Welcome to Joe Dante Day. This is director Joe Dante’s latest film (his first in seven years) and it is also in 3D (real 3D, not post-processed!). This is a throwback to the 80’s “family horror films” (like “Poltergeist”), which is a more of a PG-style horror film – something that will scare the kids and give them a good time, but not enough that they wont sleep for a week. The film is about a mother and her two children who move from the city to a quiet country town. In the basement of their house, the two boys find and open a door that is heavily bolted closed on the floor. When they look inside, they discover that there is a hole under the door, or a bottomless pit if you will. It turns out though, that if you look inside the hole, your greatest fears come to life and attempt to take your life. The only way to destroy the menace is to confront your fears.
The movie consists of the fears of the two boys, as well as that of the teenage girl who lives next door to them. The fears come in the guise of old friend who committed suicide when she was a kid, an abusive father and the horror film staple, the always creepy clowns. It is all done very well, with the 3D more of a modest achievement rather than anything spectacular, but personally I prefer my horror with a darker edge, but for what it is, “The Hole” is a great example of a horror film from a by-gone era.
3 Stars - Viewed at the 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival
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