The Hole (2009)
Directed by Joe Dante
If there's one thing modern Horror fans hate, it's a PG13 Horror Movie. And mostly, I don't blame them. A lot of times it's just the studios wanting the easy money a Horror Film can generate with out cutting off that lucrative teenage demographic, so you get some tepid bloodless slasher. Director Joe Dante avoids this situation by giving us a supernatural threat, and structuring the movie like a throwback to the kids fight the bad guys movies of the 80's. The first half of the TV movie IT (1990) comes to mind, as does Dante's own kids Sci-Fi adventure film, The Explorers.
Like Pennywise the Clown from It, the monster here is some amorphous entity, that takes the form of your greatest fears. Dane, the teenager, his younger brother Lucas, and their mom, have just moved to small town America, from Brooklyn. Dane immediately notices his beautiful neighbour Julie, who notices him right back. His mother is busy getting started at her new job, at a local hospital, so Dane has to look after Lucas. One day while the mother is out, the two boys get to fighting in the basement, and end up discovering a strange hole in the floor. It's locked up tight, but the boys soon find a key, and discover the hole doesn’t seem to have a bottom. Julie comes over to see what's up, and becomes involved in the mystery as well. What ever is in the hole looks into the minds of the children present, and takes the physical form of their greatest fears. For Lucas, that’s clowns, for Julie it's connected to a creepy little girl who bleeds from her eyes. Dane's fear isn't apparent at first, but makes an appearance later on.
Some of the reviews of this film have been mixed, but I found it to be a charming movie. It updates the formula slightly (the kids themselves look like they could have been parachuted in from the Disney Channel), but keeps enough of the spunky 80's kids adventure to keep me interested. it also lays on the Horror in a way that is gentle enough for older kids, but still creepy enough for me. The plot is a little over stuffed (killer clown puppets, ghost girls, some dude who looks like the WWE's The Undertaker), but my interest was held throughout. The young actors do a solid job. The Kid who plays Lucas actually reminds me of my (sometimes) annoying nephew. Keep you eyes peeled for a fun cameo from Bruce Dern (The Burbs), as creepy Carl, who delivers the prerequisite dire warnings.
Fans of The Gate (1987) Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), and The Lost Boys (1987) take note. The Hole might not quite be a classic, but it's good solid fun. It's good to see that Mr. Dante still has some fight in him.
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