The Hole in the Ground

Sarah O'Neill has moved with her young son Chris to the edge of a secluded rural town, hoping to leave a difficult past behind. A frightening encounter with a mysterious neighbour unsettles her, and when Chris goes missing in the woods behind their home, Sarah finds a large sinkhole hidden among the trees. The boy returns apparently unharmed, but his behaviour soon grows increasingly erratic. Convinced something about him has changed, Sarah begins to mistrust those around her while trying to work out whether the strange hole in the forest is connected to her son.

The film is a horror feature directed by Lee Cronin, who wrote the screenplay with Stephen Shields; it was Cronin's first directed feature, followed by Evil Dead Rise in 2023 and Lee Cronin's The Mummy in 2026. Seána Kerslake plays Sarah, with James Quinn Markey as Chris, James Cosmo and Kati Outinen as the Bradys, and Simone Kirby and Steve Wall as Louise and Rob Caul. Produced by Conor Barry and John Keville, it runs 90 minutes and was made as a co-production between Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the United States and Finland.

Released in March 2019, the film took about 3 million dollars worldwide. On TMDB it holds a rating of 5.7 out of 10 from 776 votes, placing it in moderate territory with audiences.