The Hole

Name: The Hole
Genre: Adventure, Thriller, Fantasy
Released: September 28, 2012
Duration: 92 min
Rating: 57
Cast: Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Nathan Gamble, Teri Polo

2012

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 7 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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6.3

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6.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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THE HOLE

Movie Details & Credits

Big Air Studios | Release Date: September 28, 2012

Starring: Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Nathan Gamble, Teri Polo

Summary: 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 atLife 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 unattended to explore the depths of their eerie new residence. With Dane paying more attention to Julie, he has far less time and patience for his little brother. But then everything changes when they find a sinister black hole under a locked trap door in the basement. As the brothers experiment with the hole they realize that the cold pit goes on forever. Then drop a penny and never hear it hit bottom. They lower a flashlight and it gets consumed by the darkness. Hoping for some answers about the house's past, Dane and Lucas bring Julie in on their new discovery. When the hole is exposed, evil is unleashed. With strange shadows lurking around every corner and past nightmares coming to life, the trio will have to come face to face with their darkest fears to put an end to the hole.… Expand

Director: Joe Dante

Genre(s): Adventure, Thriller, Fantasy

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 92 min

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Critic Reviews

Empire - Ian Freer

Sep 12, 2014

Where The Hole really scores — and this is rare in modern horror — is in its lead characters. Read full review

The Telegraph - Marc Lee

Sep 12, 2014

Director Joe (Gremlins) Dante delivers some terrific spine-tingling chills on the way towards a disappointingly overblown climax. Read full review

Total Film - Rosie Fletcher

Sep 12, 2014

Hardly the most original film of the year, but one of the most purely pleasurable. The ideal horror intro for fledgling genre fans – scary fun that definitely fills a hole. Read full review

Time Out London - Tom Huddleston

Sep 12, 2014

Dante plays the early scenes perfectly, racking up the clammy dread without tipping over into outright nastiness. But somewhere along the way, the tension dissipates. Read full review

The Guardian - Peter Bradshaw

Sep 12, 2014

With playful touches of Spielberg, Shyamalan and even Hitchcock, veteran director Joe Dante has confected a neat little scary movie, not explicitly violent, but pretty scary nonetheless. Read full review

The A.V. Club - Nathan Rabin

Sep 12, 2014

Like earlier Dante classics The Gremlins and The Burbs, The Hole marries the fantastical, the horrific, and the mundane, but in this case, the fantastical isn’t that fantastic, the horrific isn’t scary, and the mundane is way too mundane. All the elements are here, they just don’t add up to a satisfying whole. Read full review

Variety - Derek Elley

Sep 12, 2014

Cool it may be, but scary (or even mildly shudder-inducing) it ain’t, even in 3-D. Read full review

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User Reviews

Tss5078

Feb 18, 2016

Kids get a bad rap in films. It is assumed because of their age and lack of experience, that they are less talented than adult actors. While in many cases this is true, it is not the rule. Some people I spoke to, immediately had no interest in The Hole, because of it's young cast. Right awayKids get a bad rap in films. It is assumed because of their age and lack of experience, that they are less talented than adult actors. While in many cases this is true, it is not the rule. Some people I spoke to, immediately had no interest in The Hole, because of it's young cast. Right away they were saying this is going to be a rip off of Goosebumps and didn't even give it a chance. The film may not have been the scariest film I've ever seen, but it had a great backstory, a lot of suspense, and some very talented young actors. Those kids play Dane and Lucas, who are forced to move from the city to the country, to hide from an abusive father. The boys are miserable and decide to explore the old house the family has rented. What they find is a giant hole in the basement, with seemingly no bottom. As they continue to be fascinated by the hole, things in this small town, and especially in this old house just continue to get stranger and stranger, leading to a tremendous ending that will teach the boys, that sometimes the only thing you can do is face your fears. The star of this film is Nathan Gamble, who has done a lot for someone so young. I've seen him in a bunch of things and weather he's playing Commissioner Gordon's son in The Dark Knight, or the young activist in Dolphin's Tale, Gamble just has this way of always pulling at the audiences heart strings. Once again he's this cute, innocent kid, who's been traumatized by years of abuse, yet he still manages to face his fears, unleashed by the hole. I've seen plenty of films where kids in this situation just run away and hide, but that's not his style, and that's part of why this movie isn't a Goosebumps story. The bottom line, I think The Hole will appeal to Science Fiction fans more than Horror fans, despite the fact that it's labelled as Horror. The young cast is refreshingly energetic, curious, and eager, all things that will become contagious, and make the Hole, a much better film than you think it's going to be.… Expand

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Gmork

Jan 1, 2015

ok my full review just deleted so ill just leave this. this movie is just an extended episode of goosebumps or are you afraid of the dark. the problem is that i found this in the horror section which lead me to believe it was a horror movie. this should not be in with other horror movies.ok my full review just deleted so ill just leave this. this movie is just an extended episode of goosebumps or are you afraid of the dark. the problem is that i found this in the horror section which lead me to believe it was a horror movie. this should not be in with other horror movies. not scary in the slightest. the acting lacks any kind of emotion. the main plot point of the movie is completely forgotten and youre left wondering "ooookaaayyy, so why is there an evil bottomless hole there in the first place". not for anyone who wants to watch a scary movie. i guess it would be good for a kid who hasnt seen a horror movie before.… Expand

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