Some directors are never out of the lime-light (Spielberg / Scorsese). Some directors have their one shot and are never heard from again (Marco Brambila / Steven Lisberger). Then there are the directors that have substantial careers, but you wish would just go away (Bryan Levant / Brett Ratner). And finally, there's the directors that you wish would keep getting A-list work, but struggle to convince the money men of their marketability and relevance to contemporary audiences.
One such director is Joe Dante, he of The Howling, Pirahna and Gremlins. Although his body of work is variable in quality (as it is with all directors), it never dips below a certain standard...maintaining his wit, style and signature no matter the script or subject matter. His latest film, The Hole, once again proves why Dante should still be working alongside the top ranking film directors working today.
The Hole is a kids adventure film, much in the style that Dante himself has dabbled with before with Explorers, Small Soldiers and Gremlins. Like that latter movie, The Hole crosses the line into adult entertainment; not sexy, pervy stuff but it has a dark creepiness that's normally reserved for horror films. Now, it being a PG-13 rating, this might not be entirely unexpected, but when you have a child-centric film about them finding a mysterious, bottomless hole in their basement you expect it to be more Disney than The Ring. And that's what this film feels like...an American adaptation of J-Horror...for kids. Creepy clown toys, freaky ghost children, hulking supernatural entities and an undefined menace that preys on the little 'uns.
Dante gets great performances out of his cast and sculpts the movie with his usual black humour and dynamic camera moves. If I'd have taken an under 12 to see this flick, in full blown 3D, in a movie theatre, I'd have been concerned for their chance of sleeping without nightmares that evening. But given the amount of skill, wit and sophistication that went into crafting a superior entertainment for kids...is it so wrong to freak the wee folk out?
