Thora Birch Movie:

After the Hole [Region 2] Reviews:
Average with some redeeming parts
2009-11-08 - Overall, this was a generally enjoyable, but not outstanding movie. Its set in modern day Britain at an elitish boarding high school. Break rolls around, and a group of 4 decides to hole up in a bomb shelter with the help of a 5th friend. In the beginning of the movie, one of the 4 emerges bloody and apparently the victim of something gone horribly wrong. She is then interviewed, and what follows are alternate accounts of what actually occurred. Again, the movie was average. As a suspense flick, there really wasn't that much suspense, and the events unfold without much pop and pizazz. The acting was generally good, and I was surprised to find an early Keria Knightly involved as well. Its certainly worth a watch, but just don't expect to be blown away.

OK thriller keeps viewers guessing
2009-10-08 -
THE HOLE

(UK/France - 2001)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Super 35)
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Digital

A young girl (Thora Birch) is the sole survivor of a horrendous ordeal in which four overprivileged students from an exclusive boarding school were trapped for several weeks inside an underground bunker. Birch accuses a fellow student (Daniel Brocklebank) of locking them inside and leaving them to die, but Brocklebank provides another - even more sinister - version of events. Which one is lying?

Nick Hamm's low-key shocker is less a horror film than a study of psychological torment, as a group of foolhardy youngsters are caught up in a situation beyond their control. The inevitable explosions of violence are brief but potent, and the script (penned by debut writers Ben Court and Caroline Ip, based on Guy Burt's novel 'After the Hole') keeps viewers guessing about the villain's true identity until the proverbial last minute. Beautifully photographed by Denis Crossan (I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER), and crafted with expert precision by editor Niven Howie, THE HOLE maintains a genuine cinematic aesthetic, even though much of it takes place within the confined spaces of the bunker itself.

Featuring Desmond Harrington, Laurence Fox and Keira Knightley as Birch's fellow prisoners, Embeth Davidtz (THIR13EN GHOSTS) as a somewhat blinkered psychologist, and Steven Waddington (EDWARD II) as an ambitious detective rendered helpless by the web of lies conjured by his young suspects.


Very Dark "Hole"
2009-04-10 - I have to say I was rather impressed with this film...one of those that didn't really appear in theaters that I recall, but that I caught on cable one particularly drab weekend afternoon a few years ago and to this day I remember it well. It's a dark tale of teen love, err more like lust and sex, the neediness of belonging, and what people are willing to do or allow to happen when confronted with the opportunity to have what/who they want. You'll recognize a few faces including the one of the cover on the dvd, though her's isn't the main character. There are moments of poor acting/dialogue, however, the emotional reactions fuel and continue to feed into your paranoia and concern for all the characters in some way. All unravels as it should and in the end all you want is the guilty party to be put into the bunker to suffer for their selfish crime.

When Control Trumps Life...
2009-04-04 - Liz Dunn (the magnificent Thora Birch!) is the only survivor of a group of prep-school kids' secret gone horribly wrong. The four (including the delectible Keira Knightly!) decide to spend their time partying in a long-forgotten, underground bomb shelter rather than go to Wales w/ the rest of the students. It was supposed to be a fun way to get out of a class trip, but it turned into a lethal dungeon of suffocating madness. Liz and her friends are changed from free-sprited youths into starving, thirsty, utterly desperate prisoners. A police psychologist (Embeth Davidtz) attempts to unravel the mystery behind what actually happened in THE HOLE, only to find out that some things are better left buried. Ms. Birch is as understated as ever, carrying most of the movie herself. Some of her character's words are chilling, not so much for what she says, but for what's going on around her when she says them! Buy immediately...

The Hole
2009-02-15 - DVD was a little unsettling.
DVD arrived in a very timely fashion.
DVD arrived in excellent condition.