The Hole (2001)

I'm a bit of a sucker for B-movies that display some sort of style and point of view. Plus, Keira Knightley's been a bit of a crush of mine as long as I've been old enough to have crushes. Luckily, this movie was a great surprise to me because I found it really enjoyable, with a great electronic score and some twisty plot points. After a girl is found, disheveled and mentally and physically abused, an investigation is opened to find out what happened. The tale of the military bunker, The Hole of the title, is told in flashbacks, but is everything we're hearing the truth? I really loved the way the movie pulled you in with the opening moments, because you're left wondering how this girl came to be in such a state, and what happened to the others 3 kids with her. The directing is flashy, with some cool camera choices and a good use of the space in the bunker. You really feel like the place would be a fun getaway for these people, but it would also start to feel claustrophobic once you've been in there for longer than you want. They way the friends begin to turn on each other was realistic and scary.The acting from the leads is fantastic. I only know Thora Birch from American Beauty, but her accent here surprised me because although I'm not British I was impressed she did it well enough to have me check up where she's actually from. The two guys are good too, you feel their friendship and their hurt and frustrations when things go south. Keira's role and performance really surprised me. It was so fun to see her act closer to my own age and be a bit sexual because she's usually so mature and posh and dignified. It also confirms my belief that she's always been damn beautiful.Give this a try! I hope it sucks you in and surprises you in the same way it did for me.

I guess this is a fine example of the proverb "The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions", cause after the ending of this movie it can only lead deeper into Hell.As to the movie, not really what I expected but very suspenseful. The main character does make a chilling transformation from victim to perpetrator, yet all the time remaining a victim to itself. So it's true that evil is born out of an uncontrollable desire, whose need to be fulfilled blots out all reason and humanity, only the need counts and justifies all action. A good lesson here for everyone. Worth a watch.

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.

I have seen very few good horror or suspense flicks lately. I am beginning to think that almost no one is making such films these days."The Hole" is billed a thriller/horror flick. It is not. It could have been a drama or character study, if the writer had more ability. The cast is misused, as the dialog ranges from mediocre to downright poor.The unreliable narrator aspect, as other reviewers have mentioned (Kurosawa would NOT be pleased, as this flick takes the plot device and makes a muddled over long film a bit longer and more muddled) is no help.Spoilers follow. Thora Birch and Knightly actually are decent performers. This script does no one here any favors, certainly not them. The increasingly psychotic girlfriend or wife has been done much better, by abler writers and directors. For a better movie with a similar theme, watch "Presumed Innocent", or "Shattered" from 1991. Don't waste time with this.