4) The Hole (2001)
I’ve watched The Hole three times now and it never lets me down. There are slicker thrillers out there with bigger budgets and perhaps bigger ambition, but not many have the delicious set up, or the ability to sustain the run time.
The premise? Four friends decide they want to enjoy a weekend in solitude, away from the school camp they’re supposed be attending. The venue for their drug-fueled party is an abandoned war bunker, which a friend of a friend holds the key to.
But then disaster strikes and the hole becomes a nightmare, leaving the young cast to confront their worst fears. Led by Thora Birch of American Beauty fame, the cast is fantastic, and includes a teenage Keira Knightley, a bedeviling Desmond Harrington and Daniel Brocklebank, who’s perfect in his role of the upper crust English bad boy.
I like my thrillers taut, and with its four leading characters and supporting act, The Hole is as taut as they come. Fans of the twist ending will be in for a treat and even if you don’t like this one as much as me, chances are you won’t regret digging it out of the DVD archives.