Okay, I get it. A title like The Hole in 3D is sure to garner a few chuckles at first. Heck, even the characters in the movie wring a double-entendre or two out of the idea because they know the entire audience is thinking it. But otherwise there isn't a whole lot to laugh or scream about in the latest thriller from the director of Gremlins and Small Soliders.
The Hole is about two brothers who move away from the hustle & bustle of Brooklyn to a small suburban town with their mother. In their new house, the boys stumble upon an old trapdoor in the floor of their basement. Together with the cute girl living next door, the kids attempt to discover the secrets of "the hole", as it shows them their deepest fears and nightmares.
I think I watched a trailer for this months ago when it came out. I knew it was about a group of kids, but I didn't know exactly how kid-friendly it would be. After finally seeing it I thought this movie had "Nickelodeon Original" written all over it.
Genre cliches abound in The Hole, but rather than attempt to parody them like Eli Craig's Tucker & Dale vs Evil, the film falls victim to them, making The Hole a ho-hum effort overall. Sure, they try to add a bit of depth with the examination of the characters' fears and there are some scares that are probably too intense for really young viewers, but I think any kid over the age of 8 can handle this one, despite its PG-13 rating. It's a perfect gateway film for budding horror fans, but as an established one myself, it didn't do the trick.
2 of 4 stars
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