The Hole

Starring: Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, Daniel Brocklebank, Laurence Fox, Keira Knightley, Embeth Davidtz
Directed by: Nick Hamm
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Four students spend a long weekend in an underground bunker, but when they prepare to leave, find themselves locked in.

Review:

Tim: The Hole is an interesting psychological thriller. It's not the movie I expected it to be. I appreciate that it was fairly unique and defied expectations, but I don't think it did enough right to really be outstanding. The film is decent. It proves a few thrills, a few twists and turns, and it holds your interest. However, there's not much here to suggest this is a lasting, memorable film.

The story is engaging because of its original quality. We watch four students get locked in a bunker for 18 days. Something happened underground, but we don't know what. This central mystery is what pushes the film forward and keeps us engaged. I was curious to find out what exactly happened, and why it did. The first story we get is obviously not completely true. Slowly, we get more and more bits and pieces of what really happened, before finally learning the crushing, shocking truth. I enjoyed that the film told its story in this unconventional method. It kept me on my toes and intrigued me, causing me to really want to get to the bottom of the mystery. I liked that aspect of the film.

For the most part, I liked the cast, too. Thora Birch was fairly good in the lead role. She kept you guessing. Desmond Harrington was quite strong in his supporting role. It was also great to see Keira Knightley in her first major role in a feature film. She definitely showed some of the talent that would propel her to stardom later in her career. Embeth Davidtz was good, but the rest of the cast was fairly forgettable.

What I didn't care for as much was the eventual truth as it is revealed. Yes, the film has a few fairly surprising moments and there are some unexpected twists. This would definitely be considered a horror movie, but the horror comes second. The dramatic side definitely takes the lead here, and that's a good thing. This is a psychological thriller, and it's the exploration of the characters' minds and mental states that is most interesting. I thought the reveal was interesting and dark, but not all that shocking. It was cool, but not exactly the payoff I was hoping to see. I wanted more.

The Hole feels like a movie that comes from a director without a great deal of experience (no surprise- it does). There's definitely some very strong moments sprinkled throughout the film, but the movie as a whole is uneven and not nearly suspenseful or powerful enough. It has an intriguing story, but none of the characters ever really connect on an emotional level with the audience. The whole film had a very low-budget feel to it. It was entertaining, but only to a certain degree.

While The Hole certainly has its flaws, it is still quite decent for what it is. This will never be one of my horror movie classics, but it's a film that is definitely worth checking out. I cannot consider it a good movie, but it gets far closer than I expected it to.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



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