The Hole in 3D

In the 80s, Director Joe Dante gave us some of the most fondly remembered films of the decade with the likes of Gremlins and its sequel and Inner Space. From there on it was downhill and The Hole marks his first cinema release since 2003's rather less fondly remembered Looney Tunes Back in Action.

Its the kind of child-friendly horror that should be just right for him and whilst it maybe lacks something of the anarchic fun and genius of Gremlins, its good enough to make it a welcome return.

The plot has a lot of familiar elements - single parent family move to a new house, where the children discover something mysterious (in this case a seemingly bottomless hole in the basement floor) and when they leave it open, strange things start to appear. Rather than running screaming back to the big city, like normal kids might, movie kids, of course, decide to explore things further.

The three kids (Nathan Gamble, Chris Massoglia and Hayley Bennett as the neighbour) all do a solid enough job without a breakout turn. (It is a sign of how things have moved on from the 80s that the girl is often the one who takes the lead (at least until the end sequence)and is least phased by things - a refreshing absence of screaming). That said, Bruce Dern can teach them all a thing or two with his crazy old man act. The effects are well done, although the 3D yet again fails to add much. There are some real jumps and scares pitched at just the right level to frighten children (as they want to be frightened0 but not enough to give them nightmares. It also goes to a pleasingly surrealist places in the final act when they enter the hole.

A word of warning - if you really do have a phobia of clowns, you're best avoiding.

Overall - 6.5/10 A solid family-friendly horror, lifted by a more interesting ending