 A still from the movie  | Critic's Rating: *** Cast: Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Nathan Gamble, Teri Polo Direction: Joe Dante Genre: Horror Duration: 1 hour 32 minutes Readers Rating: *** |
|
So-so scary
Story: Two brothers move to a new house with their mom (Teri Polo) and discover a gaping hole in their basement. They open it, one random afternoon while fooling around when mom's away and find strange new things coming out of the bottomless pit. Joining them in the chilly excursion is their sweet neighbour (Haley Bennett) who thinks they have just opened the gateway to hell. Is that so...
Movie Review: Not bad. Considering there's so little happening this week due to the World Cup fever, The Hole is a fun outing for the family. Okay, so it's supposed to be a horror film but don't worry, kids won't get the heebie-jeebies with the scare-you quotient, simply because the protagonists themselves are a bunch of GenYers. And like all young people, brothers Dane (Chris Massoglia) and Lucas (Nathan Gamble) and their sassy neighbour, Julie (Haley Bennett) are suitably bored, in search for thrills in a non-thrilling neighbourhood. Naturally then, their life perks up when they discover a mysterious hole in the basement of their house, which incidentally has had a creepy ex-resident who moved to a dilapidated factory to escape the chill factor.
Hole, did we say? Let's call it an abyss because there seems to be no end to this tunnel. Anything that goes in -- a torchlight, a toy, a weeping child -- just seems to disappear. And adding an interesting twist to this horror story is the psychological angle, where the director tries to connect the strange apparitions that emerge out of the hole to the hidden fears of the three young people. Young Nathan hates the clown his brother uses to scare him with; Julie has a traumatic accident in the past that she desperately tries to escape; and teenager Dane can't seem to forget an anguished childhood. Is the hole a mirror to their fears? Can it be covered up by surmounting the ghosts within?
On the goosebump scale, the film has a few moments that might make you grin sheepishly (yup! you almost got scared). But what keeps the drama going is the sweet family theme. Nice brothers, harried single mom (Teri Polo), potential girlfriend: it's sweet, laidback, suburban hustle-bustle, with an add-on: 3-D which pops in intermittently and seems quite unnecessary.
Story: Two brothers move to a new house with their mom (Teri Polo) and discover a gaping hole in their basement. They open it, one random afternoon while fooling around when mom's away and find strange new things coming out of the bottomless pit. Joining them in the chilly excursion is their sweet neighbour (Haley Bennett) who thinks they have just opened the gateway to hell. Is that so...
Movie Review: Not bad. Considering there's so little happening this week due to the World Cup fever, The Hole is a fun outing for the family. Okay, so it's supposed to be a horror film but don't worry, kids won't get the heebie-jeebies with the scare-you quotient, simply because the protagonists themselves are a bunch of GenYers. And like all young people, brothers Dane (Chris Massoglia) and Lucas (Nathan Gamble) and their sassy neighbour, Julie (Haley Bennett) are suitably bored, in search for thrills in a non-thrilling neighbourhood. Naturally then, their life perks up when they discover a mysterious hole in the basement of their house, which incidentally has had a creepy ex-resident who moved to a dilapidated factory to escape the chill factor.
Hole, did we say? Let's call it an abyss because there seems to be no end to this tunnel. Anything that goes in -- a torchlight, a toy, a weeping child -- just seems to disappear. And adding an interesting twist to this horror story is the psychological angle, where the director tries to connect the strange apparitions that emerge out of the hole to the hidden fears of the three young people. Young Nathan hates the clown his brother uses to scare him with; Julie has a traumatic accident in the past that she desperately tries to escape; and teenager Dane can't seem to forget an anguished childhood. Is the hole a mirror to their fears? Can it be covered up by surmounting the ghosts within?
On the goosebump scale, the film has a few moments that might make you grin sheepishly (yup! you almost got scared). But what keeps the drama going is the sweet family theme. Nice brothers, harried single mom (Teri Polo), potential girlfriend: it's sweet, laidback, suburban hustle-bustle, with an add-on: 3-D which pops in intermittently and seems quite unnecessary.
No comments:
Post a Comment