The Hole

Gremlins remains one of my favourite films from childhood, and it is thanks to Joe Dante who helmed the films with enough to keep it frightening, yet kid friendly and family oriented at the same time. It's been a long while since I've missed Small Soldiers on the big screen, that he now returns with The Hole, yet dabbling with a similar treatment of making it quite the entertaining romp for both young and old to sit through.

A pity about the 3D version though, as I opted to watch this in 2D, and clearly because of the 3D gimmick, there were a few needless scenes stuck in, like having a kid throw a baseball toward the screen while lying on his back on his bed. On the whole there weren't too many deliberate 3D shots designed for the film, though I thought that the special effects put into it were spiffy enough, especially since there was a good mix of traditional stop motion efforts deliberate done in a cheesy manner, and those of the modern money shots toward the end.

As it's family oriented, this film like the rest of what Dante did thus far, has family being in the centre of all things that trip up in the dark, and we get three stories put into one, by virtue of each character having to deal with their fears come alive. Written by Mark L. Smith (Vacancy), the narrative keeps you guessing exactly what the reason is behind the threats are as faced by each child/teenage lead in the Thompson brothers Dane (Chris Massoglia) and Lucas (Nathan Gamble), and their neighbour Julie (Haley Bennett) when they look down the cursed hole, found in the new home of the Thompsons.

The idea is pretty cool in itself, because what could spook you more than what's truly your greatest fear? However that itself served up a mixed bag of scares, because the scares here are customized to the character's. For instance, Lucas has to deal with something straight out of Child's Play, although this little thingamajig had a small scene as a stinger after the end credits (well, if you have to know, it's only a wink, so you didn't miss much if you failed to stay behind). For Julie, it has to deal with a guilt from the past that manifest itself as something spiritual, and to face one's guilt is something that takes up her story arc.

For Dane's however, it was kept under wraps until the last, which provided for a fitting finale with all the bells and whistles thrown in, dealing with how the magnitude of one's problems when young seem to shrink in size as we grow older, possibly because we may either have outgrown it, or that being older we have a lot more other concerns to deal, in his case, the growing into a surrogate paternal role over the care of his younger brother, in a single parent family.

Still, despite being a horror/thriller, this is still something that will find a broad appeal, being somewhat simple in its stories, but nothing less than effective and of course for those catching it in 3D, yet another film to provide you that fixation with putting on the glasses. I'm not quite sure if a sequel would be made given the way it ended with a plot thread so glaringly hanging out, but we know how Gremlins 2 went.

Susan (Teri Polo) and her sons Dane (Chris Massoglia) and Lucas Thompson (Nathan Gamble) move from Brooklyn to Bensonville, in the countryside. Dane is upset with the constant changes of address and the family has lived in many cities. Lucas and Dane befriend their next door neighbor, the gorgeous Julie (Haley Bennett) and the brothers find a bottomless hole in the basement of their house locked with several padlocks. They take the locks off and sooner they are haunted by their darkest fears. Further, they believe that the hole might be a gateway to hell.

"The Hole" is a fantasy film directed by Joe Dante, with a story that is a compilation of several horror movies. I immediately recall "The Gate", "House" (1996); "Child Play" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" as direct references. This forgettable movie is entertaining and Haley Bennett is very beautiful. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Buraco" ("The Hole")

The Hole 3D (not to be confused with the Thora Birch vehicle of the same name from 2001) is a good old-fashioned horror yarn for youngsters. 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 (to tremendous 3D effect, as you can imagine). 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 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 realise you have.

The very obvious but extremely effective "evil clown doll" is great for scares and a hammy throwback to old-school horror of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. The other "fears" are somewhat more cerebral and as the film progresses, some of the fun tends to get lost in the family issues storyline. However, it is a well-written piece and the script reveals drips of information at a suitably subtle pace. The young cast do very well in roles that should have been very annoying and there is an element of class to proceedings overall. While this is certainly not by any means an important or a very original film, 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 saccharine 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 akin to Are You Afraid of the Dark or Goosebumps? To my delight, 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. This is as fun as horror gets and for once the gimmick of 3D is used as just that... a gimmick.

Certainly not high-brow but lots of fun and scarier than you might expect!

"You've got a gateway to hell under your house and that's really cool." Susan (Polo) and her sons Dane (Massoglia) & Lucas (Gamble) have just moved into a new house. Dane is upset about having to move again and that isn't helping to make the move easy. When he meets the girl next door he finally has a friend and they start to explore the house. When the stumble upon a door in the floor of their basement then unknowingly open a gateway to hell and become haunted by their darkest fears. Going in I honestly expected this to be a cheesy teen-ager type horror. While it was geared toward teens this movie was actually not bad at all. This is a horror movie but it's done by the same director of the "Gremlins" movies so it's not scary scary but it is very entertaining and fast paced. There are quite a bit of disturbing scenes and images in this but nothing that will keep you up with nightmares so that is always good. The movie was made a few years ago and just now getting released but I would compare this to "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark" in terms of plot and idea. If you liked that movie you will like this one too. I enjoyed it. Overall, an entertaining and a little creepy movie that was much better then I expected. I give it a B+.

Just for the records I live in Thailand and this film is receiving the full theatrical treatment and I just attended the premiere.

The only reason I saw it. Is that I saw the name Joe Dante on the poster.

We are now in a period where 3D is in full swing and I have seen "My Bloody Valentine 3D" and "Avatar".

Avatar was great in his own right, but I found the whole thing over the top. Now I like simpler movies in general. So my preference is a question of taste.

Also I not have wide knowledge of 3D and special effects, but I was satisfied.

Anyways back to a normal review. Like Dante promised it's a horror film for the family, and he does what he does best again. Unlike Gremlins or any of his previous family horror film this one scares you as well as being clean.

I had a few jump and was spooked by some scenes.

Also I went with a date and it was a proper film for that. She was holding on to me and the rest... And we were watching a proper film without a ton of gore.

I am not a fan of horror film with too much gore so I was happy. If you like that stuff it's not on "The Hole" menu.

Well the story is simple there is a trap in the basement. Kids open it a their greatest fears become true. Well acted, and well directed with a fresh concept.

A touchdown for Dante.