Joe Dante once again proves why he deserves to be considered one of the greatest horror directors to practice the craft with "The Hole"; it's visually breathtaking and takes you on epic journey, thanks to a truly entertaining and solid script. As a long time fan of Joe Dante, I was very excited when I heard about this film and as I watched the story unfold in front of me, quickly I found myself taken back to my own childhood, flashbacks of sitting in front of the television watching reruns of "Tales From The Crypt" and other horror shows like "Twilight Zone" and "Monsters".
"The Hole" is just dark and scary enough that both adults and long time fans of Mr. Dante will have a blast but toned down enough for it to be a great watch for the entire family as it has a PG-13 rating, this is due to some strong language (1 shit, 1 Goddamn, that I can recall), and scary images and I will warn you parents all thought this is a family friendly horror film it may be a bit too intense for smaller children. If you loved such titles as "The Burbs" or "The Gate" I highly recommend you give "The Hole" a watch at all costs, this is a perfect way to share with a younger generation the genius of Joe Dante.
Special effects and visually this movie is beautiful, and it lead me to wish two things, number one that Joe Dante would give us just one more "Gremlins" movie, no CG, no bullshit, animatronic driven "Gremlin" goodness, and number two that he would of directed "Alice In Wonderland" and not the predictable and way over hyped Tim Burton."The Hole" is exactly what this generation needs to spark an interest in the horror genre, not sparkly, whiney, over dramatic vampires.
This movie would of been a absolutely perfect theatre release for the Halloween season, it would of not only drawn in the adult crowds but also with the PG-13 rating could of been an excuse for a family outing to celebrate a month of things that go bump in the night. I really miss this style of horror, it doesn't always have to be about shock and gore and extreme adult situations, sometimes it is nice to just sit back and watch a campy, fun, and creepy family scare.
For an awesome October movie night with the kids I would recommend the following lineup, "The Hole", "The Gate" and "The Burbs" as the trifecta for inducting the young ones to the genre. On behalf of The Liberal Dead I give "The Hole" a very well earned 8 out of 10, and a very high recommendation to all you readers.
8/10
- Ted "Ritualistic" Brown
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