The Hole (2001)

Pretty Good

Good concept, poorly executed.

Am I Missing Something?

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I'm a bit of a sucker for B-movies that display some sort of style and point of view. Plus, Keira Knightley's been a bit of a crush of mine as long as I've been old enough to have crushes. Luckily, this movie was a great surprise to me because I found it really enjoyable, with a great electronic score and some twisty plot points. After a girl is found, disheveled and mentally and physically abused, an investigation is opened to find out what happened. The tale of the military bunker, The Hole of the title, is told in flashbacks, but is everything we're hearing the truth? I really loved the way the movie pulled you in with the opening moments, because you're left wondering how this girl came to be in such a state, and what happened to the others 3 kids with her. The directing is flashy, with some cool camera choices and a good use of the space in the bunker. You really feel like the place would be a fun getaway for these people, but it would also start to feel claustrophobic once you've been in there for longer than you want. They way the friends begin to turn on each other was realistic and scary.The acting from the leads is fantastic. I only know Thora Birch from American Beauty, but her accent here surprised me because although I'm not British I was impressed she did it well enough to have me check up where she's actually from. The two guys are good too, you feel their friendship and their hurt and frustrations when things go south. Keira's role and performance really surprised me. It was so fun to see her act closer to my own age and be a bit sexual because she's usually so mature and posh and dignified. It also confirms my belief that she's always been damn beautiful.Give this a try! I hope it sucks you in and surprises you in the same way it did for me.

There is nothing special in this movie, but it is not a bad movie. It keeps you with the wish of seeing more and I was not bored. But I was not surprised. I think the direction failed. It could have made this film much more special. All the elements are there. The actors are OK. But something is missing. Anyway, not all films can be all 10/10. So, this film for me deserves to be seen, because after all is not so predictable, and as said is not, or was not for me, boring, and what I think can be strategically good is that this film can be watched by lot of different people with different tastes and sensibilities. Not, probably, by very sensible persons, but being not very very full of suspense and thrills and disgusting things (well, at least not so much), it has a relatively wide public to satisfy.

I really cannot write what I think about this movie without revealing some spoilers. However, I will put a note when I get to that spot.This was one of the most engaging films I have seen in a very long time. I made the mistake of watching it while I was studying for an exam. I thought that it wouldn't be interesting enough to pull me away from the studies. However, I ended up getting nothing done for those two hours.Going into this movie with nothing more than a vague description, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. It begins with the idea that Liz is a polite, likable school girl with an unlikely crush. In both the present actions and with the beginning of her story, it seems like the classic lonely girl loves popular boy but is too shy to get him story. Then, right when you are invested in Liz and you believe her friend Martin is a truly twisted and evil jerk, little bits of what really happened start to surface.Liz would have you believe that her story is a story about being in love. But the only thing it really is happens to be a story of selfish obsession taken to unholy depths of depravity. This story is a story about how to be as cold and heartless as you can as long as you get what you think you deserve to have.Spoiler after this line because I want to comment on the ending.I loved this movie up until the end. At the ending, I almost lowered it down to a four star rating, though. The past 15 years there is a trend that the horror villain gets no comeuppance. The ending to "The Hole" reminded me of the ending to "Cry Wolf," even though "The Hole" was released four years earlier.The police are not incompetent enough to have believed that Martin would have committed suicide in the river directly behind Liz's house. Liz is obviously not intelligent enough to murder Martin in such a way that the police would not be able to determine that he was murdered. The police are not stupid enough to believe that Liz's doctor would take her down into the hole and then fall for her whiny "help, help" when they came and saw Liz and her doctor down in the hole.This movie gives us absolutely no reason to believe that the ending is credible. It paints everyone as stupid except for Liz. The problem with this is that Liz is stupid. The only way she was able to keep them trapped in a hole is because she hid the key. And she further believed it was worth it for her best friend and best friend's boyfriend to die so she could be with someone who obviously thinks nothing of her.At least in Cry Wolf, the story was set up in a way that may have fooled investigators. "The Hole's" ending relies on the premise that the police and everyone are stupid and that you're stupid enough to not question it. It's a shame because until that happens, this was a first rate movie all the way.

"The Hole" was recommended to me by a friend who read my review for the film "Cry Wolf". She said I'd like it, and she was right on the spot. While this is only my opinion, I think The Hole is a great film.Indeed, like "Cry Wolf", "The Hole" is more of a psychological Thriller than Horror. It doesn't have Slasher style chase, gruesome murders or gore, and there is very little blood. Instead, this film keeps you confused and guessing, enough to have multiple debates here on IMDb as to which parts are real and which aren't. The Hole is about deception and misleading, both for the protagonists and us the spectators.The acting is very good, not only by Thora Birch (lovely as always) but by the entire cast. Very smart screen writing, good enough to make me want to get my hands on the novel by which the film is inspired. You won't know what has really happened until the end, and even then some parts remain debatable. This film shows again that a change in perspective can change everything, even when you think you have things figured out.All in all, while not a masterpiece, The Hole is very enjoyable and definitely worth watching!