Every Haunting Hour Ever #32: The Hole

Season: 2
Episode: 10
Original Airdate: December 3, 2011
Director: Peter DeLuise 

Ladies and gentlemen, can you believe that I'm more than halfway done with season 2? I honestly thought this season had at least 20 episodes but when looking at the list of episodes of this season, I found out that there a little less than that. Anyway, from what I understand, this episode seems to take place in Centralia 2.0 with a pesky sinkhole that just keeps popping up from time to time but let's look at the plot to make sure. 

Rob (Braeden Lemasters) and Carrie (Ava Hughes)'s family move to a new house when strange things start to happen. They play catch in the back yard and find a big hole with a picture of a family in front of a car and lose their ball. Rob decides to investigate and video tape the hole during the night. When Rob and Carrie watch the video they see a man with his family telling them that they eat together and later throws a grill at the camera. They use the car's license plate in the photo and find out the man's family died in a car wreck. They show their mom, but she doesn't believe them. All of a sudden, a picture breaks with their father's face scratched out. The ghost takes their mom and tries to drag her into the hole. Rob and Carrie save her but their dad gets sucked in instead. He later emerges and they all have lunch together. Their dad wears the same shirt as the man in the video. The kids try to leave but the man says they eat as a family, symbolizing that the ghost possessed their father. 

One of the things I noticed about the episode is that you really need to pay attention to the episode or else you'll have difficulty understanding what's going on. But honestly, that's what I really like about this episode. I like how it doesn't need to spoon-feed the audience its plot and treats its audience with respect, even if the target demographic for this show is children. Because the episode requires you to pay attention, it also encourages the audience to get invested in what they're watching. This plot is made more effective by its solid writing and heavy atmosphere.

The other thing I like about this episode is the acting from Ava Hughes as Carrie. From what I've seen, she's a very talented actress and her talent is shown really well here. She's the character that I got the most invested in and I really wanted to see her get through the situation and her family were put in. 

However, the Achilles heel of this episode is definitely the ending. To me, its seems like the ending is supposed to be very impactful with a loved one's personality being stolen but it just doesn't deliver as much as it wants to. I think this comes from the fact that the climax where the dad climbs out of the hole when he gets sucked in without much issue is very... well... Anti climactic. When I came up to this part of the episode, I actually sat there thinking to myself, "Really? That's it? That's the amount of danger you're going to put the father in?" To me, it seems like something you'd see in something that's parodying a horror movie and it feels silly and out of place. 

Overall, The Hole is a mixed bag. On the one hand, the episode really hits its out of the park in certain areas and it does seem to respect its target audience. On the other hand, it really drops the ball in the climax and ending and I really felt that these elements really hold the episode back from living up to its full potential. Granted it's not the worst episode I've seen (*cough* Pool Shark *cough*), but it's not one that I'll be watching over and over again. 

Overall Grade: C