It is very difficult to not be drawn in into seeing 'The Hole in the Ground' with a premise this good, mixing horror, mystery and psychological with a sensitive subject. It also looked great from the advertising, may not have been completely sold on the somewhat simplistic and to me misleading title but the premise and advertising were more than enough to make me want to see it. As well as seeing that there were people that liked it.
Seeing 'The Hole in the Ground', am going to join those that felt that were underwhelmed by it and that it could have been so much better. There are good things and it is not as bad as some of the negative reviewers have said from personal view, but at the same time 'The Hole in the Ground' is not particularly good either and has major flaws that prevent it from reaching its full potential. As far as my opinion goes, it is one that is pretty much on the fence here.
Will start with the good things. 'The Hole in the Ground' is well made, it is beautifully and atmospherically shot with a moody but not drab colour pallette that matches the tone of the film well. Another big plus point is the music score, which is suitably haunting, adds a lot to the atmosphere and never works against it or overbear it.
The acting is better than average, with a credible lead performance from Seana Kerslake. James Quinn Markey also has the right amount of intensity in his role, not an easy one to pull off. James Cosmo is great value. Some of the film too is suitably creepy early on.
Unfortunately too much of 'The Hole in the Ground' lacks the necessary eeriness and intensity, burdened by a very lifeless pace and an increasingly thin and sometimes uneventful story that struggles to fit enough content into a standard feature length film. While my intelligence was never insulted, my attention did waver and the lack of surprises and suspense was a big problem, as was the real head-scratcher of an ending that could have done with more clarity.
Found that the film never really disturbed or got under the skin, exploring its sensitive subject in a way that goes overboard on the subtlety as that particular aspect of it never felt explored enough to make me properly care or be moved. The script has as much life as a damp squib and was in serious need of a tidying up, while the characters were too underdeveloped to make me properly root for them.
On the whole, am on the fence here. 5/10
