The Hole

Summary

“Nobody built the hole! The hole has been there since the world’s first scream.”

After Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Joe Dante directed two episodes of Masters of Horror and one segment of anthology film Trapped Ashes. His next full length film was The Hole. The film was shot on a relatively modest budget of $12 million. Joe saw the film as an opportunity to do something interesting – he filmed The Hole specifically to be shown in 3D. Somehow, given the budgetary constraints, he managed to pull it off and for those who saw the film in theaters it was a really unique experience. Unfortunately, for all of us who missed the theatrical showing the film is only available in its 2D presentation on Blu-ray. The film is still enjoyable, but it does make it a little tricky as a reviewer to judge the film when the intent of the film was to be seen in 3D. Therefore – my judgement on the film is based simply on the movie itself as it is presented in the 2D form. 

Teenager Dane (Chris Massoglia) and his younger brother Lucas (Nathan Gamble) move with their mom Susan (Teri Polo) from Brooklyn to a small town named Bensonville. Dane and Lucas are not getting along, because Dane is a moody seventeen year old. Dane disappoints Lucas by refusing to play sports with him like they did when they were younger. Dane is upset that their mom always makes them move from city to city. The only good news is that they are next door to a pretty blonde named Julie (Haley Bennett.) Dane spies on her a little bit from his window and sketches her. Lucas manages to go downstairs and tell Julie about his brother Dane and introduce himself. Dane comes downstairs and as they rough house in the basement, they stumble across a locked door in the floor of the basement. Out of curiosity they unlock the door in the floor, and beneath it is a dark hole. Julie comes to the basement as the boys begin to see how deep the hole in the floor goes. Strange occurrences begin to happen to the three children and the darkness within the hole seems to have the ability to manifest their worst fears. 

It is worth mentioning that the film is rated PG-13 and is decidedly aimed for older kids. My oldest son is ten years old and the themes of the film are probably best suited to at least a twelve year old. Some of the themes in the film are decidedly heavy and touch on child abuse, so I would recommend checking your child’s maturity level before showing them the film. 

The Hole features a script by Mark L. Smith who has worked on some pretty big projects including The Revenant and Vacancy. There is an enjoyable setup and the characters are all likable. What is truly hard to judge in the 2D version of the film are the elaborate set pieces in the final section of the film that I think would work wonders to see in 3D. In 2D this sequence loses some of the desired effect and hurts the tension that is built up in the first two thirds of the film. As a viewer I found it difficult to judge if the tension in the script lets up at that point, or if the lack of the 3D effect hurts the tension in those moments. Like I said before, this is a hard film to judge in its current form. Before the final portion of the film, there are a good amount of effective jump scares and an amazing sequence involving a clown that showed echoes of Sam Raimi. That scene in particular may be worth the price of admission.

The actors are all capable of playing their roles well. Chris Massoglia is good as the lead, although he is not quite as charismatic as some of the other leads in Dante’s filmography. It honestly may just be because of his emo haircut in the film, and I may honestly be that shallow. Nathan Gamble fills the role of the kid brother very believably. I have two boys and he seems like a little brother for certain. The actress who steals the film is Haley Bennett. Aside from being attractive, she delivers her lines well and carries herself in a way that elevates the film. Bruce Dern has a great supporting role as “Creepy” Carl and Dick Miller briefly appears as a pizza delivery man.

The Hole is a fairly minor film from Joe Dante’s canon, with a few really great scenes. I will definitely watch the film with my oldest son in a couple years and will enjoy revisiting it. I would love to re-evaluate the movie at some point in the intended 3D format as well.

Video

The Hole arrives on Blu-ray with a good looking looking 1080p presentation featuring a MPEG-4 AVC encode in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. This film was shot digitally and has pretty good fine detail. The digital sheen of the film also makes the film look a little less like other films in Joe Dante’s filmography. Fans should have no reason to be displeased with the way the film looks on Blu-ray.

Audio

As one might expect, The Hole features an engrossing DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track. There are some really effective jump scares performed by composer Javier Navarette and the score blends in well with the film. As the final third of the film happens, the surrounds become really engaged. A really solid track overall.

 Supplements:

• The Keyholder (Keeper of The Hole) 
• Relationships (Family Matters) 
• Making of The Hole 
• A Peek Inside The Hole 
• Movie Stills

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.25/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements- 2/5

Overall – 3.5/5

The Hole is a good enough way to spend an hour and a half with an older child watching a movie that will give them a few good scares. The Blu-ray presentation looks and sounds good, but the lack of the 3D version of the film is disappointing and makes the experience of the film feel incomplete. Hopefully one day we can get a 3D Blu-ray of the film to see it in its intended format!