Short Attention Span Summary:
1. A single mother and two children move into a house.
2. They have a nice looking neighbor and discover that there is a hole in their basement that seems to lead to nowhere.
3. Through a series of minor plot developments (including a visit to a Resident Nutjob) and a lot of suspense that is drug on for a LONG TIME, we find out that this hole is some type of Ancient Evil that feeds on the fear of the people who look into it.
4. Each character is forced in the movie to face his or her fear as the price of putting the demons to rest. (So, one character is afraid of clowns and must face his fear. Another is afraid of his absent father. And still a third has a bad childhood memory that has to be faced down.)
5. Of course, three of the four main characters face their fears, and the hole closes. But then the 4th character states here fear and in Predictable Fashion, we get a hint that it is going to happen again. (I can't imagine anyone funding a sequel to this.)
It was clear that this was a low budget film, but it was tastefully done. They also succeeded in making the special effects look pretty decent and not so cheesy. I guess it's a testament to the improvements that have allowed believable special effects to be made for a low price. There was also very little blood and gore, and there was thought to the plot. For this, I give the film an extra star.
Blockbuster is going into bankruptcy, but if it were still open I would not get this film off the hot releases shelf.