The Hole in the Ground focuses on Sarah O’Neill, played by Seana Kerslake, a young woman who moves to there countryside with her son Chris, played by James Quinn Markey. After an argument one day, Chris runs off and disappears, although shows back up not too long after. However, his behavior becomes increasingly more disturbing, and Sarah begins to suspect that the child who returned to her is not the same child who originally disappeared.
Like a few other horror movies released this year, this is once again another entry into the “creepy child” subgenre, and this follows nearly all the same beats as movies such as The Prodigy or Brightburn. The child was once kind and caring, but now talks back to the parent. The child never used to harm a fly, and now he’s showing more increasingly violent behavior. There were things the child never used to like doing, but now all of a sudden he likes doing them.
The characterization in this film is really weak as it just hits a lot of the same points that just about every other movie before it hit. There’s even the obligatory horror trope of the weird neighbor - here played by Kati Outinen - who directly tells Sarah that her son is no longer the same person, and she’s viewed as simply being crazy. The film really lacks an original bone in its body, and the fact that it’s such a copy-and-paste from other horror movies can be extremely distracting.
Despite its extremely obvious issues, it’s not a total waste of time. If anything, this proved to be a great acting exercise, as the cast does a very good job with the material. Children in horror movies tend to be something of a mixed bag, which is mainly due to poor direction more so than the child actor’s actual performance. While they’re meant to be taken seriously, they usually come off as corny and unintentionally over-the-top, and it’s never always easy to believe these characters as a credible threat.
But James Quinn Markey does a great job with the material, and he never really overdoes it here. There’s enough confidence in his voice that make him sound convincing, so he never really has to say too much in order to sell just how evil terrifying he’s supposed to be. And he plays really well off Seana Kerslake, who goes through a wide range of emotions in this film, but always tries keeping herself calm and collected. She tries to hide the pain as she attempts to come to terms with the fact that her son may be long gone, and the moments of her internally struggling with this as she attempts to process certain pieces of information are really well done. It’s easy to believe her as a real person and she does a great job carrying most of this move.
In terms of atmosphere, this film also hits all the right notes. This is director Lee Cronin’s first feature film, though the way in which the suspense is built up here, one would think this was coming from a more seasoned horror director. The film isn’t reliant on CGI or jump scares, and instead Cronin goes more for slow-burning build-ups and a haunting soundtrack to get his scares across. And while it’s consistently effective, it’s especially engaging once the film goes into its final act, which is the most tense portion of the film. Cronin is someone who knows what he’s doing and with a more original screenplay, he should have no problems going on to become known as one of the best names in the genre in the years to come.
The Hole in the Ground feels like an exercise for its talented cast and crew, more than anything. It’s fairly enjoyable to watch thanks to the strong acting talents of Seana Kerslake and James Quinn Markey, and it does a great job at building up suspense thanks to Lee Cronin’s excellent direction. However, the fact that it’s so blatantly unoriginal tends to be distracting, as it feels like a retread of every other “creepy child” horror movie, especially many of the films made in recent years, hitting just about all the same beats as those movies. Diehard horror fans will probably enjoy this, and while the good does balance out the bad, it may not be enough for some.
Recommendation: Proceed With Caution
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