The Hole is a 2009 American 3D dark fantasy horror film directed by Joe Dante[5] and starring Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Nathan Gamble, Bruce Dern, and Teri Polo.

[6] The film follows Dane and Lucas Thompson, two brothers who move into their new house with their single mother, Susan.

Dane and Lucas, along with their new neighbor Julie Campbell, discover a trap door in the basement, leading to a bottomless pit, and accidentally unleash a supernatural force that manifests itself into any fear of the person who looks into the hole.

Over the next days, Lucas, who is afraid of clowns, finds a jester puppet in many locations, as if it is following him.

All three see the injured girl at the boys' home and follow her into the basement, where she crawls into the hole.

When they mention the hole, Carl berates them for releasing the evil inside and says that it will kill Dane.

That night, Dane sees a hand-shaped bruise on Lucas's leg, identical to a hand that Carl drew in the sketchbook.

He hears whistling and enters the kitchen to find an envelope addressed to him from the New Jersey State Penitentiary.

Julie decides to return to the amusement park where the accident occurred; Dane follows her, leaving Lucas alone.

The surroundings begin to crumble and the floor falls away, leaving Dane and his father trapped on an island below a ceiling fan.

In August 2007, it was announced Mark L. Smith had sold his script, The Hole, to be produced by Bold Films and BenderSpink.

[4] It had its United States debut screening at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco on October 7, 2011.

[22] The Hole was released in 3D in select theatres in Los Angeles and Atlanta on September 28, 2012, and was made available on DVD, Blu-ray, and video on demand (VOD) on October 2, 2012.

The site's consensus reads, "A welcome throwback to the suburban teen thrillers of the 1980s, The Hole is a scary, enjoyable return to form for director Joe Dante.