Black Christmas/ Terror Train

The Hole (2009)

 The Hole

Release Date: 2009

Rating: * * *

By John Engell December 5, 2012
  

If horror had a recognized hall of fame, Joe Dante would unarguably have the honor of being one of its inaugural inductees. The man is horror royalty. His resume boasts no less than three genre classics, "Piranha," "The Howling," and his crowning achievement, "Gremlins." My personal favorite of his films is the 1985 sci-fi family adventure "Explorers" starring a pre-"Stand By Me" River Phoenix, God rest his soul. But just because Dante already made his mark and his millions, didn't mean the man was content to walk away from the medium. After a five year span of infrequent activity, discounting his directing the wraparound story of the abysmal anthology "Trapped Ashes" and two episodes of the superb, but short-lived Showtime series "Masters of Horror," Dante made his return. Well sort of... Although "The Hole" was filmed in 2009, it didn't see the light of day domestically until this October. Something to do with distribution and after it did finally find a deal in the states, fans were dumped on with a disappointing release. Despite being filmed in 3-D, unknown Big Air Studios' wretched DVD is presented in only two dimensions and doesn't even include a commentary track for cripes sake.

But I digress, back to the movie. Single mother Susan (Teri Polo of "Meet the Parents") relocates her boys Dane and Lucas (Nathan Gamble of "The Mist") from the city to the burbs for a fresh start. Enter sexy next door neighbor girl Julie (PG-13 horror alum Haley Bennett, "The Haunting of Molly Hartley"). In the movies you move and a cute and curious coed shows up to help you unpack. In real life your new neighbors call the cops on you because your dog is barking too loud. But that is neither here nor there. It quick order, the unsupervised brothers and Julie begin to explore the house, where they happen upon a hole in the basement. Hidden beneath a heavily padlocked trapdoor, it's no ordinary hole. It's as dark as death and it seemingly has no bottom.

The premise of "The Hole" is an age old one. The hole is a Pandora's box of sorts. The unseen evil that resides in its blackness, feeds on its unwitting victim's fears. For Julie that dread surrounds the tragic and emotionally unresolved death of a childhood friend (Quinn Lord of the aforementioned "Trick 'r Treat" plays the deceased girl). Lucas has a much simpler fear, clowns, and Dane, he is scared their abusive father, who is responsible for their constant carousel of changing addresses, and who is freshly out of prison , may find the family. All their nightmares manifest themselves in different and disturbing ways. But when Dane's worst fear is realized and his brother is dragged down into the dark depths of the hole, he must decide to continue to run, or to finally stay and fight.

"The Hole" is a return to form from a true vet. Like Carpenter with "The Ward," Dante decided to direct a simple, but solid story with a marginal yet manageable amount of money. The result? A mostly positive supernatural tale, aided by slick photography, and a man familiar with his craft. Now if only we could get a proper release the way Dante intended the film to be seen. Here's hoping...