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The Hole in the Ground

 The Hole in the Ground
type
TVTItem
 The Hole in the Ground
label
The Hole in the Ground
 The Hole in the Ground
page
TheHoleInTheGround
 The Hole in the Ground
comment
The Hole in the Ground is a horror thriller 2019 movie directed by Lee Cronin, from a screenplay by Cronin and Stephen Shields.The movie follows a young woman named Sarah and her son, Chris, when they move to rural Ireland near a forest, where a large hole in the ground exists. After strange events, she starts suspecting that her son might have been switched by something else.
 The Hole in the Ground
fetched
2023-10-23T10:14:11Z
 The Hole in the Ground
parsed
2023-10-23T10:14:11Z
 The Hole in the Ground
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Hole in the Ground / int_118a41d5
type
Daydream Surprise
 The Hole in the Ground / int_118a41d5
comment
Daydream Surprise: While some Imagine Spots of Sarah are clearly her fantasies, breaking rules of physics or making people disappear into thin air, others are not and she herself can't tell or ever be sure if they are real or just going in her head.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_118a41d5
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_118a41d5
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground
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The Hole in the Ground / int_118a41d5
 The Hole in the Ground / int_16364a29
type
Evil Sounds Deep
 The Hole in the Ground / int_16364a29
comment
Evil Sounds Deep: During the singing number in school, Sarah starts hearing Chris in deeper and deeper voice, until it's heavily distorted. Like many such moments, it's her Imagine Spot rather than actual event, considering how the audience and rest of the class disappear halfway through.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_16364a29
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_16364a29
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The Hole in the Ground / int_16364a29
 The Hole in the Ground / int_20215dc6
type
Primal Fear
 The Hole in the Ground / int_20215dc6
comment
Primal Fear: Everything that happens underground, especially the very narrow and tight tunnel that seems to never end. Also, getting lost in a forest at night, anyone?
 The Hole in the Ground / int_20215dc6
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_20215dc6
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The Hole in the Ground / int_20215dc6
 The Hole in the Ground / int_22cf536c
type
Chekhov's Gun
 The Hole in the Ground / int_22cf536c
comment
There are enough guns and hints spread in the first act to cobble together not only what's going on, but also what's going to happen. Doesn't make the film any less engaging.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_22cf536c
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The Hole in the Ground / int_22cf536c
 The Hole in the Ground / int_27ab0123
type
Offing the Offspring
 The Hole in the Ground / int_27ab0123
comment
Offing the Offspring: Noreen killed her son due to her belief that he was a changeling. We see her real son's corpse at the end, proving she was right.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_27ab0123
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_27ab0123
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The Hole in the Ground / int_27ab0123
 The Hole in the Ground / int_34c6ed8
type
Don't Go in the Woods
 The Hole in the Ground / int_34c6ed8
comment
Don't Go in the Woods: The forest is plenty scary by itself, with nothing else added to the equation, and it's very easy for a boy like Chris to simply get lost in it. Then there is the titular hole. And whatever lives inside of it.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_34c6ed8
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1.0
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The Hole in the Ground / int_34c6ed8
 The Hole in the Ground / int_35e2fb78
type
The Mirror Shows Your True Self
 The Hole in the Ground / int_35e2fb78
comment
The Mirror Shows Your True Self: Noreen covered her house in these, and regularly checked her husband to see if he hadn't been "replaced." Extends to cameras and video as well, with Changeling Chris displaying what looks like a black, insectoid face in a broken rearview mirror.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_35e2fb78
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_35e2fb78
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The Hole in the Ground / int_35e2fb78
 The Hole in the Ground / int_3aa61d8e
type
TheCloudcuckoolanderWasRight
 The Hole in the Ground / int_3aa61d8e
comment
The Cloudcuckoolander Was Right: Chris turns out to be a changeling after his return from the forest.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_3aa61d8e
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_3aa61d8e
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The Hole in the Ground / int_3aa61d8e
 The Hole in the Ground / int_3aec9e5e
type
Properly Paranoid
 The Hole in the Ground / int_3aec9e5e
comment
Properly Paranoid: Noreen, despite being Driven to Madness, still installed mirrors all around her house, just to be sure her husband is still her husband.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_3aec9e5e
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_3aec9e5e
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The Hole in the Ground / int_3aec9e5e
 The Hole in the Ground / int_42215dce
type
Ambiguous Ending
 The Hole in the Ground / int_42215dce
comment
Ambiguous Ending: Sarah manages to rescue Chris—the real Chris—from the titular hole in the ground, burns down the house with changeling Chris inside, and moves back to the city. However, when taking photos of Chris riding his bike outside, his face is very blurry compared to the rest of the photo, and the last shot is of the wall behind Sarah... which is covered in mirrors, suggesting that either she still isn't entirely sure whether she's rescued her actual son or she is sure but will be forever paranoid against losing him again.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_42215dce
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 The Hole in the Ground / int_42215dce
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The Hole in the Ground / int_42215dce
 The Hole in the Ground / int_479d4e5a
type
Would Hurt a Child
 The Hole in the Ground / int_479d4e5a
comment
Would Hurt a Child: The fae folk who kidnap children and replace them with doppelgangers, with the implication that they drain their life essence.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_479d4e5a
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_479d4e5a
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The Hole in the Ground / int_479d4e5a
 The Hole in the Ground / int_49d59be9
type
Scenery Porn
 The Hole in the Ground / int_49d59be9
comment
Scenery Porn: Only natural for a film set in rural Ireland.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_49d59be9
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_49d59be9
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1.0
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The Hole in the Ground / int_49d59be9
 The Hole in the Ground / int_4e3e577a
type
Psychological Horror
 The Hole in the Ground / int_4e3e577a
comment
Psychological Horror: You think a Changeling Tale is scary? What about going insane and thinking your son isn't real while progressively becoming worse and more abusive parent? And Sarah is left paranoid for the rest of her life about the whole ordeal she went through.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_4e3e577a
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 The Hole in the Ground / int_4e3e577a
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The Hole in the Ground / int_4e3e577a
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5313c266
type
Bookends
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5313c266
comment
Book Ends: Sarah and Chris start and end the film surrounded by mirrors.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5313c266
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5313c266
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hasFeature
The Hole in the Ground / int_5313c266
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5735378d
type
Haunted House Historian
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5735378d
comment
Haunted House Historian: Sarah's boss and friend, providing exposition on Noreen and the fate of her son James.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5735378d
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5735378d
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The Hole in the Ground / int_5735378d
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5c0fc07b
type
Nightmare Sequence
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5c0fc07b
comment
Nightmare Sequence: Sarah has a whole bunch of disturbing dreams, not even getting rest from her mounting paranoia when asleep.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_5c0fc07b
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 The Hole in the Ground / int_5c0fc07b
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The Hole in the Ground / int_5c0fc07b
 The Hole in the Ground / int_605cf3f
type
Something Only They Would Say
 The Hole in the Ground / int_605cf3f
comment
Something Only They Would Say: Sarah confirms her fears when she offers Chris the "dust cheese", which he hates, and he happily spoons it onto his spaghetti, and follows it up with trying to play their game—which the replacement doesn't know.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_605cf3f
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_605cf3f
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The Hole in the Ground / int_605cf3f
 The Hole in the Ground / int_62434fe2
type
Sanity Slippage
 The Hole in the Ground / int_62434fe2
comment
Sanity Slippage: Sarah starts to suffer from increasingly more paranoid dreams and daydreaming sequences as the story goes. And even when it's revealed Chris was indeed replaced with a changeling, there is no explanation for Sarah's mental breakdown prior.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_62434fe2
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1.0
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The Hole in the Ground / int_62434fe2
 The Hole in the Ground / int_777baed3
type
Out-of-Character Alert
 The Hole in the Ground / int_777baed3
comment
Out-of-Character Alert: Christopher having lost his fear of spiders was one thing, but eating one?
 The Hole in the Ground / int_777baed3
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_777baed3
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hasFeature
The Hole in the Ground / int_777baed3
 The Hole in the Ground / int_8847d06a
type
Hiding Behind Your Bangs
 The Hole in the Ground / int_8847d06a
comment
Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Thanks to an accident, Sarah's forehead has a nasty, non-stop irritated scar. She has it perpetually hidden with her bangs and is very much insecure about the whole thing.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_8847d06a
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_8847d06a
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The Hole in the Ground / int_8847d06a
 The Hole in the Ground / int_8e5c6752
type
Contractual Genre Blindness
 The Hole in the Ground / int_8e5c6752
comment
Contractual Genre Blindness: A very Irish Sarah spends most of the film ignoring all the changeling and fae folklore, along with local Haunted House Historian, just so the plot can happen. The moment she starts to take those things seriously, the whole gig is off within a single night.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_8e5c6752
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_8e5c6752
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground
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The Hole in the Ground / int_8e5c6752
 The Hole in the Ground / int_934937b2
type
Bluff the Impostor
 The Hole in the Ground / int_934937b2
comment
Bluff the Impostor: Eventually Sarah starts to do it on a regular basis, constantly throwing at Chris various details and elements of his normal behaviour, favourite tastes and activities, only for them all to bounce flat, ultimately convincing her she's dealing with a changeling.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_934937b2
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_934937b2
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The Hole in the Ground / int_934937b2
 The Hole in the Ground / int_96a33f11
type
Riddle for the Ages
 The Hole in the Ground / int_96a33f11
comment
Riddle for the Ages: Quite a few. To keep them thematically together: What happened to Chris' father? Where is he? Is he even alive? Were he and Sarah even married? Did they divorce? Who killed Noreen? Was it Chris? Some other changeling? Suicide? Her husband?. Do people even know about the massive sinkhole in the forest? Does the sinkhole exist as it is shown, or is just Sarah's projection? What's living down there? Was Chris dragged there or did he simply fall down?
 The Hole in the Ground / int_96a33f11
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The Hole in the Ground / int_96a33f11
 The Hole in the Ground / int_97e96e2b
type
The Unblinking
 The Hole in the Ground / int_97e96e2b
comment
The Unblinking: Changeling Chris never blinks.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_97e96e2b
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_97e96e2b
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The Hole in the Ground / int_97e96e2b
 The Hole in the Ground / int_99208bf0
type
Eye Motifs
 The Hole in the Ground / int_99208bf0
comment
Eye Motifs: There are lots of closeups of eyes, or ocular objects in general. One standout example, if noticed by particularly observant viewers, is that Changeling Chris never blinks. The titular hole in the ground looks like an iris with an expanding and contracting pupil.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_99208bf0
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_99208bf0
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The Hole in the Ground / int_99208bf0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 The Hole in the Ground / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: There are enough guns and hints spread in the first act to cobble together not only what's going on, but also what's going to happen. Doesn't make the film any less engaging. The first time we see Chris, it is when he is pulling faces in some bendy mirrors, which distorts his reflection. He is kidnapped by fae folk and replaced with a changeling, although we don't see the kidnapping itself.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_9d12bbc1
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_9d12bbc1
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The Hole in the Ground / int_9d12bbc1
 The Hole in the Ground / int_a2b38d3b
type
Eye Scream
 The Hole in the Ground / int_a2b38d3b
comment
Eye Scream: Changeling Chris claws at Sarah's eye whilst trying to get at the scar above it. Luckily, it turned out to be a hallucination, but it's still pretty horrific to see.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_a2b38d3b
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_a2b38d3b
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The Hole in the Ground / int_a2b38d3b
 The Hole in the Ground / int_a8c6a317
type
Super-Strength
 The Hole in the Ground / int_a8c6a317
comment
Super-Strength: Sarah has countless Imagine Spots in which Chris not only displays feats of inhuman strength, but is also malicious and harmful with it. While those are all going in her head, the Fake Chris indeed possess enough strength to throw an adult woman and drag her around with ease.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_a8c6a317
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_a8c6a317
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The Hole in the Ground / int_a8c6a317
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c04b1231
type
Jump Scare
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c04b1231
comment
Jump Scare: Used a grand total of two times. But since various scenes are built intentionally around the expected and telegraphed jump scare, only to never have one, this leads to a tricky situation to decide which moment will be a "real" jump scare, mounting up tension with nothing.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c04b1231
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The Hole in the Ground / int_c04b1231
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c4b09e97
type
Doppelgänger
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c4b09e97
comment
Doppelgänger: Changeling Chris, but more directly Sarah sees one of herself. One of the changelings hiding in the hole in the ground imitated her to confuse or replace her, just as she's exiting their lair.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c4b09e97
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The Hole in the Ground / int_c4b09e97
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: The new wallpaper has a hexagonal pattern very similar to that of the carpet of the Overlook Hotel.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c75df49a
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_c75df49a
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The Hole in the Ground / int_c75df49a
 The Hole in the Ground / int_caa28b82
type
Cloudcuckoolander
 The Hole in the Ground / int_caa28b82
comment
Cloudcuckoolander: Noreen, the old lady who lives near Sarah and Chris, and who claims that Chris isn't Sarah's son.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_caa28b82
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_caa28b82
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The Hole in the Ground / int_caa28b82
 The Hole in the Ground / int_cf92fea8
type
Cassandra Truth
 The Hole in the Ground / int_cf92fea8
comment
Cassandra Truth: Nobody believes James or Chris are changelings, further making their mothers questioning their own sanity.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_cf92fea8
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 The Hole in the Ground / int_cf92fea8
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The Hole in the Ground / int_cf92fea8
 The Hole in the Ground / int_d6b5863
type
Driven to Madness
 The Hole in the Ground / int_d6b5863
comment
Driven to Madness: Noreen, the local Cloudcuckoolander, suffers from some unspecified condition after probably-not-accidentally killing her son thirty years ago. The actual reason is because she knows her son was replaced and she was unable to get him back.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_d6b5863
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_d6b5863
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hasFeature
The Hole in the Ground / int_d6b5863
 The Hole in the Ground / int_dfa1ee91
type
Changeling Tale
 The Hole in the Ground / int_dfa1ee91
comment
Changeling Tale: What the film ultimately is. Specifically, Chris was/is the changeling in question.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_dfa1ee91
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_dfa1ee91
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The Hole in the Ground / int_dfa1ee91
 The Hole in the Ground / int_e13156e1
type
Mama Bear
 The Hole in the Ground / int_e13156e1
comment
Mama Bear: Invoked verbatim by Sarah when she comes to rescue real Chris.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_e13156e1
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1.0
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The Hole in the Ground / int_e13156e1
 The Hole in the Ground / int_e35ab565
type
Indy Ploy
 The Hole in the Ground / int_e35ab565
comment
Indy Ploy: The final twenty or so minutes Sarah has to come up with solution after solution while quite literally running for her life.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_e35ab565
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1.0
 The Hole in the Ground / int_e35ab565
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The Hole in the Ground / int_e35ab565
 The Hole in the Ground / int_ece27800
type
Kill and Replace
 The Hole in the Ground / int_ece27800
comment
Kill and Replace: There is no goal or objective when handling captured children—they just starve to death, while the changeling takes over their life.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_ece27800
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 The Hole in the Ground / int_ece27800
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The Hole in the Ground / int_ece27800
 The Hole in the Ground / int_f3d5d15f
type
Creepy Child
 The Hole in the Ground / int_f3d5d15f
comment
Creepy Child: Christopher after his return from the forest.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_f3d5d15f
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The Hole in the Ground / int_f3d5d15f
 The Hole in the Ground / int_fe614133
type
Beauty Is Never Tarnished
 The Hole in the Ground / int_fe614133
comment
Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted. Sarah gets increasingly bloodied and muddied during the course of the film, and she's covering a nasty scar with her bangs.
 The Hole in the Ground / int_fe614133
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The Hole in the Ground / int_fe614133
 The Hole in the Ground / int_fed93e1b
type
Dark and Troubled Past
 The Hole in the Ground / int_fed93e1b
comment
Dark and Troubled Past: We never really learn what happened to Chris' father—if anything happened at all—and how Sarah gained that badly healed scar on her head, to the point her doctor starts to question if it really was an accident, or maybe some other way. We don't even know if the boy's father is alive, with restraining order or simply divorced.
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The Hole in the Ground

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Hole in the Ground
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Films of 2015–2019 / int_654d8d1c