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THE
HOLE
7/10
(After
the Hole)
UK 2001
director : Nick Hamm
script : Ben Court, Caroline Ip (based on novel After the Hole by Guy
Burt)
cinematography : Denis Crossan
editing : Niven Howie
lead actors : Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, Embeth Davidtz, Daniel
Brocklebank
102 minutes
Proof
that, when it comes to teen horror, the British can more than match anything
from the other side of the water. A quartet of public school kids, desperate
to avoid a geography field trip to Wales, hide out in an underground wartime
bunker for a few days. But when the time comes to leave, they find the
door locked, and as the hours ticks by, paranoia mounts. The subsequent
bloody events are told in flashback by demure survivor Liz (Birch). But
can she be as innocent as she seems?
Well,
of course she can't - there wouldn't be much in the way of drama if she
was. But even when you twig Liz has some hidden psychotic tendencies,
The Hole still has a few unpredictable twists and turns lying in wait.
There are occasional plot 'holes' and uneven spots, but it's likely these
are failings in the source novel, written when the author was himself
barely out of school. Aiming for a claustrophobic, indoors twist on Blair
Witch, Hamm wisely chooses to play everything totally straight, with no
Wes Craven-style nods or winks to genre conventions. The movie serves
up the right combination of jolts and 'ugh' moments, building an enjoyably
unpleasant atmosphere of gnawing dread.
24th
May, 2001
by Neil
Young
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