John and the Hole (2021)
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A disillusioned boy finds a hidden bunker and decides to trap his family inside to experience a self-styled version of adulthood.
The story
Thirteen-year-old John Shay lives a seemingly perfect life in a luxurious suburban home with his parents, Brad and Anna, and his older sister, Laurie. However, John feels disconnected and disillusioned by the pressures of his privileged existence. Seeking a sense of control and escape, he discovers a hidden bunker in a nearby forest. Driven by a mix of curiosity and rebellion, he devises a plan to drug his family members and imprison them in the bunker. Once they are trapped underground, John takes on a role of absolute authority over their lives, while the family members struggle to understand their new reality in the confined space.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Thirteen-year-old John Shay, feeling alienated by his affluent lifestyle, discovers a bunker in the woods and traps his family—parents Brad and Anna, and sister Laurie—inside it after drugging them. As weeks pass, the family's desperation grows while John enjoys a self-imposed 'adulthood,' even inviting a friend, Pete, to join him. Eventually, bored and missing his family, John provides them with a ladder to escape. Upon emerging, the family finds him face down in a pool; he is not dead but holding his breath. They choose to keep the event a secret, and the bunker is filled with dirt. The film concludes with a twist: the entire narrative is revealed to be a bedtime story being read by a mother, Gloria, to her daughter, Lily, ending with the mother's plan to abandon the girl.
- First release year
- 2021
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Pascual Sisto
- Writers
- Nicolás Giacobone · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Charlie Shotwell; Michael C. Hall; Jennifer Ehle; Taissa Farmiga
- Genres
- psychological thriller; coming-of-age drama
- Themes
- control; alienation; adulthood
- Tone and mood
- tense; chilling
- Setting
- A luxurious suburban home and a hidden bunker in a nearby forest.
- Premise and plot tags
- captivity; psychological thriller; coming-of-age
- Source material / true-story basis
- El Pozo
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 61 · scale: 100 · review count: 22
- Awards and nominations
- Prix de la Révélation · Deauville American Film Festival · 47th · won
- Production trivia
- The film was the directing debut of Pascual Sisto.; The soundtrack was composed by Italian composer Caterina Barbieri.; Principal photography took place in Massachusetts.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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