The Hole (2001)

Great Film overall

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Attractive (but possibly cast as plain) British private school student Thora Birch (as Elizabeth "Liz" Dunn) wanders into the halls looking bloody awful. She lets out an ear-piercing scream. As it turns out, Ms. Birch and three other teenagers have been missing. Reporters calmly tell us they've been found; their manner is more of a cheat than a relief, as it turns out. In flashback, we learn Birch wants to hook up with handsome jock Desmond Harrington (as Michael "Mike" Steel). She arranges to be locked up with him in a bomb shelter near their school, thinking the close quarters will lead to copulation...Birch's childhood friend, nerdy-acting Daniel Brocklebank (as Martyn Taylor), plays a key role. Joining Birch and her prospective mate in the bomb shelter are sexy blond on blonde friends Laurence Fox (as Geoffrey "Geoff" Bingham) and Keira Knightley (as Frances "Frankie" Smith). Both have showy nude scenes; she flashes her teenage top and he has a long shower scene with the guys. Desperately needed psychological help is provided by Embeth Davidtz (as Philippa Horwood). What happened in "The Hole" is a point-of-view mystery, with Birch and Brocklebank more satisfying than the solution.***** The Hole (4/20/01) Nick Hamm ~Thora Birch, Desmond Harrington, Daniel Brocklebank, Laurence Fox

"The Hole" was recommended to me by a friend who read my review for the film "Cry Wolf". She said I'd like it, and she was right on the spot. While this is only my opinion, I think The Hole is a great film.Indeed, like "Cry Wolf", "The Hole" is more of a psychological Thriller than Horror. It doesn't have Slasher style chase, gruesome murders or gore, and there is very little blood. Instead, this film keeps you confused and guessing, enough to have multiple debates here on IMDb as to which parts are real and which aren't. The Hole is about deception and misleading, both for the protagonists and us the spectators.The acting is very good, not only by Thora Birch (lovely as always) but by the entire cast. Very smart screen writing, good enough to make me want to get my hands on the novel by which the film is inspired. You won't know what has really happened until the end, and even then some parts remain debatable. This film shows again that a change in perspective can change everything, even when you think you have things figured out.All in all, while not a masterpiece, The Hole is very enjoyable and definitely worth watching!

Another wicked from the Uk directors....Its a sort of a movie, where you love and hate the characters, I loved Keira and hated the main girl (dont know her name)..that is the strength of a movie where you start liking or hating the character...I have only issues with the title, had it been "The Bitch"...I would've given it 10stars...good movie with a good predictable twist.... I wonder where all those good Brit Flicks have gone, my fav actor Danny dyer and Keira are not much seen in the Brit Flicks as I believe that Uk cinema is very real and close to the reality unlike the Hollywood which is full of CGI and same stories that are much larger than life, where as Brit cinema is very close to everyday routine we witness around us..

Rather unpleasant but gripping story of four teen-aged school kids trapped in an old underground bunker in the kind of "densely wooded area" where all dead bodies are found.The kids have been trying to escape a field trip to Wales and entered the bunker with plenty of booze, planning a three-day debauch. Parties, however, can't last forever, as I've had opportunities to discover, and after the first night they're hung over and, to add to their misery, the iron door at the top of the bunker slams shut and is locked.Three days later, Thora Birch, the lone survivor, stumbles into the arms of the authorities, in shock, her clothing ripped. The three bodies are removed from the vault and Birch tells her sad tale to the shrink, Embeth Davidtz. The story of what happened emerges in several flashbacks as Birch gradually loosens up. I guess I won't reveal the details, due to legal confidentiality.The movie depends largely on Thora Birch and she's quite good as the sullen but conniving school outcast, cum murderess. She plain, but not too plain -- just plain enough to pass for an outcast, and her grooming is semi-Goth. The two horny boys are dispensable. Kiera Knightley is a stunning and flirtatious fox who oozes oestrus. Next to her, anybody would look plain. Both boys throw themselves on her and almost get his jeans off but not quite, worse luck. Too bad, what happens to her.Neither of the young girls is quite as attractive -- not JUST sexy -- as Embeth Davidtz, the earnest and puzzled shrink who is trying to make sense out of this jigsaw puzzle tale. Her Brit accent sounds flawless to my alien ears. Davidtz was born in Indiana but was moved at an early age to South Africa and I suppose that helped. By the end, the cunning Birch has turned suspicion towards Davidtz.If there's a problem with the movie it's that the milieu -- that awful and decrepit underground bunker -- is so dismal. What a depressing place to spend a three-day holiday. And the decor is a catastrophe. The toilets don't work and one of them winds up filled with maggots.I watched it with curiosity and some interest but I wouldn't go through it again.