With last year’s HEREDITARY making such a big splash with both critics and audiences, everyone is on the lookout for the next great atmospheric horror movie to come out of Sundance this year. There seem to be two entries everyone is talking about right now, with one being THE HOLE IN THE GROUND, an Irish horror movie from Lee Cronin that got scooped up by A24 and DirecTV Cinema last month. The first trailer is here for the film, and it doesn’t take long for that eerie, bleak mood to set in and for the creepy at the center to start being, well, really creepy.
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Centering on a mother, Sarah (Seána Kerslake), trying to establish a new life for her and her son, she soon discovers a – you guessed it – giant hole in the ground in the woods around her home. Her son then begins to start acting very strangely, exhibiting unusual strength, contorting his body and developing a keen taste for delectable spiders. The trailer is certainly freaky and showcases a movie that takes the “creepy kid” angle to a new level. What it looks like is a fun horror movie that may not reinvent the wheel, but certainly has a fun time taking it for a spin and scaring us all in the process.
The movie had its debut at Sundance a few days ago and so far the reviews have been pretty good with an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, albeit with less than 10 reviews. It's also worth noting that none of the reviews seem to be over the moon, with many critics saying it’s not necessarily a ground-breaking entry, but rather one that’s simply a ton of scary fun and a movie that will send a shiver up our spines by playing with this particular subgenre. Does it also act as a cautionary tale about having kids? Well, that's up for you to decide.
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Also starring James Cosmo, Simone Kirby and more, THE HOLE IN THE GROUND hits theaters in Ireland on March 1, and likely in later 2019 for U.S. audiences.
Here's the synopsis:
Sarah and her young son Chris move to a new home in the Irish countryside, next to a forest that hides an enormous sinkhole. One night, Chris vanishes, and when he reappears, he seems unharmed and unchanged. But, as his behavior grows increasingly disturbing, Sarah begins to fear that the boy who has returned may not be her son at all.