The Hole

Year: 2001 Rating: R Overall Evaluation: 6.0 Significance Suppositions Story Style 7.0 / 10 6.0 / 10 5.0 / 10 3.0 / 10 Click HERE for evaluation criteria.

Style

Rated R for pervasive language, some violence, sexuality/nudity (male shower scene, female topless) and minor drug use. Although the English tend to cuss quite a bit more freely than Americans it got old pretty fast. Both nude scenes were gratuitous, adding nothing to the story or atmosphere. There is also a fairly over-the-top groping scene that ended up being a decent juxtaposition with the horror of what was going on so that was acceptable.

Story

Four college students ditch a weekend field trip and hide out in an abandoned bomb shelter. Three are from the popular crowd and the fourth is a girl in love with one of the guys who is included only because her friend who set it all up (and who is in love with her) gets her in. The four get locked inside by the girl's friend who leaves them in there far past the allotted time and only she escapes death. The rest of the movie unravels the mystery of how this came to be.

[SPOILER WARNING!]

At first we are led to believe that the main girl's friend left them in there in an act of jealous cruelty. This does not, however, explain the murders. The girl isn't much help because she (I think - this part was unclear) could not, or would not, remember what happened. A psychologist tries to help her work it all out. The guy is then apprehended and gives a completely different story, implicating the girl. In the end we discover that in her obsession over the guy she let the others die in the bomb shelter one by one, only admitting that she had the key to get out all along once it is just down to her and her love interest - who then dies as well. She says all this to the psychologist but it is not recorded or in the presence of her parents and so cannot be admitted into court. She gets away with it (although this is not obvious without the deleted scenes).

Suppositions

Several plot holes and other storytelling devices gone awry make it difficult to really believe this story, but hey - weirder things have happened in this fallen world. The psychologist is completely oblivious to what is going on and no one seems to even question the girl's testimony - even when it implicates someone that cannot even be tied to the crime. It just does not come across well.

Significance

The message the movie sends is basically that obsession, even over a "good" thing can lead to great evil if left unchecked. This was implied, however, only by appealing to the obvious evil of what had been done. If someone with a low sense of morality were to view the film they might not get it. At the climax the evil is not dealt with and there are no repercussions other than the moral destruction of the villain (again, only implied).