'The Hole In The Ground' Trailer: One Of 2019's First Great Horror Movies

We've seen plenty of horror movies about killer kids over the years, so it takes something special to stand out. And if the word out of this year's Sundance Film Festival is any indication, The Hole in the Ground manages to do just that. You can watch a new trailer for the film below, which has been picked up by indie powerhouse A24 for a theatrical release.

There are aspects of this trailer that feel overly family, but it certainly looks intense and unsettling enough. But let's go to the thoughts of someone who has actually seen it, shall we? Our own Chris Evangelista reviewed the film from Sundance, and he praises the direction of Lee Cronin and how he manages to create a new kind of sinister horror movie child:

Cronin plays up this strangeness brilliantly. Chris isn't immediately creepy, but the way the camera zooms in on his mouth slurping spaghetti, and the way the lad stares blankly at his mother sometimes, has a chilling effect. An outsider might not even notice anything different, but Sarah does. Or does she? For a while, The Hole in the Ground seems to be cut from the same cloth as The Babadook, wherein we're meant to wonder if there's really anything supernatural going on here, or if it's all the work of a sick mind. Real or not, it's plenty scary. Sarah grows more and more frantic, and Chris grows more and more weird. In one of the film's most hair-raising scenes, Sarah peeps through a keyhole to watch the boy munching on a spider.

While Chris doesn't think the film sticks the landing, it more than earned his recommendation. So put this one your radar, genre fans. The general rule of thumb with A24 is that if they take an interest in a movie, it's probably worth your time. And don't forget: they released Hereditary last year. They know a thing or two about horror movies.

Here's the synopsis of The Hole in the Ground from the Sundance Film Festival:

Sarah moves her precocious son, Chris, to a secluded new home in a rural town, trying to ease his apprehensions as they hope for a fresh start after a difficult past. But after a startling encounter with a mysterious new neighbor, Sarah's nerves are set on edge. Chris disappears in the night into the forest behind their house, and Sarah discovers an ominous, gaping sinkhole while searching for him. Though he returns, some disturbing behavioral changes emerge, and Sarah begins to worry that the boy who came back is not her son.

The Hole in the Ground does not yet have a U.S. release, but it is set to hit theaters in 2019.