The Hole (2009)

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

Director:

Joe Dante

Writer:

Mark L. Smith

Stars:

Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Nathan Gamble

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Massoglia	...	Dane
Haley Bennett	...	Julie
Nathan Gamble	...	Lucas
Teri Polo	...	Susan
Bruce Dern	...	Creepy Carl
Quinn Lord	...	Annie Smith
John DeSantis	...	Monster Dad (as John Desantis)
Douglas Chapman	...	Normal Dad (as Doug Chapman)
Mark Pawson	...	Travis
Peter Shinkoda	...	Young Cop
Jonathan Bruce	...	Mover
Merritt Patterson	...	Jessica (as Merrit Patterson)
Ali Cobrin	...	Tiffany
Chelsea Ricketts	...	Whitney
Chord Overstreet	...	Adam

Storyline

Susan and her sons Dane and Lucas Thompson 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 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.

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Plot Keywords:

Hole | Basement | Little Brother | Brother Brother Relationship | Trapdoor | 

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Taglines:

It Knows Your Deepest Fears.

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for frightening images, violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [nl]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 June 2010 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Hole in 3D

Filming Locations:

Kittanning, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£906,722 (UK) (24 September 2010)

Gross:

£2,812,547 (UK) (15 October 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bold Films, BenderSpink, Hole, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first Joe Dante film without a Jerry Goldsmith music score since The Howling.

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Goofs

Near the end of the film, Julie (who is facing away from the camera) asks Dane, "Are you okay?" Dane responds (at 1:25:01) without moving his lips, "Oh, He's gone. We don't have to worry about it."

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Quotes

Dane: We just want to know if you built the hole, and what it's about.
Creepy Carl: Nobody built the hole! The hole has been there since the world's first scream.

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Crazy Credits

The clown's head re-appears at the end of the closing credits and winks.

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Connections

References The Hands of Orlac (1924)
Creepy Carl's Glove Facory is named "Gloves Of Orlac"

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Soundtracks

"Flaws and All"
Written and Performed by Sarah Solovay
Published by Sarah Solovay Music (ASCAP)
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

The darkness is coming for all of us.

The Hole is directed by Joe Dante and written by Mark L. Smith. It stars Haley Bennett, Chris Massoglia, Nathan Gamble, Teri Polo and Bruce Dern. Music is by Javier Navarrete and cinematography by Theo van de Sande.

When the Campbell family move from New York City to the quiet town of Bensonville, they find a strange trap door down in the basement. Once opened it unleashes much strangeness into the lives of brothers Dane (Massoglia) and Lucas (Gamble), as well as pretty girl next door, Julie (Bennett).

You have got a gateway to hell under your house and that's really cool!

Ah, the family frightener, where the hell have you been Joe Dante? Pitched firmly at the horror loving family from 12 years and upwards, The Hole blends Goonie like adventure with Spilebergian spookery, making this a nice accompaniment (apero) to J.J. Abrams' Super 8 that surfaced two years later. The violence isn't overt, but film has nifty passages of chills, especially if you have a fear of clown puppets and the like. The mystery element stays strong for a good portion of the piece, where viewers are made to wonder what is down in the hole because it's not instantly apparent, and there's subversive humour stitched into the narrative. Dante re-finds his set-piece mojo and once again proves to be adept at directing youngsters: The three principal young performers here turn in real effective performances, while Dern (wonderfully batty) and Polo put a professional cloak over proceedings.

It is invariably going to be too tame for the blood craving horror fanatic, and in truth the finale is just a touch too overblown. But that's just nit-picking, for this is a thoroughly enjoyable family friendly spooker. Made with care and attention to detail, and yes, with love. Cheers Joe. 7/10