Official Score = 1 1/2 Devils[/caption]When I was a kid I first discovered the works of people like, 'R.L. Stein'. R.L. Stein is an author who kind of would write young adult horror novels that all the kids for what ever reason in my class seemed to love, except me... Back then I was deep in to the works of authors like Stephen King! With that said though, the work of R.L. Stein as well as other authors of similar ilk became so popular, that besides merchandising, A TV show was made based on the works of R.L. Stein, as well as movies of similar ilk! Now I will be honest, I still am not a huge fan of these types of works, but I can definitely see their value for children, and I will admit that, The Hole (2009) is definitely one of them! Written by: Mark L. Smith (Vacancy), Directed by: Joe Dante (Innerspace). Starring: Chris Massoglia (A Plumm Summer), Haley Bennett (Marley & Me), Nathan Gamble (The Dark Knight), Teri Polo (Meet The Fockers) & Bruce Dern (The Driver). This movie tells the tale of a family that has been terrorized by letters from an abusive and deadly father that has been in prison for awhile but every letter sends them in to a talespin and sends them packing... After the latest move the family settles in to their new life, in there new house, with their bottomless pit! Now at first the hole serves to bring together brothers, Dane (Massoglia), and Lucas (Gamble) as they get more and more curious about the hole and how deep it goes!
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Dane (Chris Massoglia), Lucas (Nathan Gamble) & their new friend, 'Julie' (Haley Bennett) as they are not just studying, but will eventually have to protect themselves from, 'The Hole'![/caption]Later on after Lucas decides to force an introduction between the girl next door, 'Julie' (Bennett) she also comes over to work with them at this mysterious hole... But weird things begin to happen though you see, first off, Julie gets trapped in the woman's bathroom and the lights go out, and eventually a creepy little girl ends up walking by her... That is until one of Julie's friend's comes walking in and turns the lights back on. Lucas gets to confront his fear of clowns, when a clown doll shows up to scare the hell out of him! And for some reason Lucas also ends up seeing the same creepy little girl that Julie did! Now as things get worse and worse for the trio, the boys mother, 'Susan' (Polo) ends up taking off for the weekend... The stage is set for the three of them to face their fears in the worst possible way... Because in the dark of the hole, fear follows!
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Lucas, as he is being chased by a toy clown... His biggest fear brought to life courtesy of, 'The Hole'![/caption]In the end, I can definitely see how this movie is something that kids would enjoy, but for the more serious horror connoisseur, this movie's plot line was full of holes and some what confusing (despite the fact that this movie had a great premise.) There are no real scares, thrills or chills, and at one point I could tell that Joe Dante seemed to be trying to give some element of Beatlejuice when the brothers end up going in to the hole... But let's put it this way... This is no Beatlejuce! Now on the plus side, there is some pretty awesome talent that make appearances in it, including: Bruce Dern, and Teri Polo! In the end though I had to see this movie to review it, but if I knew then what I know now, I probably would not have seen this one personally!
http://youtu.be/EPXf0O7ko9E
