The Hole uses new state-of-the-art 3D technology to infuse a tired storyline with new life.
The Hole presents your standard horror film plot: a family moves into a new house and discovers that their home sweet home holds a terrible secret. The secret in this case, is a hole, as the title suggests. Padlocked and forgotten, the hole leads to a seemingly vast emptiness. What the black hole contains is rendered delightfully creepy by the use of new 3D Dolby Digital technology, providing some genuinely scary moments.
With tired plot conventions aside, the real attraction of The Hole is the aforementioned 3D. The movie had its North American premiere at TIFF, after picking up the Venice Film Festival’s first ever 3D award for technical innovation. The Dolby Digital 3D technology was developed for the long-awaited and much anticipated new film by James Cameron, Avatar. The audience was told the expensive mirrored glasses cost $150 a pop, and theatre-goers were instructed to hand their glasses in if they left the theatre for a bathroom break. And yes, the glasses actually fit pretty comfortably over regular prescription lenses.
Director Joe Dante of Gremlins- yes, Gremlins- fame, is no stranger to subject matter about the bizarre things that happen in Suburban America. It is a subject he has visited with the Gremlins movies, in films such as The ‘burbs, and during his stint directing episodes of the short-lived TV show “Eerie, Indiana.” The Hole is entirely filmed in 3D. Instead of playing with a lot of in-your-face 3D with objects coming towards the screen for cheap thrills, Dante instead focuses on the use of depth to stage his scenes. By not resorting to simple tricks, Dante shows his skill for staging in the third dimension. Here, the use of depth ups the creepiness factor by making the viewer feel that they are experiencing the scene first hand. The use of 3D is really the only reason to go see The Hole, and without 3D, the film will suffer by comparison in later DVD releases. Without it, the film is predictable and lacks as much substance as a horror film could have. Rated only 14A, The Hole doesn’t have any blood, guts, or gore, and borders on being family friendly as the main characters are children, and there isn’t any real violence to be seen.
Even though The Hole relies on a few too many conventions, like creepy little girls in bloody dresses and terrifying clown dolls, the use of the 3D adds a fresh spin to things. The novelty of watching a horror film with high production values elevates what would have been your standard B movie with cheap thrills turns The Hole into an enjoyable film, no matter how predictable the plot line is.
The Hole presents your standard horror film plot: a family moves into a new house and discovers that their home sweet home holds a terrible secret. The secret in this case, is a hole, as the title suggests. Padlocked and forgotten, the hole leads to a seemingly vast emptiness. What the black hole contains is rendered delightfully creepy by the use of new 3D Dolby Digital technology, providing some genuinely scary moments.
With tired plot conventions aside, the real attraction of The Hole is the aforementioned 3D. The movie had its North American premiere at TIFF, after picking up the Venice Film Festival’s first ever 3D award for technical innovation. The Dolby Digital 3D technology was developed for the long-awaited and much anticipated new film by James Cameron, Avatar. The audience was told the expensive mirrored glasses cost $150 a pop, and theatre-goers were instructed to hand their glasses in if they left the theatre for a bathroom break. And yes, the glasses actually fit pretty comfortably over regular prescription lenses.
Director Joe Dante of Gremlins- yes, Gremlins- fame, is no stranger to subject matter about the bizarre things that happen in Suburban America. It is a subject he has visited with the Gremlins movies, in films such as The ‘burbs, and during his stint directing episodes of the short-lived TV show “Eerie, Indiana.” The Hole is entirely filmed in 3D. Instead of playing with a lot of in-your-face 3D with objects coming towards the screen for cheap thrills, Dante instead focuses on the use of depth to stage his scenes. By not resorting to simple tricks, Dante shows his skill for staging in the third dimension. Here, the use of depth ups the creepiness factor by making the viewer feel that they are experiencing the scene first hand. The use of 3D is really the only reason to go see The Hole, and without 3D, the film will suffer by comparison in later DVD releases. Without it, the film is predictable and lacks as much substance as a horror film could have. Rated only 14A, The Hole doesn’t have any blood, guts, or gore, and borders on being family friendly as the main characters are children, and there isn’t any real violence to be seen.
Even though The Hole relies on a few too many conventions, like creepy little girls in bloody dresses and terrifying clown dolls, the use of the 3D adds a fresh spin to things. The novelty of watching a horror film with high production values elevates what would have been your standard B movie with cheap thrills turns The Hole into an enjoyable film, no matter how predictable the plot line is.
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