The Hole (2000) User Reviews

The Hole, a money pit?

[filmtalentagent · 3/10 · 4 October 2001]

Anyone who sees this film will notice that the makers threw a lot of money at this film. It's interesting they titled it "The Hole"! The production values are good for a short film. The hole tries to look big budget and does in some ways but is hampered by the video format it was shot on. I speculate if this was shot on 35mm it would look incredible and would elevate the content somewhat. Many hollywood movies look good and that's enough for an audience regardless of story and content.

My honest opinion, 3 out of 10 for this effort. Maybe Ishimoto's next film will deliver.

This short film had some funny moments but fails as a comedy

[maxymax · 3/10 · 22 July 2001]

This film had some funny moments. Louie, the main character was well cast along with some other decent supporting characters. The opening shot of the movie set the tone but the direction and story went downhill from there. Aside from a twist at the end (interesting and funny also), I wish this film had better direction and a more developed story. Without giving any of the plot away, the whole idea is better good! I just wish it was executed better in this short film. The potential was there but it just didn't deliver the goods.

Directed by the same Jin Ishimoto that put flixer...

[etv40 · 3/10 · 26 July 2001]

Directed by the same Jin Ishimoto that put Neoedision and flixer.com (a once promising online film community) temporarily out of business and off the net because of his directorial style and method of filmmaking on his next film GIRL'S BEST FRIEND.

THE HOLE suffers from this "look at me, I am a filmmaker" style of filmmaking that is becoming the near standard in today's hollywood, to the detriment of content.

THE HOLE actually starts out with a unique concept but that concept and the promise of captivating content soon is destroyed by the "look at me" directorial style of filmmaking.

There are some funny moments that still shine through the pretense but it is a painful short to watch.

How sad it is when the new breed of "filmmakers" choose not to be a servant to the story but rather try and dominant on and off screen. Heck, they don't care, as long as they get their studio deal, house on the beach and a new car, content and presentation are secondary issues.

The real sad part of all this is Hollywood embraces the "look at me" attitude so much that the whole aesthetic of filmmaking is changing. Rather than present a story in a straightforward way that puts the story first, today's directors are getting "experimental" i.e. "look at me".

Is it me or am I the only one that was really put off by Sena's opening minutes of SWORDFISH. That movie went on to rise above Sena's directorial attempts at "look at me" filmmaking, Unfortunately this short film by Mr. Ishimoto does not.

3 out of 10 rating from Elec Tv.

Good production value keeps you mildly interested in a poor film

[rockkit · 2/10 · 23 July 2001]

This is a poorly written and badly directed short film, pure and simple. What is interesting and keep me watching, to some extent, was the production values. Shot on video it appears, with a bad script and bad direction, one would think it would also have horrible production value. That is what the viewer expects when they watch a film that is terrible and shot on video. BUT Not in this case, they spent some money and it shows. It keep me very mildly interested to see what was coming next, just to see!

Probably the worst short film I have seen that looked big budget hollywood even though it was shot on some sort of video format.

Instead of spending the sum of money they must have spent for some rather impressive set design, it would have been nicer to see a better executed story with some good direction. But then again how can we expect new filmmakers to do this when even hollywood won't.

Poor direction on a premise that has limited potential.

[budsonic · 1/10 · 20 July 2001]

Poorly directed short "film" (shot on hi-def or betacam it appears). It screams student film/video all the way. The premise is limited in scope and the short actually feels a lot longer than it runs. Some interesting acting moments and some decent production value, but not enough to lift this film from "the hole" it has fallen into.

Unfunny, bad, "short film" (runs very long for a short)

[highdeal · 1/10 · 25 July 2001]

It is sad what they are letting into film festivals these days. I had to sit through over twenty minutes of this dreary short that wasn't funny at all to get a good seat for a feature film that I wanted to see at a local film festival. The festival planners paired this horrible short with a great feature. I am just glad the feature was good, otherwise I would have not been a very happy camper!

For a comedy short film it got no laughs. The title says it all.

The title says it all.

[TheFilmster · 1/10 · 5 August 2001]

This was an awful short film that tries to be funny in a dark way but wasn't funny at all. Say at a film festival in Chicago. It really is what the title says and I simply wasn't into it at all. The bad storytelling was what did it in. If you re-wrote it and re-shot it, it "might" work. This attempt fell in "the hole". Horrible filmmaking.

Poorly written, poorly directed, poor acting. Not much here.

[patdeart · 1/10 · 18 November 2001]

Really for a short film that looks high budget this is just a candy coated piece of cr*p. It tries so hard to be hollywood. But even hollywood stories have an okay story (sometimes). Money wasted on an effort to be hollywood. Waste of almost a half hour of any viewers time. For the short film buff, look elsewhere...

Works hard!

[girlstown · 2/10 · 31 October 2001]

This short film doesn't get there. Cliche' and not very funny attempt at dark humor. Humor isn't funny enough to get you interested and the protagonist isn't likeable so you really don't care about what happens anyway. Producer spent some money on this flop and it shows in the production value which is the only saving grace.

An entertaining short - well a longer short

[MoreMovies · 10/10 · 1 August 2001]

The film takes the main character through the rise from being a poor man into a rich man through his uncertain circumstance (think of the title!) - it's a strange black comedy with an interesting (somewhat predictable) end, but thoroughly enjoyable. Actors were funny - in odd sort of a way. Saw in the festival in Chicago. Reminded me little bit of Delicatessen (a French gem). It said this film was shot in HD, whatever that means, looked great on the big screen.

Ishimoto fails at comedy in this film.

[fastbabe · 1/10 · 5 August 2001]

Comedy is a hard beast to conquer. Ishimoto fails on all accounts, as a writer and director. Some things, like making movies that are funny, just need to be left to the professionals. 1 out of 10. Awful. It wasn't funny. I tried to laugh but it just wasn't funny. I wasn't the only one, no-one else at the Chicago festival was laughing either, at least at the showing I saw. Simply very bad, sorry :(

interesting, strange in a good way

[jesper-145 · 9/10 · 2 November 2007]

I don't know what you people are talking about.

I think the only problem here, is people like you, who sit with a checklist of what a good movie is suppose to be, while watching the movie, and check if it conforms to all your movie rules.

It is a indie film, with an interesting story, and I really enjoyed it. Both the story and the movie. Very interesting and important concept.

Don't expect more than what it is. Just sit back and enjoy it.

I recommend the movie to anyone. A bit of strangeness, a bit of comic, and a bit of environmental awareness.

It is clearly an independent and amateur movie, so don't expect anything else, and I thought the acting was good.

Well worth watching.

The hole is a funny, well written, well directed film.

[DianeAmbruso · 9/10 · 27 September 2001]

This is a must see. Twilight Zone fans would enjoy this film highly. A very funny, dark look at today's society and the environmental issues we face. Well written, well directed, great acting, set design and incredible production values make this a winner. The ending has a unique twist. Watch it.

A very cool film that's actually about something.

[Joseph Abronson · 9/10 · 1 August 2001]

The Hole is a neat little comedy set in a twisted dark world, maybe our own future? It starts out small, as a rather unlikeable man discovers a bottomless hole in his backyard, and the story grows from there, along with the man's ego...Rod Serling would have dug this one.

A very enjoyable comic short

[batty-1 · 10/10 · 13 August 2001]

This is one of those cases where I see the low #'s given to a movie on imdb & just can't understand what people are so critical about. I stumbled upon this movie while browsing. Simply put, I really enjoyed this comic short. I thought that it had a very interesting story, liked the look of the picture & thought it had some fine acting in it. Extra marks go out for a fine effort by the crew, because being an independent short, I'm sure it didn't have the biggest of budgets. I'd really like to see the other movie listed on the director's bio ("A Girl's Best Friend"). I highly recommend you check this lil' movie out.

Dark Comedy about a hole is a really good movie.

[MarkBurnett · 10/10 · 23 September 2001]

I was very impressed with the film despite some bad commentary on this website. I don't know why some people seem to hate this - but I enjoyed it. I wish my kids could have seen it - it really tells something about our human nature and the world environment.

Entertaining with a nice social message

[adamchrystie · 13 February 2002]

This short was entertaining with a bit of dark humour that I liked. Nice production value for low budgeted project. It also has a relevent social message which I always enjoy finding in a movie.