User reviews

The movie concerns a bunch of adolescents formed by Thora Birch , Desmond Harrington , Kiera Knightley and others who stake to shelter in a bunker .

They're closed up and then terrible events originate .

Although the happening develops itself in locked place the film is not tiring .

The yarn mingles emotions , violence , shocks , thriller , the suspense doesn't fail and that's why it's bemusing and isn't boring .

Acting by Thora Birch is awesome , she was paid a high salary due to her recent acclaimed role in American Beauty (1998) . The beautiful and very young Kiera Knightley -she war 15 when this movie was shot- is ready as a future main star (Pirates del Caribbean, curse of the black pearl) and even she has a brief first nude scene . And Desmond Harrington (Ghost ship) is cool .

The film has relation to last group of English movies developed in shut and strange stages as the Bunkers or trenches , for example : ¨Deathwatch¨ and ¨the Bunker¨.

The movie has a pretty twisted plot and the final storyline has extraordinary and fascinating surprises. The motion pictture was well directed by Nick Hamm (Killing Bono , Godsend , Talk of angels) . Flick will appeal mystery and emotions fans.

Rating: 6/10 Good . Well worth watching

Liz stumbles towards her boarding school, bloodied and shaken up after being missing for several days. She tells the police psychologist of a party in a hidden bunker planned for her and three friends by her friend Martin. However when Martin doesn't return things turn nasty in the bunker. However when Martin is found by the police he tells a very different story. Slowly the true events are retold in flashback.

I saw the trailers for this and assumed it was another teen slasher – I didn't even know it was set in Britain until someone told me. I think the trailer is an example of a studio unsure of how to sell a product and just plumping for the lowest common denominator. However this film rises above that. Instead of being a slasher or a horror it is a thriller with a horror twist. This makes it better – it may not be as scary as you expect but it is a better story and is creepy rather than schlocky!

The cast are good despite being young. The weaknesses come in with the adult cast – especially the cops who have clearly watched too much Sweeney! However the teens are good and are more than the sort of fodder that is put in teen movies.

Overall this is not what you expect. But it is better than you'd think. The thriller story is gripping because you're not sure what happened in the bunker until the end and I had questions answered as I went. Not great but certainly better than another teen slasher movie.

The Hole begins slowly and very standardly, but unlike most genre films, it picks up pace after 40 minutes then accelerates towards a smashing ending. Well okay, the ending itself wasn't a great surprise, but I found it satisfying in a B-grade kind of way.

The premise of Hole is pretty mundane. The idea of a group of teenagers going into an old abandoned building or structure for a lark is a stock standard story opener for hundreds of B-grade horror flicks. But then Hole becomes interesting by the re-telling of events from different characters' individual points of view in a manner reminiscent of the 1950 British gem ‘The Woman in Question'. Just who is telling the truth?

The final third of Hole rockets along and the film becomes genuinely frightening. I was especially impressed with the way repercussion of actions and in-actions are graphically shown and not glossed over as so many genre films have a habit of doing.

Hole is not a great film. The acting from the five teenagers is a cut above average, but the direction is pretty heavy handed and not very imaginative. Overall I found Hole a nicely satisfying and genuinely frightening B-grade experience which proves the old adage that says the worst monsters are human beings. It also shows that modern thriller/horror genre films doesn't always have to rely on lashings of special effects and supernaturalism to tell a story effectively.

6/10

The Hole isn't that bad a film, its just that it lacks the components which a good thriller/suspence/mystery should have.

The Hole, starring Thora Birch, is a suspence/mystery and is about a group of high-school teenagers who become stuck in an old, World War 2 tunnel, called 'the hole'. The group of four decide to camp down in the hole for a few days to wag a school geography camp and have a good time. However, all goes wrong and the four become stuck in the hole for 18 days, deprived of air, food and water.

The suspence lies in not knowing exactly how they became stuck in the hole and who's to blame for their dire situation. The plot structure is based around Lizzy's escape, while she continues to have flashbacks of the event itself. However, different flashbacks occur at different stages of the film, which leaves the viewer never really knowing the exact truth until the end.

If you've watched your fare share of suspence type mystery thrillers, then you should be able to sum this movie up pretty quickly and be able to guess basically what's going on. The plot and plot structure arn't terribly original and I never really found myself becomming attached or captivated by what was going on. The film lacks character development and you never really become attached to the characters to the point were you intensely care what's happening to them. Thora Birch's performance is dissapointing and not terribly convincing. She's good, but no where near her brilliance when you compare this performance to her roles in American Beauty and Ghost World.

The Hole is overall dissapointing and never really draws you in like a good mystery thriller will. I give it 6/10.

The first trailer for this film showed to be a gruelling film about humans trapped in a dark, confined space, slowly withering away. The second trailer pitched this movie as some sort of repellent formulaic teen horror film. It was the first trailer that had been touted since last autumn in the UK that intrigued me enough to see it.

Having watched the film I was disappointed as the film failed to deliver what had been promised in either trailer. What I saw was a bland movie that seemingly doesn't know what it's target demographic is. I am assuming that it wanted to be a psychological horror, but the film is so lightweight that it appears to have been written with twelve-year-olds in mind – which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, the film is visually aimed at adults, with sex, full frontal nudity, nasty violence and drug use. Thus the film is torn between the two camps; the writing is too simple for adults but the adult material will stop kids seeing it.

Essentially the story is that these toffs at a private boarding school in England would rather spend three days in an old underground World War Two bunker (the titular ‘Hole') than go to Wales on a school trip. Everything is engineered so that the school assumes that they have gone home for the duration whilst their parents think that they have actually gone to Wales. In other words, nobody knows where they are there. Ultimately the events unfold and they end up stuck in the Hole and proceed to go stir crazy.

My biggest hang up is the presence of Thora Birch. Firstly her twee English accent is all over the place. They should have just let her speak with her natural accent, as it would have been less of a distraction. Maybe as an Englishman this is a stick that I can unfairly beat her with and perhaps overseas no one will notice, but for me it was an unwelcome distraction (especially when there are many young British actresses who would've done a better job).

Secondly she brings NOTHING to the movie. The other members of the young cast are relative unknowns and act her off the screen. They all give believable reputations of stuck up self-centred kids and the effects of human physical and mental degradation. I assume that Ms. Birch was brought in to add ‘international appeal' but she stifles and flounders around with her leading role, unable to rise to the challenge of her co-stars.

Before you all assume that I'm bashing her because she's American think again because young American actor Desmond Harrington who plays Mike Steel, is the best thing about this movie.

I've been anticipating this film for a while since it is Thora Birch's first role since American Beauty. So, The Hole. The Hole has been hyped up as a horror/psychological film in which 4 students are locked down an old wartime bunker (-the- Hole) to avoid a boring Geography field trip. How does it fare?

The casting is probably the jewel of this film. It's superb. The absolutely stunning Keira Knightley (Sabé from Star Wars Episode I) appears as Liz's (Birch) friend, Frankie. All the rest of the characters are complete unknowns, except the psychologist played by Embeth Davidtz (Matilda, Bridget Jones, Schindler's List), but they all act their parts excellently.

This film really has the British 'feel' mastered. The sets are excellent, the locations are splendid, and the whole 'feel' of the movie is very realistic. The school really does feel like a British public school (A British 'public school' is like a 'private school' in the US.. one where you need rich parents to flash $$$ to get you in). The unnamed pupils seem extremely realistic.

There are only three small flaws with this film. The first is that it doesn't exactly live up to the hype in the British press. I did not find this scary at all, but it was an extremely well done mystery/whodunnit. Horror? Nah, not unless you classify psychological thrillers as 'horror'.

The second flaw is that the transitions between different parts of the film can be rather confusing. Often, the film bounds around past and present shots and be extremely disorienting in places. Unlike Memento, this disorientation is not an advantage. However, at the end of the film, you'll be able to tie all of the parts together and leave feeling quite satisfied with the story (a bit like the film 'Wild Things').

Another minor let down is the music. Totally forgettable, has no place in the film, and it often appears at the most inappropriate times.

I really do hope this is released in the USA soon, as Thora Birch is definitely not to be missed here.. and I think the stunning Keira Knightley is going to be getting some bigger roles from now on, she's definitely earned her stripes here. So, my big question, why has this not been scheduled for US release!?

This is certainly not a Blair Witch Project clone, although this impression has been given by the press. Instead, this is a cleverly constructed and extremely well casted psychological thriller/mystery.

Honestly one that is worth giving a chance, not at all what au thought it was going to be but decent all in all.

The Hole is a film that takes me back to many years ago when i was a child sitting up late at night and watching the Hammer house Of Horror movies which used to scare the hell out of me but as an adult found rather tame. this really does have the Hammer feel about it , the acting is good as is the atmosphere created by the director but the story is sadly lacking. Dont get me wrong, the story is not bad be i was crying out for a twist something that what make it stand out as being different. I'm sorry to say it didnt happen. The Idea was superb, 4 kids stuck in hole in the ground unable to get out because they had been locked in by either a friend or by one of the four themselves. So much potential yet it failed to live up to it. 7 out of 10.

Four students from an exclusive private school decide to sneak off and spend a few days in a deserted underground bomb shelter rather than go on a trip to Wales with their classmates. However, when they become mysteriously locked in their remote hideaway, and days turn into weeks, it looks as though the shelter might become their tomb.

Told in flashbacks, by the only survivor, the Hole is an interesting but unexceptional psychological drama blessed with a particularly strong cast. Even though, at times, the plot gets a little dull, the talented leads (Thora Birch, Keira Knightly, Desmond Harrington and Laurence Fox) lift it above the hum-drum with their terrific performances. Birch is particularly good as Liz Dunn, the girl who has a secret crush on Harrington's fanny-magnet son-of-a-rock-star. Knightly is also pretty good as popular good time girl Frankie, and fans of hers will be delighted to know that she gets 'em out for the lads in this one (I couldn't care less—they're not that impressive!).

As the story unfolds, we gradually learn the terrible truth behind the foursome's predicament, and are treated to some quite nasty scenes as food begins to run out, people get ill and tempers start to flare.

Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, The Hole is nevertheless a solidly entertaining film that passes the time quite nicely. 6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

If you have seen the trailers (or read some of the reviews), you would be forgiven of thinking of this film as a dark and disturbing thriller, unfortunately, this is not the case.

The acting is first rate from the leading five, though Embeth Davidtz, an experienced actress, is confined to a character with little scope for the talents she has displayed in previous films, and I find it disappointing that her acting skills were curtailed by such a restrictive screenplay.

And herein lies the main problem for this film. The characterisations are excellent, but the limited experience of the writers shines through. This film has none of the twists and turns you would expect from a thriller, an ending that is at once unconvincing, predictable, and weak, and plot holes you could drive a bus through.

Director, Nick Hamm, shows great promise as this film is very well put together, and he certainly gets the best from the main four actors. However he seems to have neglected the talents of everyone else in the film (bar Daniel Brocklebank as Martin).

In my opinion, this film was well acted and directed, if only the plot could have been better, we might have seen another classic British film. However I fear that this film will sink into obscurity. It seems a shame that such talent was not used on a film with better writers.

I await with anticipation Nick Hamm's next offering, and hope that he finds a screenplay to stretch both himself and the whole cast.

Truly, fresh and new ideas, rarely make it to film. The Hole, based on the novel (after the Hole) by Guy Burt is a good exception to this. It is seldom that we see a top quality thriller, but this movie is well cast, well directed, and works wonderfully. The story is quite simple really, it relies on strong characterisation and good dialogue. All the cast give good performances and Thora Birch is outstanding. This thriller really does keep you on the edge of your seat throughout; it is very dark, very creepy and has a terrifying atmosphere. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes a good thriller. It isn't in the same league as Se7en and Silence of the Lambs, but it is better than most thrillers that are released.

8/10 A great film.

Not perfect, but could've been much worse. I like Thora Birch and how she's always cast to play odd, eccentric (and, in this case, dark, twisted and sinister) characters. It suits her and she does it well. However, in this movie, her performance was weaker compared to other movies I've seen her in.

A half-decent psychological thriller despite the fact that not a lot of people will probably be able to relate to any of the characters, which somewhat lowers the entertainment value. Plus the relatively implausible plot. These are probably the 2 main weaknesses of this movie.

Nevertheless, I thought it wasn't a bad film, though they could've done a better job on building the suspense...

This is no teen horror movie. Instead its a really good exploration into consequences of obsession. The direction was very good. I found it entertaining, frightening and most of all, thought provoking. Special mention to Thora Birch who adeptly highlights the subtle transformation of her character throughout the story.

"The Hole" is a very good twisted little Thriller set in England & about four friends at a posh private public school that hide out in a WW2 bunker in the nearby woods so they can have a weekend of partying rather than go on a boring school trip but it turns deadly when they can't get out.

Thora Birch (Hocus Pocus) gives an excellent performance as Liz, a girl with a big crush on American student Mike, played by the excellent Desmond Harrington, this guy is a genre favourite from the early 2000's from starring in Awesome flicks such as Ghost Ship & Wrong Turn & here he gives the best acting performance I've seen him do.

There's also Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) as the popular girl Frankie & Lawrence Fox (DeathWatch) as Geoff, both solid actors.

All acting is spot-on from the four main friends as panic & terror sets in once they realise they're trapped & are low on food & water & no one knows where they are!!!

I really enjoyed this survival Thriller from way back in 2001 on video & i hadn't seen it in years but totally enjoyed it again.

The setting is very claustrophobic & things get very nasty & disturbing amongst the friends as things get desperate but there's more to the story that unravels as the movie goes on & someone is behind these horrific events so there's a Mystery that gradually comes to a twisted ending.

As far as these set-in-one-place survival films go, i think The Hole is one of the best & is a gripping little story & being set in England makes it stand out from all the American ones.

A good Psychological survival Thriller with a top cast.