The Hole - Horror Spot DVD Review

The Hole - Horror Spot DVD Review

By Jose

Plot:

A pair of brothers stumble upon a mysterious hole in their basement that leads to the darkest corridors of their fears and nightmares.

Cast:

Chris Massoglia (Dane), Haley Bennett (Julie), Nathan Gamble (Lucas), Terri Polo (Susan), Bruce Dern (Creepy Carl), Chord Overstreet (Adam)

Review:

Susan and her sons Dane and Lucas Thompson move from Brooklyn to Bensonville, in the countryside. Dane is upset with the constant moving. Lucas and Dane befriend their next door neighbor, the gorgeous Julie, and the brothers find a bottomless hole in the basement of their house locked with several padlocks. They take the locks off and soon they are haunted by their darkest fears. Further, they believe that the hole might be a gateway to hell.


The Hole is a good old-fashioned horror movie for the whole family. No gore, no nudity, just good scares! A grumpy teenager and his little brother move with their single mother to a small town. They soon befriend the beautiful girl next door and they happen across a giant, ominous hole in their basement. The hole is seemingly infinite as the boys conduct a series of experiments including lowering a night-vision camcorder down and throwing a handful of nails in. Although the camera catches a creepy eye looking at them. What they don't discover over the course of these experiments is that the hole, once opened, lets loose your greatest fear which then proceeds to stalk and haunt you. A simple setup, but it is used very well, not only for thrills but as a sometimes thought-provoking look at the fears that you don't realize you have.

The very effective creepy and evil clown doll is great for scares and a nice nod to old-school horror of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. The other fears are somewhat more cerebral and more along adult lines. Sisters death and almost suicide of Julie at an old roller coaster. And as the film progresses some of the fun tends to get lost in the family issues storyline. However, it is a well-written script and well done film.


The young cast do very well in roles that could have been very annoying and there is an element of class that they give off. Which is odd considering youner talents these days rely on looks and abs instead of actually performing. It is great to see films aimed at kids that refuses to condescend to them. The Hole plays it for scares, and isn't afraid to do just that. Children will be terrified and delighted in equal measure. The 80's gave us kids' adventures that dripped with real danger like The Goonies or Labyrinth, and of course Joe Dante's Gremlins movies. These films were quite nasty, and unlike most of the rubbish kids are dealt these days, they are quite menacing. The Hole is a worthy successor to these films and isn't afraid to push your nerves just that little bit further than you might expect.


From the poster and trailer I expected a tween adventure with a supernatural twist. To my surprise, this was far more enjoyable than just a silly kids film. It is certainly directed towards young teenagers but the great thing about The Hole is that it is actually scary! This film is full of menace but keeps the tone light enough to maintain the element of fun. Dante keeps you on the edge of your seat with constantly mounting tension and silly jumps that make the audience giggle as much as scream.

Final Thoughts:

The 80's gave us kids' adventures that dripped with real danger like The Goonies or Labyrinth, and of course Joe Dante's Gremlins movies. These films were quite nasty, and unlike most of the rubbish kids are dealt these days, they are quite menacing. The Hole is a worthy successor to these films and isn't afraid to push your nerves just that little bit further than you might expect.

Ratings: 4 out of 5