It's not a 'hot take' to say that Joe Dante is a good Director. His Resume speaks for itself. Sadly, he hasn't gotten to make nearly as much great content in the last 10-20 years. Of course, sometimes I tend to miss some too. For instance, he Directed a 'Horror' Episode of DC's Legends of Tomorrow in 2016. Before that, he Directed 2009's The Hole, which feels like a return to form and style. That's not to demean his other stuff around this time- like his excellent Masters of Horror Episodes- but this feels like Joe Dante doing, well, a Joe Dante Film he might have done in the late '90s. In it, a family moves to a new home that has a dark secret. What secrets lie in the titular Hole? I spent a whole $1.50 on this, so let's find out...
A family- which we later learn is fleeing an abusive Husband/Father- moves to a new home.
The older Brother- rocking a The Killer shirt like a poser- is unhappy, until he finds a girl.
Ha ha- it's totally true though.
Making friends with her, the duo share a secret with her- they found a Hole in their basement.
It seems to have no bottom and no light escapes it.
Since they are Teenagers, they don't do the logical thing and, you know, report it...
The trio begin to experience weird things like hearing voices, seeing figures in the dark and the like.
The girl- Julie- begins to see a strange little girl around as well...
The trio find a man- Bruce Dern- who owned the House before them.
He warns them about 'the Darkness' that they released by opening the covering to the Hole.
In his next Scene, he's killed by said Darkness. Bye!
To deal with the Darkness, the trio must face their fears and cause it to lose its power.
Julie is finally able to confront the Ghost of her dead friend, whom she failed to save as a child...
While the little Brother has to fight an evil doll.
I mean, I'd probably rather face down my deep-seated regrets than fight this thing, wouldn't you?
The final fear resides in the Hole, which our Hero jumps into to save his Brother.
It takes the form of their Father, who is a violent giant- due to him being abusive when the kid was younger.
He has to confront and defeat this creation!
He manages to do so, returning top-side with his Brother.
The Hole's power fades away...until the Mother comments on her fear to end the Film on Sequel-Bait...I think.
That or its just a joke- I'm honestly not sure. The End.
A fun Film that manages to be a bit cliche-ridden in the process. The Hole is not going to defy expectations and Genres. The worst thing you can say is that it arguably plays too safe. It skirts bigger issues until the End, which does at least pay off nicely. Before you get to that, you get all of the usual stuff. Ghosts sure do love turning off lights, don't they? Evil dolls sure do love skittering about for a while before going all kung-fu hustle on their foes. People sure do love not telling people when they see strange things, huh?
That said, there's nothing wrong here. It's shot well. It's acted well. It's well-produced. I don't have any real critiques about how it all plays out.
The Hole is a good Movie. In the End, it touches the story beats that it needs to...just without reinventing the wheel. It also apparently has Dick Miller...Uncredited, since his part appears to have been cut.
Next time, I cover a bad Film by a good Director. Was it really bad enough to ruin his career? Stay tuned...
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