The Hole in the Ground (A24 Horror Film - Jan 31st, 2019)

[The Great Owl]

Four and a half stars.

In hopes of escaping the traumas of her past for a new life, Sarah, a recently separated single parent played by Seána Kerslake, moves to a small countryside town with her young son, Chris, played by James Quinn Markey, but their arrival brings its own difficulties. An unsettling encounter with an elderly neighbor puts the already frazzled mother on edge. Meanwhile, Chris is having trouble fitting in with the other children at his new grade school. Despite the trying circumstances, however, the mother and son take solace in each other's company while enjoying humorous games and dinner conversations.

One day, Chris ventures alone into the deep forest near their remote farmhouse. After finding him unharmed in the woods near a crater-like sinkhole, the relieved Sarah admonishes him not to go outside unattended. During the days that follow, she notices mysterious changes in her son's behavior. Chis looks the same, but his mannerisms and his personality are subtly different. As the distance grows between the two of them, Sarah wonders if her imagination is getting away from her due to stress and medications or if something more sinister is to blame.

The 2019 Irish horror film, The Hole in the Ground, treats us to a myriad of narrative developments that have been explored time and time again in this genre. There is nothing particularly original about seemingly possessed evil children, creaky rural houses, unhinged protagonists driven to the edge by paranoia, an eerie old woman standing in the middle of a road, or family members spiraling into distrust and animosity while living in isolation from others. The well-tread terrain ascends to more than the sum of its parts, however, thanks to the enthrallingly insidious visual flourishes of director Lee Cronin and to the ability of our two leads to elicit sympathy from the audience.

There is a tangible escalation of dread at play in this deliberately paced slow burn of a story that rises above the usual jump-scare mayhem of recent scary movies. Kerslake and Markey both draw us into the fold with ease, and our resulting nervousness at the idea of either of their characters coming to harm is the fuel that drives this engine, even when the conclusion takes us down a road that has been traveled many times before. The Hole in the Ground may borrow stale recipe ingredients from The Babadook, The Shining, The Exorcist, The Sixth Sense, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but I have still never seen anything quite like it. The fact that the filmmakers do not over-explain the nature of the menace at hand is icing on the cake.

The A24 production company that brought us movies like Hereditary, The Witch, Ex Machina, Under the Skin, Green Room, Moonlight, It Comes at Night, Good Time, Lady Bird, and First Reformed has maintained its winning streak into a new year. I hope that they can keep it going.

[jacobsever]

Creepy, isolated, old home? Check.
Secluded location on the edge of a massive forest? Check.
A young child that starts acting strange? Check.

Clearly, when you meet all three of these, you're in for a bad time. The Hole In the Ground is a movie that offers nothing new, and is chock-full of everything you've already seen before. Not only is the story a bit tired, it does nothing stylistically to set it apart from the plethora of similar movies that came before it. Hell, even a month ago, we got The Prodigy, which I'd argue is a more solid and entertaining film.

You have a young mother who moved to a run-down farm home in the country side that she's going to renovate with her adolescent son. You have a strange, somewhat crazy neighbor who stares directly into your sons' eyes while mumbling something inaudible. Your son starts acting strange. I mean, come on.

To this film's benefit, it does go to some pretty cool places towards the end. The aforementioned "hole in the ground" makes a brief, yet significant appearance in the final 15 minutes or so of the movie. Unfortunately, it's a case of "too little, too late" for me to have any care about it. By the time the movie does anything unique, I was already mentally checked out and had given up any involvement.

The film is short and sweet, and there are a couple moments of shock and surprise that "got me". Not necessarily jump scares...but moments I wasn't expecting that caught me off guard. It's rare for a film to do that, so bravo! However, that, along with the magnetic lead actress, wasn't enough to save this film. I totally understand why A24 put zero effort into the advertising and release of this film.

2.5/5

[Member-275053]

Does anyone know if this will be available to watch for free on Prime Video, like other A24 films? Or, is this one different because it is a DirectTV exclusive? I want to watch it, but don't want to pay $6.99, if it will be available for free in a few months.

[Member-275053]

Nevermind, I found the answer myself.

It will be free for Prime members on April 22.

[wonderer99]

A24 are frustrating for me. I like their output but none ever really reach great for me.

[HorrorBlu]

As usual with A24 these days, The Hole In The Ground will be released on DVD only on April 30th.

[Member-275053]

As usual?

Don't most of their films get Blu-ray releases?

[HorrorBlu]

Originally Posted by JWFORD

As usual?

Don't most of their films get Blu-ray releases?

They did until around last fall. Now a lot of their movies are DVD only (Never Goin' Back, The Children Act, Hot Summer Nights, etc), unless it's one of their wide theatrical releases.

[Member-275053]

Free for Prime Members

[MJD64]

There's a striking overhead shot of a car traversing a lonely road in a forest at the beginning of the film that tilts to an alarming degree, making it appear as if the car is heading straight down into the bowels of the earth (or hell); it's a great, ominous shot and setup. Such a shame the film doesn't live up to it.

What follows is well-acted and spookily low-key, but so overly familiar it kills any potential interest. The troubled single mom that may be exaggerating or imagining things, the troubled kid that begins acting...strangely, the creepy neighbor woman subjected to a terrible tragedy years earlier who seems to know...something. This goes down such a well-trodden path the conviction and earnestness of the cast can do little to overcome such hackneyed material and plotting. The relentlessly dark and dour visual aesthetic seems as rote as everything else on display here.

Thought not as dreary as the last Irish horror film I saw, The Lodgers, it still felt every bit as grindingly predictable.

[Member-275053]

A creepy little Irish horror thriller. 3/5

I'm surprised no one has mentioned The Hallow, another Irish horror film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Both films explore the legend of the changeling. But, I think that one does it a little better.

Originally Posted by HorrorBlu

As usual with A24 these days, The Hole In The Ground will be released on DVD only on April 30th.

I saw the DVD in Walmart yesterday. But, I refuse to pay $12.96 for it.

[Worship.my.wreck]

No Blu Ray, no buy.

[Todd Tomorrow]

I thought this was well directed and acted, but it offers nothing new and is instantly forgettable.

[levcore]

Damn, two threads for this movie, oh well:

I thought this was excellent, great mood, atmosphere and performances. First time director does a wonderful job. There's not a shred of originality to be found anywhere though and whilst that may sound like a red flag, the way the movie is put together and the way it all plays out is what makes it work so well. Very creepy and tense and the lead actress and the child actor are terrific together. Great cinematography too.

This came out on Blu Ray here in the UK yesterday.

[wonkavision]

Watched this last night as it is now on Amazon PRIME.
I thought it was really well done Irish horror, definitely takes its time to unravel. I agree with Levcore, nothing too original but the way the film is executed as a whole is rather well done and quite disturbing. This morning, it's on my mind. I found one scene in particularly really creepy,

[Show spoiler]it was when the mother was watching her kid through the space under the door and the kid was contorting around and chewing on a spider.

Anyone have the UK blu-ray release? Is it region free? I see other countries are releasing it later this year. I'll enjoy revisiting it.

[aiman04]

It’s decent. I actually think it’s better than Us.