''John and the Hole'' is a 2021 American

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

psychological thriller film directed by

Pascual Sisto Pascual Sisto (born 1975, Ferrol, Spain, Ferrol, Spain) is a Spanish filmmaker and visual artist. His works were exhibited in international galleries and museums, such as the Pompidou Center, the Schindler House#MAK Center for Art and Architecture ...

and written by

Nicolás Giacobone Nicolás Giacobone is an Argentine writer and screenwriter. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the 2014 film '' Birdman'' at the 87th Academy Awards in 2015. He wrote a book of short stories ''Algún Cristo'' (2001), and ...

. A feature-length adaptation of Giacobone's short story, ''El Pozo'', the film stars

Charlie Shotwell Charlie Shotwell (born July 17, 2007) is an American actor. He started acting professionally at the age of six. His first notable role being the young Nai Cash in the 2016 comedy-drama film ''Captain Fantastic (film), Captain Fantastic'' for whic ...

Michael C. Hall Michael Carlyle Hall (born February 1, 1971) is an American actor and singer best known for his roles as Dexter Morgan, the titular character in the Showtime series ''Dexter,'' and David Fisher in the HBO drama series '' Six Feet Under.'' Thes ...

, Jennifer Ehle, and Taissa Farmiga. The film revolves around a boy who discovers an unfinished bunker in the neighboring woods of his home. The film was selected for the official selection of the

2020 Cannes Film Festival The 73rd annual Cannes Film Festival was scheduled to take place from 12 to 23 May 2020. On 13 January 2020, Spike Lee was named as the president of the Jury. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, festival management announced on 14 ...

and had its world premiere at the

2021 Sundance Film Festival The 2021 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 28 to February 3, 2021. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 15, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, the festival combined in-person screenings at the Ray ...

on January 29, 2021. It was released on August 6, 2021, by

IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its S ...

Plot

John comes from an affluent family, living in a luxurious suburban home with his parents, Brad and Anna, and his older sister, Laurie. On the surface, John's life appears picture-perfect, but deep inside, he feels disconnected and disillusioned. Seeking escape from the pressures and expectations of his privileged existence, John stumbles upon a hidden bunker in the nearby woods. Intrigued and drawn to the idea of control and power, he devises a chilling plan. Driven by a mix of curiosity, rebellion, and a desire to assert control, John decides to drug his family members. One by one, he carefully lures them into the bunker, rendering them unconscious and trapping them within its confines. With his family effectively imprisoned underground, John now has complete control over their lives. Within the confines of the bunker, the dynamics between the family members slowly unravel. Brad, Anna, and Laurie wake up confused and disoriented, struggling to understand their new reality. As days turn into weeks, tension and desperation mount, revealing the complexities of their relationships and the true nature of their personalities.

Cast

Production

The film is the directing debut of

, and was written by

. The film is the first screen adaptation of Giacobone's short story ''El Pozo''.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

for the film took place in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

( Lexington, Lincoln and Norwood). Filming began on October, 2019 and lasted 23 days. The soundtrack is by Italian composer

Caterina Barbieri Caterina Barbieri (born September 16, 1990) is an Italian composer and musician currently based in Milan, Italy. Prior to and concurrently with her early music career, Caterina studied electroacoustic composition as well as classical guitar at the ...

Release

The film was part of the official selection for the

. The festival did not take place in its physical form due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On a social network, Pascual Sisto confirmed that the film's release was postponed to 2021. In November 2020, the film appeared at ''Sundance Wish List'' by ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

. The following month, Pascual Sisto was named by '' Variety'' as one of the ten directors to watch for 2021. In January 2021, the film appeared on ''

TheWrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news website covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman Sharon I. Waxman (born c.1963) is an American author, journalist, ...

''s, ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

''s, ''

Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

''s and '' Deadline''s list of the most popular films on sale at the Sundance Festival. ''John and The Hole'' also appeared on '' GQ''s (Mexico), ''Vogue''s (which was reported in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

), ''IndieWire''s, '' Vox''s, ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

''s, ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

''s, '' Vanity Fair''s and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''s list as one of the most anticipated films. The film had its world premiere at the

on January 29, 2021. It was released on August 6, 2021, by

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, 60% of 129 critic reviews are positive for the film, and the average rating is 6.10 out of 10. The top critics give it a fresh rating of 67%. The critics consensus on the website reads: "''John and the Holes enticingly unique premise and disquieting atmosphere are often at odds with a meandering story that prevents this thriller from fulfilling its creepy potential." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

Accolades

The film won the Prix de la Révélation at the 47th

Deauville American Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival (french: Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville, link=no) is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Cho ...

and the Crossovers Prize at the

Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival The Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival (SEFFF) (French: ''Festival Européen du Film Fantastique de Strasbourg ''(''FEFFS'')), is an annual film festival held in Strasbourg, France, that focus on fantasy, science fiction and horror film ...

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 11307724 2020s coming-of-age drama films 2021 drama films 2021 films 2021 independent films American coming-of-age films American independent films American psychological thriller films Films based on short fiction Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films shot in Massachusetts IFC Films films 2020s English-language films 2020s American films Films set in bunkers