Directed by Joe Dante. Starring Chord Overstreet, Teri Polo, Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Bruce Dern, Nathan Gamble, Ali Cobrin, Dick Miller, Quinn Lord, Jessica Just, John DeSantis, Chelsea Ricketts, Merritt Patterson, Peter Shinkoda and Stephanie Wilcox. Horror, USA, 92 mins, Cert 12

Released 17th January on DVD (RRP £19.99)/ Blu-Ray (RRP £24.99)

When Brothers Dane (Chris Massoglia) and Lucas (Nathan Gamble) move from the big city to a very quiet town, they find it extremely boring. However things start to get interesting when the brothers discover a bottomless hole in their basement. The brothers soon befriend the cute but tough, girl next door, Julie (Haley Bennett.) After showing her the bottomless hole she encourages them to investigate further, before deciding it was ‘a gateway to hell.’

The hole, in fact, showed them their worst fears. After realising they could not see into the hole and that it’s impossible to find the bottom, they decided to forget about it. Once experiencing paranormal activity, it didn’t take them long to realise it had something to do with the hole. When they looked into the hole, it brought their worst fears to life, forcing them to “face their fears”. Despite their efforts to relock and block up the hole, their worst nightmares constantly came back to haunt them. The only way they can get rid of the characters their fears bring them, is to overcome it. Throughout the film, Dane denies he has a fear, it isn’t until he figures out the puzzle from his sketch book that he realises what his only fear is. This takes Lucas into the hole where Dane has to rescue him and overcome his fear in order to escape and get back to the surface.

Whilst family thrillers aren’t a common sub-genre of horror, they definitely should be. Horror is a very enjoyable genre and should be made more accessible and appropriate for children, as well as adults. It’s not the gore and violence that a lot of horrors are nowadays, but nonetheless, it is scary. The creepiest thing about it is the crawling into the hole which is done in a very similar way to the film ‘The Ring.’ Also you can’t go wrong with talking dolls and creepy dead girls. It’s a film you can watch as a family and even young children could enjoy. Don’t let the 12A rating or family thriller genre put you off, most children will not find it too scary and most adults will not find it too boring. Dante (Director) managed to balance the horror and make it suitable for everyone.

Not only is the horror portrayed well for a family, but so are the characters. They’re all realistic characters, and relatable for the modern day family; a divorced mother, arguing brothers and an awkward teenage crush. None of the characters, not even the females, are shown as the stereotypical vulnerable characters that horrors have. However this is one of the only things that makes it different from the majority of horror films out there and could be considered slightly predictable with the plot. It’s not the most original film ever and could have had a much more interesting storyline.

My favourite thing about the film is that it’s not too serious, and also features some comedy moments for children and adults. Moments such as the brothers arguing and the talking clown doll, bring laughs to the room. However my least favourite thing was the ending. It felt a bit rushed and ended unnecessarily early. The escape from the hole could have been made far more exciting by expanding on the fight, or even explaining to us why the hole exists.

The film is not a must see, unless you’re an easily scared 12 year old, but it sure is watchable. If you’re looking for a film that’s a little bit different and suitable for the whole family, I think you’ve found it

Megan Hunt.

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