger than I am, I enjoyed the film immensely.
The Cast
Chris Massoglia – Dane
Haley Bennett – Julie
Nathan Gamble – Lucas
Bruce Dern – Creepy Carl.
The actors perform well. Dern, as to be expected, steals the show.
The Story
Brothers Dane and Lucas and mother Susan (Teri Polo) move to the quiet suburbs of Bensonville from New York. The family start settling in their new home. The boys discover a hole in the basement. This hole is covered and locked. Curiosity peaked, the boys pry open the hole’s lid while mom Susan is at work.
They open the lid. The hole appears to be so deep that there isn’t a bottom to it. They enlist the help of their next door neighbour Julie (Bennett) to find out if she knows about the hole. Perplexed they decide to leave it alone and close the lid. But it appears that when they opened the hole, they let something out.
All three of the children have something scary happen to them. Lucas has a fear of clowns and a clown puppet shows up in his room, alive. A large, very strong and scary man visits Dane. Julie is visited by a ghost in her dark bathroom.
They watch the hole all night to see if anything comes out,. Julie tells the boys about the previous owner of the house “Creepy” Carl (Dern). They visit Carl. He is sitting in a room surrounded by light bulbs. Carl admonishes the boys for opening the hole. He tells them that by doing so they’ve let “the darkness” out and it will get them.
The children leave. The light bulbs start going out and Carl is left in the dark. Screaming.
The rest of the film is about the three kids battling the things that come out of the hole. They try to defeat the hole and the darkness.
It Works
Although this was a horror/thriller aimed at a young teen audience, the movie works well. The Hole is filmed in 3D and opened to positive reviews. I did not watch the 3D version; I watched the Blu ray DVD and still enjoyed the film.
The Hole is very similar to the 2003 film Holes which was aimed at a similar demographic. Unlike Holes with its too simple plot and childish villains, The Hole has genuinely creepy ghosts and scary monsters.
The film has an “open” ending which seems to suggest the possibility of a sequel. It appears that despite the good opening reviews the film itself did not make enough money to qualify for one.
I did enjoy the film and the creative ways that the three kids disposed of the monsters, or ghosts. I did feel it could have benefited from more Bruce Dern. *More cowbell, I need to hear that cowbell!* Also a bit less of the neighbour girl. But that could have just been me.
The Verdict
The actors all do a capable job and the film is definitely worth watching. The Hole is not in the same league as the 1987 film The Monster Squad. It is, however, just as enjoyable.
This one is a solid 4.5 stars from me. You can stream this Young Adult horror on Fawesome, Tubi and Roku. Check it out, it really is that good.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.