But does it have that films bite?
Seven years after his last cinematic outing, 2003sLooney Tunes: Back In Action,Joe Dante is back.
To some, that may not mean much.
Hardly a prolific output.
But in the 80s, Dante was king.
AlthoughDisturbiamay be a closer match in terms of plot.
Here, its simply writ large and a little less subversive.
But this being, you know, for kids, its never that scary.
Save for a terrifically creepy bathroom scene, its horror wrapped in cotton wool.
Even the kids dont feel that worried by their plight.
Youve got a gateway to Hell under your house, one says, and that is really cool.
Gone are the terrified inhabitants ofGremlins snow-lined streets.
In their place we have blase, precocious teens who oscillate between curious and nonchalant.
In that sense, it lacks the Dante bite of old.
WhereSmall Soldierswas a kids movie for adults,The Holeis just a kids movie.
But its a pretty good one, at that.
Thats the biggest appeal ofThe Hole.
It may be Dante-lite, but its still Dante.
And its great to have him back.
Rating:
3 out of 5
