Throughout my attempt to make it through the 400-plus movies in my Netflix instant queue, I’ll be highlighting some of my favorite celluloid stops along the way.
“The Hole”
Although it was helmed by the geeky and great Joe Dante, the director of “Gremlins,” “The Howling” and arguably the best segment in “Twilight Zone: The Movie,” “The Hole” was merely a blip on the theatrical landscape. It’s 2012 big-screen stateside release came and went without much fanfare, and then it seemingly descended into its own bottomless pit of oblivion.
Thankfully it’s come up for air via Netflix. And while it may not rank among the best of the director’s bunch, “The Hole” certainly delivers plenty of ’80s-style frights while retaining elements of classic Dante.
When 17-year-old Dane (Chris Massoglia) and his 10-year-old brother Lucas (Nathan Gamble) move into their new home with their single mom, the boys soon discover a hidden and padlocked trapdoor in the basement. The pair befriend their teenage next door neighbor, Julie (Haley Bennett), and upon opening the door they find that the mysterious hole doesn’t seem to have a bottom.
After cracking open the trapdoor, a cavalcade of creepiness soon follows. Ghosts, a possessed clown doll and an eerie stalker are among the sinister goings on. Dante’s presentation provides some genuinely scary moments padded an expert build up of tension and startling payoffs.
While “The Hole” has some of the spirit of Dante’s ’80s heyday, including the obligatory Dick Miller cameo, its biggest foil lies within a few simple storytelling and acting flaws. On more than one occasion the trio of young protagonists walk away from shocking supernatural encounters unfazed, as if being attacked by a stuffed clown or haunted by a young girl are matter-of-fact, everyday occurrences in suburbia.
Yet, the film stands apart from contemporary genre offerings by skipping the hard-to-stomach gratuitous gore of torture horror and relying on old-school spookiness. “The Hole” has a sense of innocence and wonder to it that hasn’t been seen since Spielberg, Dante, Landis and their contemporaries were the hottest young gun directors in Hollywood.
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