Where to begin? I suppose I should start by stating that I know this movie will get a lot of rap from people who went into it expecting something other than they got. Again it’s going to be a typical case of the publicity going against the movie itself. The trailers and television commercials released prior to The Hole demonstrate just how desperate producers are to get the ‘Scream crowd’ into their movies, as The Hole was dressed-up as another dark teen slasher. If you’re going in expecting this you will be sorely disappointed – if only because all the death and mayhem is restricted to the final thirty minutes of the film. But if you go in with an open mind, you will experience something that is almost completely unique, darkly disturbing and alltogether very special.
The Hole is one of those movies that is extremely hard to review. There are few out there, but sometimes one comes across a film that is so multi-layered and complex that it is excruciatingly hard to write a review for it without going over and over spoilers in an attempt to unravel the enternal mystery that the film is. In truth, it seems that The Hole will be one of those films that critics will either dismiss with a wave of their hand as hocum nonsence, or spend years anlysing in order to conquer it. I suppose the best place to start this review would be the beginning…
The opening scene of The Hole demonstrates perfectly what the entire movie is holding in store. As a bedraggled, dirty girl runs exhaustedly to – and then inside – a large Private School, her heavy breathing is the only thing we can hear. Dialling , she takes a few rattling breathes, and then screams down the line, collapsing on the floor. This one unanticipated, echoing scream shows perfectly how unexpected things can – and do – jump at the viewer throughout the movie from unexpected ways.
We are then treated to a beautiful panning shot of the English countryside as we follow the paths of two police cars towards the afore-mentioned Private School. The sequence is accompanied by an excellent musical score that is a mix of humming, beating synthesizers and traditional musical instruments which lend the movie a very dramatic and uneasy feel, as if even the score – like Liz, as we later discover – is not sure where it is going or where it has come from. It is strangely upbeat and yet almost mournful and strangely intense.
The same can also be said of Nick Hamm’s directing. The Hole is a movie that is constantly shifting its focus, and Hamm uses often-contrasting shots to show the differences between the different narratives of the story. The scenes that take place in the war bunker range from the very funny (a scene in which the friends believe the place has been bugged and Martin can hear their every word, leading to them using signs to communicate ends with hilarious results) to the completely horrific (after weeks in the bunker, the place is crawling with bugs, and dead bodies are rotting away in the darkness). The imagery of The Hole is one almost unmatched even by the higher-budget American movies, and the very final couple of shots in the finale are particularly artistic and clever.
The cast of The Hole are all excellent. The main thing that attracted me to the movie in the first place was Thora Birch, who I have always enjoyed in other films, and here she gives an excellently-complex performance of a character that is so messed up it’s hard to tell just how Ms. Birch managed to interpret her onto the screen. Her British accent was practically flawless apart from a few times when she slipped slightly (at times she sounded like she’d come from London, and then later Birmingham). The rest of the UK cast were also brilliant, and although I have not seen any of them before, they were all impressive in their professional and believeable performances.
Something that stands out the most about The Hole is the way that it is constantly teasing the viewer. At the beginning we see that there is a loose screw on the steps leading down to the bunker, and even though this loose screw isn’t referred to again until the penultimate scene of the film, whenever somebody climbs the stairs there is an all-round sense of apprehension at what may happen. The same goes for the characters – in particular Liz and Martin – where we are given small glimpses of what they are really all about throughout the movie, but are never entirely sure if what we see is the truth.
#OVERALL SUMMARY
The Hole is a complex and intriguing psychological horror that is both tense and incredibly clever. A product of excellent creative team-work, and a great delve into the murky world of Horror for Britain. More please!
