The Hole in the Ground (2019)
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A mother begins to suspect that her son's disturbing behavior is linked to a mysterious sinkhole and the otherworldly beings who dwell within it.
The story
Sarah O’Neill and her shy, arachnophobic son Christopher move to the Irish countryside. After a car accident involving an old woman named Noreen Brady, Sarah begins to notice disturbing changes in her son's behavior. While Sarah's friends recount local legends about Noreen's belief that her son was an impostor, Sarah becomes increasingly convinced that something is wrong. She begins to monitor Chris's behavior, only to find him acting with uncharacteristic strength and developing strange new interests, leading her to fear that her son may have been replaced by something else.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Sarah O’Neill and her son Christopher move to the Irish countryside, where they are involved in a car accident with an old woman, Noreen Brady. After Noreen's death, Sarah learns the local rumor that Noreen believed her son was an impostor. Sarah soon notices Chris exhibiting strange behaviors, such as uncharacteristic strength and eating a spider. Convinced he is not her son, Sarah monitors him with a hidden camera and eventually confronts him. The imposter Chris attacks her and tries to bury her head in the ground, but she manages to trap him in the basement using a mirror to reveal his inhuman form. Sarah flees to a nearby sinkhole where she finds the real Chris among many formless creatures. They escape together as one creature takes Sarah's form. The film ends with Sarah and Chris starting a new life in an apartment filled with mirrors, where Sarah takes a photo of Chris that shows a blurred face.
- First release year
- 2019
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- Belgium; Finland; Ireland; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Lee Cronin
- Writers
- Lee Cronin · writer; Stephen Shields · writer
- Cast and characters
- Seána Kerslake · Sarah O'Neill; James Cosmo · Des Brady; Kati Outinen · Noreen Brady; Simone Kirby · Louise Caul; Steve Wall · Rob Caul; James Quinn Markey · Chris O'Neill; Eoin Macken · Jay Caul; David Crowley · Teacher 1
- Genres
- supernatural horror; psychological horror; folk horror
- Themes
- parental fear; identity; supernatural
- Tone and mood
- horror; supernatural
- Setting
- Irish countryside
- Premise and plot tags
- parenting; children; supernatural
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Pit (1981)
- Reception
- The film received generally positive reviews, with a consensus that it effectively exploits parental fears despite a lack of originality.
- Production trivia
- The film is a semi re-make of the 1981 Canadian horror film The Pit.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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