Movies
The Hole (3-D)
“While most of the iconic horror directors are drifting into the abyss, Dante has somehow reinvented himself and delivered a solid and scary children’s horror film that will be remembered years to come.”
It has been 6 long years since Joe Dante has been behind the camera for a feature film project and now the legendary director of Gremlins, The Howling, Piranha, Explorers and The ‘burbs is back with a new children’s horror film, The Hole, which screened in stunning 3D at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. While most of the iconic horror directors are drifting into the abyss, Dante has somehow reinvented himself and delivered a solid and scary children’s horror film that will be remembered years to come.
In the film written by Mark L. Smith (Vacancy), after moving into a new town, brothers Dane (Chris Massoglia) and Lucas (Nathan Gamble) and their neighbor Julie (Haley Bennett) discover a bottomless hole in their basement that brings their nightmares to life. With shadows lurking around every corner, they must face their darkest fears in order to put an end to the mystery of the hole.
Every good film starts at the screenplay and The Hole is no exception. Smith delivers a remarkably believable story filled with realistic dialogue and colorful characters. Nathan Gamble kills it as the younger brother Lucas and Haley Bennett’s performance can be compared to Sarah Roemer ‘s in Disturbia. In fact, the story structure is very similar to Disturbia’s as a child’s isolation in his house leads to a whole quarrel of events that end with redemption.
Smith establishes exactly what kind of film The Hole is by opening the film with a sequence of verbal slinging of the word “shit” between the family members. Immediately they become a family you believe and might even know. Beyond that, it establishes that The Hole is a darker film, something right out of the 80’s like Explorers or even Gremlins.
Speaking of dark, the film is quite scary, even though it appears it could barely pass for PG-13. There are incredibly creepy ghosts, demons in the dark and a killer jester doll (as seen in the poster) that torments little Lucas. While I didn’t think it was scary, the guy next to us was jumping and squealing through the entire movie, which does say a lot about it.
The jester doll was done using live puppeteers (it looked as if they used stop motion for his movements and then digitally added facial expressions, very creepy) and looked incredible. In fact, most of the digital FX work was beautifully done, especially the final sequence where we see what’s down in the hole. The 3-D effect was done in such a way that it added depth, instead of being a cheap gimmick (other than a few shots early one).
What makes The Hole such a special film is that had I seen this when I was 12, it would be a film I love and remember forever. While I can’t say every adult will enjoy it, it’s safe to say those with great memories of the 80’s adventure-horror films will find something here that will warm your soul. Those with kids bring them and help create a new classic in their lives that they’ll never forget. The Hole is engaging, fun, clever and even scary… it’s a rare treat that should not be missed.
The trailer for Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol raised a lot of eyebrows when it dropped earlier this week. While plenty of folks initially dismissed Ebenezer as a derivative project meant to cash in on the recent wave of unnecessary prequels that expand the backstory of beloved characters (such as 2023’s Wonka), Charles Dickens’ original novel already made a point of exploring Ebenezer Scrooge’s origins in detail – meaning that this new film is likely just a particularly faithful adaptation of the source material under a different name.
Couple that with the fact that the movie is being helmed by a genuine horror auteur and I think it’s safe to say that the latest iteration of the first modern ghost story is in good hands.
That being said, one detail that immediately jumped out at me during the brief teaser (other than a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Johnny Depp’s iconic bedroom death scene from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street) is the fact that many of Ebenezer’s ghosts appear to have been directly lifted from the iconic John Leech illustrations that accompanied the first edition of Dickens’ novel.
Here are a couple of stills from the trailer compared to the original artwork:
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
The Phantoms in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Ebenezer’
Marley’s Ghost in ‘Ebenezer’ and ‘A Christmas Carol’
Mainly working with old-school wood and steel engravings that would later be transferred to print, Leech was instrumental in crafting the iconic look of history’s most influential phantoms – especially since Dickens is said to have been deeply involved with the creation of these so-called “comic illustrations.”
And since the novel is commonly said to have popularized spiritualism in Victorian England, much of the ghostly iconography that we still see in genre media to this very day (including some of Ti West’s previous films) can be traced back to the author’s partnership with Leech.
Ebenezer won’t be the first A Christmas Carol adaptation to borrow heavily from these designs, but I can appreciate how Ti West is incorporating an important part of horror history into his latest film.
Ebenezer will be available in theaters starting November 13.
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