The Hole in the Ground

MFC Review

The Hole in the Ground (2019) is an Irish horror film directed by Lee Cronin and starring James Seána Kerslake and Quinn Markey. It tells the story of Sara, a woman who begins to question the identity of her son, Chris and the connection between his strange behavior and a giant sinkhole located in the middle of the forest.

The film explores the relationship between mother and son in ways similar to those in other horror titles such as The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014) and uses Irish folklore to build an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Although the story falls into the same narrative pattern and the script seems rushed sometimes, the beautiful cinematography and powerful performances of the film make it to stand out over similar proposals.

The Hole in the Ground doesn’t depend on jumpscares or other common tricks of the genre to generate fear to the audience, it rather manages to maintain tension and suspense by means of a slow pace, stunning shots and sound atmospheres. While it is not a revolutionary film, it is a refreshing proposal in a genre that tends to reproduce the same format over and over again.

Learn more about the subgenres of horror cinema here

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