The Hole (2012)
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 33
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 7
A welcome throwback to the suburban teen thrillers of the 1980s, The Hole is a scary, enjoyable return to form for director Joe Dante.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 3
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 1
A welcome throwback to the suburban teen thrillers of the 1980s, The Hole is a scary, enjoyable return to form for director Joe Dante.
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Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 12,767
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Movie Info
From legendary director Joe Dante comes a 3D thriller that explores the fears and secrets buried deep within the human mind. Life couldn't possibly get worse, or so thought 14 year old Dane and his 10 year old brother Lucas, when their single mother Susan uproots them from New York City to the sleepy little town of Bensonville. For Dane the only exciting thing about their new town is the beautiful girl next door, Julie. With Susan spending more and more time at work, Dane and Lucas are left
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Cast
-
Chris Massoglia
Dane Thompson -
Haley Bennett
Julie Campbell -
Nathan Gamble
Lucas Thompson -
Teri Polo
Susan Thompson -
Bruce Dern
Creepy Carl -
John De Santis
Monster Dad -
Quinn Lord
Addy -
Jonathan Bruce
Mover -
Mark Pawson
Travis -
Peter Shinkoda
Young Cop -
Doug Chapman
Normal Dad -
Merritt Patterson
Teen Girl -
Ali Cobrin
Julie's Female Friend #... -
Chelsea Ricketts
Julie's Female Friend #... -
Chord Overstreet
Julie's Male Friend #1 -
Wade Williams
Monster Dad Voice -
Mary Mouser
Addy Voice
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The Hole Trailer & Photos
All Critics (33) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (27) | Rotten (7) | DVD (2)
No one understands that giddy rush of sugar buzz cinema better than director Joe Dante.
Top CriticIt's good to welcome back one of the undisputed masters of modern genre cinema -- and adventurous kids will love it.
Cool it may be, but scary (or even mildly shudder-inducing) it ain't.
Sadly, the picture is just too mild for its own good.
Curb your expectations and know you're going into a film about how curious children overcome their fears, not how malevolent darkness torments a group of unsuspecting "victims."
A refreshing example of how to make a film for a specific demographic the right way. ... Smart, scary and fun as hell.
Entertaining, with a welcome sense of mischief, The Hole plays to Dante's strengths, returning him to a suburban battleground where young characters face off against an unstoppable, often knee-high malevolent force.
Catch THE HOLE in 3-D if you can, but watch it with your kids during this approaching Halloween. You might remember a time when horror was fun and creepy and less violent and exploitative.
Now that it's finally here, it proves a sight better than its direct-to-video credentials suggest.
All the elements are here, they just don't add up to a satisfying whole.
If you enjoyed recent scary-but-kid-safe thrillers like Don't Be Afraid of the Dark or Super 8 - albeit toned down for pre-teens - then The Hole is definitely worth a peek.
A fun kids horror film that may be a minor work for Dante, but still very satisfying.
Will be instantly recognizable to anyone who grew up watching movies in the 1980s!
This is scary, thrilling stuff, especially considering there's very little actual violence or gore.
The return of director Joe Dante would be more welcome if his children's horror-thriller weren't so tepid.
Director Dante knows a thing or two about making teen thrillers, and this film gets the atmosphere just right without indulging in cheap movie gimmicks.
Scarier than any of this year's 18-rated horror crop.
Scary fun for young teens.
With the 1980s increasingly looking like a golden age for live-action family blockbusters, Joe Dante, the decade's most subversive practitioner of the form, makes a welcome return...
Dante delivers some terrific spine-tingling chills on the way towards a disappointingly overblown climax.
It's the kind of knockabout, kid's-eye-view comedy-horror that hasn't been made for a while, with some nasty, frightening touches, but expertly encased in a distinctive family-movie aesthetic.
Audience Reviews for The Hole
Super Reviewer
The Hole would have probably been awful if Dante weren't directing. He takes a pedestrian horror plot and gets so much out of it, thanks to his smart compositions, creative production design, and his ability to weave horror and comedy together seamlessly. Always ahead of the curve, Dante decided to shoot the film in 3D well before its resurgence, and he utilizes it very effectively -- concentrating on providing depth and texture to the environments and enriching the camera blocking he's famous for.
The film definitely sputters towards the end, but The Hole is worth watching (if you're able to find it). It serves as a great example/reminder as to why Joe Dante is a genre legend.
Super Reviewer
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- Julie Campbell: If you're talking about the little girl that crawled into the bottomless pit under your house? Yeah, we all saw that.
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- Susan Thompson: How'd the two of you feel about having the house to yourselves?
- Lucas Thompson: Bad.
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- Lucas Thompson: Maybe it's a worm hole...
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on The Hole
October 22, 2012:
Five Favorite Films with Joe DanteJoe Dante's movies root themselves into your psyche and refuse to let go. Those little guys with...
October 1, 2012:
Joe Dante Talks The HoleWhat drew him to the project, what kept it out of theaters for so long, and whether a sequel might...
September 27, 2012:
Critics Consensus: Looper Is Certified FreshThis week at the multiplex, we've got a futuristic hitman ("Looper," starring Bruce Willis and...
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Foreign Titles
- The Hole 3D (DE)
- The Hole 3D (UK)
"It Knows Your Deepest Fears."
The Hole has the childhood nostalgia feel to it, while still being creepy enough to warrant a look from people above the age of 12. I don't believe it's going to scare anybody, but it is a whole lot of fun. The movie has its problems, sure. Like, if locks keep the "darkness" or whatever from coming up then why not just go buy some locks and put them on. But oh well, plot holes and all, the movie still works because of Joe Dante. Dante has made quite a few movies that have this type of feel to them; from Gremlins to Matinee to Small Soldiers. This isn't the best of them, but a nice little addition to his filmography.
Dane, Lucas, and their mother move to a new town from Brooklyn. Through early dialogue, we learn that they have moved a lot, and Dane is starting to get sick of it. When Dane and Lucas go into the basement one day, they find a trap door with locks all over it. Instinctively they cut them off and see that it's a hole that seemingly goes on forever. The neighbor girl, Julie, walks in and sees it too. Soon after weird stuff starts happening to the three of them and they begin to realize that the hole projects their greatest fears.
The plot is nothing special and the movie isn't all that original, but there's a certain amount of fun that goes along with everything. The cast isn't too shabby, but they could have projected a little more fear from their performances. I mean the whole point of the movie is that their greatest fears come to life. If you look at them for most of the runtime though, it looks as if their 43rd greatest fear is coming to life.
Anyway this little known and long shoveled movie merits a look. Especially if you are a fan of Joe Dante's. It isn't going to wow you on any scale really, but it's great diversion and something you could probably watch with the family without worrying too much. This would actually be a nice little way to introduce younger audiences to the horror genre before taking them into scarier endeavors.