Black Hole, le Trou Noir

In this SciFi Channel original, an accident in a nuclear lab in St. Louis causes not only the creation of a black hole, but unleashes an alien creature that feeds on energy. A scientist and his female partner team up with a maverick general to solve the growing menace while the military embarks on a typical blow-it-up solution that could wreak disaster for the world.

I found the idea of a small black hole created on Earth intriguing, and it was interesting watching it eat up everything around it. (So it "can't" happen, but hey, it is science fiction!) Unfortunately, screenwriter David Goodin, who is responsible for "Larva," another TV movie that flopped, again shows himself adept at giving us a general plot and characters who are tired and clichéd. You know, the implausible story of the world-threatening event that is handled by the lone scientist (instead of every intelligent professional in the world) and simplistic government officials who make FEMA look good! Even if we accept this script as a mediocre formula tale, we would hope for at least semi-intelligent dialogue and a director who had some slight ability for pacing. (Tibor Tacaks has, according to IMDb, directed some 28 films, and I don't think any of them rated over 5). Perhaps with such a weak structure, we can forgive the wooden, lackluster acting from a cast who must have figured at least it was a way to make a quick buck.

I'm pretty tolerant of formula sci fi, even when the premise is implausible, but this one is bad even for a TV movie.

"Following a scientific mishap, mankind is faced with total annihilation as a threatening black hole appears over St. Louis. Now, time is running out to obliterate the black hole and the electricity-feeding alien it has unleashed," according to the DVD sleeve description. This film has nothing to do with either the original "Black Hole" movie or a real astronomical black hole, which could not make an appearance like the one depicted in this film. It plays more like an episode of "The Outer Limits".

"The Black Hole" stars hairy Judd Nelson (as Eric Bryce) and pretty Kristy Swanson (as Shannon Muir). It was a "Science Fiction Channel" original, featuring David Selby (as General Ryker) in a substantial supporting role. Ironically, the network stopped airing repeats of Mr. Selby's "Dark Shadows" in order to present more first-run entertainment (like multiple airings of this movie). Although Selby is always a dependable player, this program made you want to see "Dark Shadows" return.

*** The Black Hole (6/10/06) Tibor Takacs ~ Judd Nelson, Kristy Swanson, David Selby, Christa Campbell

In St. Louis, the scientists Dr. William Hauser (Kevin Beyer), Shannon Muir (Kristy Swanson) and Kent (Dan Buran) accidentally create a black hole during an experiment. While investigating the phenomenon, Dr. Hauser and Kent die and the army comes to their laboratory under the command of General Ryker (David Selby). Shannon tries to call the prominent Dr. Eric Bryce (Judd Nelson), but the scientist does not answer the phone since he misses his daughter Kayley (Julia Sinks) after the divorce to his ex-wife Elizabeth (Jennifer Quackenbush). When he is contacted, he comes to the laboratory and soon he finds that the experiment has also unleashed a creature that feeds of energy. The Powers That Be wants a nuclear attack against the creature, but Eric warns that the action will increase the black hole. He also believes that the creature may be destroyed and the black hole closed if they are attracted to each other. However, only General Ryker supports his theory while General Tate (Peter Mayer) wants to bomb the location.

"The Black Hole" is a stupid and corny thriller. The one-dimension characters are not developed and Eric in the beginning is an alcoholic scientist that misses his family and in the corny end is a hero in love with Shannon, who seems to be the pivot of his divorce. The military personnel cannot be that imbecile, using the usual weapons against the energy creature to be vaporized on the next scene. The idea of bombing the black hole and the creature is taken by people without any knowledge is totally unintelligent. And the character that performs the President is disrespectful so ridiculous he is. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Buraco Negro" ("Black Hole")

I knew from the trailers Sci-Fi channel was showing that this one would be totally insane. I watched anyway, figuring it would be at least good for some kitschy comedy, and a chance to see my home town of St. Louis get ripped. It did not disappoint (at being insane, that is).

A black hole is created artificially in a lab, but the black hole itself is not the only menace, as a strange electrical energy entity (that zaps people into oblivion) hitchhikes with it. This creature was actually kind of a creative plot device, since the movie really didn't seem to know what to do with the black hole other than devour stuff. Since there is a famous landmark in St. Louis, it's pretty obvious where the black hole goes for lunch (always moving along the ground in a 2-dimensional manner, by the way). As for the creature, it was utilized in some intriguing ways; but the explanation of its nature and intent was insufficiently developed, and could have been explored more.

Most everyone is at least somewhat familiar with basic scientific theory regarding black holes, and therefore will see a myriad of scientific absurdities, but if you view this silly nonsense without taking it seriously, it can be fun to watch. Toss disbelief into the black hole; or just play a game of "find the goofy science" as you watch.

The actors, given the weird script, really do approach the thing with urgency. When the scientist hero describes his quantum physics theories, you almost want to believe the offbeat premise of this movie. But then another bizarre thing happens and you're laughing hysterically again. There are the usual ploys and clichés: divorced dads, military that wants to use nukes, rogue scientists, TV news reporters doing play-by-play of destruction, etc.

Watch for loony amusement only. Science has been imploded in this "Black Hole."

As a resident of the city in which the movie took place, I enjoyed it mostly for the amazingly silly geographic liberties the filmmakers took with St. Louis. I knew it was going to be entertaining from the moment the Planetarium/Science Center - one of the most well-known buildings in the city - was labeled as the stand-in for the nuclear physics institute where the whole mess started.

From there, it was a silly and stupid ride through bad science and locations that left most of my family going, "But isn't that building in the area they just said was destroyed?" My favorite moment was after the Arch and Downtown St. Louis were destroyed and then we saw Judd Nelson racing down a road...in downtown St. Louis...toward a darkened but obviously still visible and untouched Arch.

The actors performed their roles with earnestness and deserve credit for doing what they could with the silliness of the plot.