[Sundance Review] 'The Hole in the Ground' Rewards Patience with a Killer Premise - Bloody Disgusting
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[Sundance Review] ‘The Hole in the Ground’ Rewards Patience with a Killer Premise

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5 years ago

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Matt Donato wrote a terrific piece last year about a trend in films of using genre to explore parenthood and its very real horrors, and 2019 continues that trend with A24’s newest horror acquisition, The Hole in the Ground. Outstanding performances, creepy characters and exploring the fear of seeing your child change beyond recognition are all elements you can look forward to in Lee Cronin’s feature debut, as long as you can sit through an uninspiring first half hour.

Sarah (Seána Kerslake) is trying to start fresh by relocating with her son Chris (James Quinn Markey) to the Irish countryside, possibly to get as far ahead from an abusive husband, because everyone knows moving to an isolated house in the forest always turns up okay. The sight of an elderly man standing in the middle of the road looking creepy as hell probably doesn’t help.

Even if the forest looks sinister and the townspeople don’t inspire confidence, as least the mother-son relationship makes you think of The Babadook, only way happier and harmless. Chris has trouble adjusting and making friends, and he is a bit detached, he loves his mom and Sarah loves and cares for him.

Like many normal, non-creepy kids, Chris likes to play outside, despite his mother’s wishes. One day he runs off to the woods for a few hours. Before finding Chris, Sarah stumbles upon the titular hole in the ground, which in reality looks more like a gigantic crater in the middle of the forest. When Chris finally turns up back in the house, he says he never left. Maybe he’s just acting up and entering a rebellious stage, or maybe the hole actually did something to him. And maybe, just maybe, the old woman that wonders off to the middle of the forest and believes her son was replaced by an impostor isn’t as crazy as the rest of the town seems to think.

[Related] Read all of our Sundance reviews and coverage here!

Director Lee Cronin takes full advantage of the beautiful and naturally creepy landscapes of rural Ireland to create an eerie atmosphere that, together with exquisite sound design and Stephen McKeown hellish score is enough to terrify you before anything happens in the film. Unfortunately, that’s exactly where the film’s biggest problem lies. What some people refer to as “elevated horror” most times ends up being horror films that take their time and use slow pace to build an atmosphere of dread.

The Hole in the Ground tries to do the same but ends up with a first half hour that is almost unbearably dull. It is not until the crazy old lady’s theories come up that the film picks up the pace. You know the feeling when someone is acting just a tiny bit out of the ordinary and you immediately think they are “not quite themselves”? The best part of The Hole in the Ground explores this paternal fear of not being able to recognize what your children and growing into, how they can go from sweet little angels into hell spawn that hate you in a moment. Kerslake does a terrific job at selling a mother’s despair at the thought that something happened to her son, while also portraying the descent into chaos as she starts questioning her sanity. Meanwhile, James Quinn Markey is a standout as Chris, a boy cut from the same creepy children cloth as Damien in The Omen and Macaulay Culkin in The Good Son, even if he doesn’t appear immediately creepy. You might think he’s an angel, and even Sarah doubts her theory, trying to rationalize his new behavior as something not supernatural, but then he does something weird that will keep you guessing.

The Hole in the Ground doesn’t hide its influences, from the more obvious like The Babadook, to a wallpaper that looks eerily similar to the rugs in the Overlook Hotel, to even a pinch of The Descent. But just as the film starts picking up the pace and introduce new ideas that will keep you on the edge of your seat, it rushes through the plot in what feels like 10 minutes. After waiting for the real fun to start, it is disappointing that the film doesn’t savor in what makes it special.

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‘The Blair Witch Project’ – Original Stars Release a Statement Asking Lionsgate for Residuals & Recognition

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April 21, 2024

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Officially announced by Blumhouse and Lionsgate earlier this month, a reboot of The Blair Witch Project is currently in the works, which will be the third follow-up to the original found footage horror classic that changed the game back in 1999. In the wake of the announcement, the original creators and stars have each issued joint statements this weekend.

The Blair Witch Project was created by filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez – along with Haxan Films creative partners Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie and Michael Monello – back in the 1990s, with stars Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard heading out into the woods of Maryland to conjure up horror magic together.

The actors largely improvised their performances and even used their real names in the movie, with the film’s clever viral marketing campaign leading many to believe that they weren’t actually actors in a movie, but rather real people who truly went missing out in the woods.

All this to say, Donahue, Williams and Leonard are collectively a huge part of why The Blair Witch Project became a pop culture phenomenon, and all these years later they’re looking for some recognition from Lionsgate, the current rights holders of the iconic property.

As Joshua Leonard first explained in a Facebook post on April 11, “I’m so proud of our little punk-rock movie, and I LOVE the fans who keep the flames burning. But at this point, it’s 25 years of disrespect from the folks who’ve pocketed the lion’s share (pun intended) of the profits from OUR work, and that feels both icky and classless.”

Here’s the full statement issued by the three actors this weekend…

OUR ASKS OF LIONSGATE (From Heather, Michael & Josh, stars of The Blair Witch Project):

1. Retroactive + future residual payments to Heather, Michael and Josh for acting services rendered in the original BWP, equivalent to the sum that would’ve been allotted through SAG-AFTRA, had we had proper union or legal representation when the film was made.

2. Meaningful consultation on any future Blair Witch reboot, sequel, prequel, toy, game, ride, escape room, etc… , in which one could reasonably assume that Heather, Michael & Josh’s names and/or likenesses will be associated for promotional purposes in the public sphere.

Note: Our film has now been rebooted twice, both times were a disappointment from a fan/box office/critical perspective. Neither of these films were made with significant creative input from the original team. As the insiders who created the Blair Witch and have been listening to what fans love & want for 25 years, we’re your single greatest, yet thus-far unutilized secret-weapon!

3. “The Blair Witch Grant”: A 60k grant (the budget of our original movie), paid out yearly by Lionsgate, to an unknown/aspiring genre filmmaker to assist in making their first feature film. This is a GRANT, not a development fund, hence Lionsgate will not own any of the underlying rights to the project.

The following public statement has also been issued by the original movie’s filmmakers, Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie and Michael Monello…

“As we near the 25th anniversary of The Blair Witch Project, our pride in the storyworld we created and the film we produced is reaffirmed by the recent announcement of a reboot by horror icons Jason Blum and James Wan.

“While we, the original filmmakers, respect Lionsgate’s right to monetize the intellectual property as it sees fit, we must highlight the significant contributions of the original cast — Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Mike Williams. As the literal faces of what has become a franchise, their likenesses, voices, and real names are inseparably tied to The Blair Witch Project. Their unique contributions not only defined the film’s authenticity but continue to resonate with audiences around the world.

“We celebrate our film’s legacy, and equally, we believe the actors deserve to be celebrated for their enduring association with the franchise.

“Sincerely, Eduardo Sanchez, Dan Myrick, Gregg Hale, Robin Cowie, and Michael Monello.”

If you’d like to support the cause, sharing and amplifying is the way to go. You’ll find the original post for Heather, Michael and Josh’s statement below, which can be shared to your feed.

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