The Hole (2009)

Starring: Chris Massoglia, Nathan Gamble, & Haley Bennett

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Kids get a bad rap in films. It is assumed because of their age and lack of experience, that they are less talented than adult actors. While in many cases this is true, it is not the rule. Some people I spoke to, immediately had no interest in The Hole, because of it's young cast. Right away they were saying this is going to be a rip off of Goosebumps and didn't even give it a chance. The film may not have been the scariest film I've ever seen, but it had a great backstory, a lot of suspense, and some very talented young actors. Those kids play Dane and Lucas, who are forced to move from the city to the country, to hide from an abusive father. The boys are miserable and decide to explore the old house the family has rented. What they find is a giant hole in the basement, with seemingly no bottom. As they continue to be fascinated by the hole, things in this small town, and especially in this old house just continue to get stranger and stranger, leading to a tremendous ending that will teach the boys, that sometimes the only thing you can do is face your fears. The star of this film is Nathan Gamble, who has done a lot for someone so young. I've seen him in a bunch of things and weather he's playing Commissioner Gordon's son in The Dark Knight, or the young activist in Dolphin's Tale, Gamble just has this way of always pulling at the audiences heart strings. Once again he's this cute, innocent kid, who's been traumatized by years of abuse, yet he still manages to face his fears, unleashed by the hole. I've seen plenty of films where kids in this situation just run away and hide, but that's not his style, and that's part of why this movie isn't a Goosebumps story. The bottom line, I think The Hole will appeal to Science Fiction fans more than Horror fans, despite the fact that it's labelled as Horror. The young cast is refreshingly energetic, curious, and eager, all things that will become contagious, and make the Hole, a much better film than you think it's going to be.