The Kill Hole (2012) User Reviews

Some interesting moments, but weak execution overall

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 12 April 2016]

THE KILL HOLE is an attempt to do something different to your usual American war flick. This one is more of a psychological thriller about the trauma felt by combat soldiers and their struggles to adapt to normal society afterwards. Unfortunately, it's a low budget movie and one that suffers from a lack of incident, decent writing, and strong characters. The first half an hour is very dull and the story only picks up a little once the main character goes on his mission.

From there on in, weak execution lets the movie down. It should be very tense, moving, and dramatic, but it never is. I wasn't drawn into the tale despite the obvious merits it has. The unknown cast don't really bring the story alive either, other than Billy Zane who has been brought in for name value alone. Although THE KILL HOLE offers something a little different to your usual B-movie action flick, there's no denying it just isn't a very good film.

YOU CAN JUSTIFY ANYTHING WITH WORDS

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 20 July 2018]

This film is a low action drama. It has heavy dialogue. Unless you are a returning combat vet, the monologues of Sgt. Devon Carter (Tory Kittles) grow boring.

Marine Lt. Sam Drake (Chadwick Boseman) has trouble adjusting to civilian life. He is a cab driver and part of a support group. He is haunted by an episode where he was responsible for sweeping a village, of which we don't get too much detail. Unknown to Drake, his action was espied by Carter, who likewise was there on a secret mission which conflicted with Drakes. Because Drake was "cold hearted" in his style Carter decides he must get revenge against the private firm that was giving orders to Drake. This whole aspect is confusing, suffice to say neither one of these guys was playing with a full deck.

The film moves slow. The action is minimal. The Drake/Carter confrontation is the centerpiece of the film, something that consisted of dialogue explaining "kill hole" a bunch of us/them pawns stuff, some military songs, and poorly written head games. Drake proclaims that they were simply good people who did a bad thing and must move on, while Carter apparently never went to group.

This is a film I wanted to enjoy, but did not. At the end of the film we get to see that the guys in group were actual military or former military personnel. I salute you guys and my advice is don't quit your day jobs...and you need to learn to write better reviews.

Parental Guide: F-bombs. No sex or nudity. No eye candy.

Very poor movie all around

[chiefs3182 · 2/10 · 7 October 2013]

The only reason I could give this 2 stars was because of the great acting by both Torry Kittles (Sgt. Devon Carter) and Chadwick Boseman (Lt. Samuel Drake). As for the movie, it was beyond horrible. It starts out with a very emotionally scarred man (Drake). He was recently discharged from fighting in Iraq and took up a job as a cab driver. He is convinced by some mercenaries that he needs to clean up some of the things that happened in Iraq and that another marine (Devon Carter) witnessed the heinous things that occurred. The first 30 minutes of the movie are PAINFULLY boring. Not one bit of action occurs and the dialogue is very dry. Once you meet Sgt. Carter, the action heats up for about 10 minutes and then goes back to the dry plot, story, and dialogue. Carter has become a withdrawn maniac that lives in the jungle after what he has seen and they try to bring in little stories like what happened to his spotter from seeing the actions. This was all pointless to even add to the story at that point since you never meet his spotter (Binder) or see more than a five second cut-scene from Iraw. By the end of the movie, I was counting the minutes until it would end. I was waiting around for a very dramatic ending, but was again extremely disappointed.

Candidate for worst film ever

[guy_leech · 1/10 · 8 July 2020]

Tries to be deep and meaningful but just utter rubbish throughout

Good scenery, interesting plot and atmosphere

[AJ4F · 7/10 · 18 April 2020]

This is no masterwork but it has a unique atmosphere and decent acting. It just wasn't as "fast paced" as many viewers tend to demand. Pity, it asks you to think! The introspective soundtrack also helps with that.

At least one IMDB reviewer seems to have not fully watched the film, claiming there's no action (as if it was mandatory anyhow) and calling PNW wilderness "the jungle" (wrong latitude).

Anything that celebrates mountain country, for better or worse, has my vote. Location info just says the Portland area and I'm wondering which mountains are shown. One certainly looks like Mt. Hood.

The main flaws were some logistically unexplained scenes and other minor details. Definitely worth watching if you like the basic elements.

I Enjoyed This and...

[Mehki_Girl · 8/10 · 30 August 2020]

I enjoy this I enjoy a lot of war films. Everything doesn't have to be a shoot-'em-up and this is it. This is more of a psychological type film and I guess it's not for everybody because apparently there is some people who think every film has to be nonstop action.

Given Chadwick Boseman recent death I enjoyed this even more to watch his body of work and he is actually quite good in this film and so was the other actor playing opposite him. I forget his name at the moment

So if you're willing to watch a movie that doesn't have robots killing alien predators turned zombies, then this might be the movie for you.

Quiet Under-Seen & Unappreciated B-Movie About Returning War Vets

[LeonLouisRicci · 7/10 · 14 December 2014]

Understated and Quiet Story About War Veterans with a Residue of Unspeakable Acts Committed During the Fog of War. This Low-Budget and Under-Appreciated Movie Looks Great and the Acting with Believable Performances is Above Average in this B-Movie.

Maybe it's the Lack of Action that Disappoints Viewers that Expected this to be All Glitzy with Guns Ablaze and the Violence Visceral. But that isn't the Intent of this Personal Vision of Vets with Guilt and Coping Mechanisms Elusive.

It is a Good Story and this is a Misunderstood Movie that is Way Better than its Reputation and Critical Dismissal. The Mountain Scenes are Stylish and Sprawling and the Two-Man Confrontation is Done with Dignity and is a Respectful Take on Psychically "Wounded Warriors".

The Inclusion of Real Life Military Types in a Tell All Support Group was a Risky Effort but it Works as a Back Story and the Front Story of Soldiers Returning from The Front is Done with Some Style but Never is it Pretentious, Just Prescient.

Overall, an Under-Seen, Underrated Small Film from a Debut Director that Manages to Make it All Work. Definitely Recommended for Thinkers and Action Fans Should Look Elsewhere for That Thing.

Deserves much better rating - rings true

[Stormycinder · 6/10 · 15 June 2018]

This movie doesn't deserve the very low ratings some have given it, but I think the title may have led them to believe they were in for an action war movie. Most of those that were disappointed seemed to feel it needed more bullets or something. It's not that kind of movie. This is a character and psychological driven movie and it is extremely well acted. The painful and difficult struggles of the characters upon their return to civilian life range true, making this movie definitely worthy of my (and your) viewing time.

thoughtful drama with very good acting

[paul_ferrante · 8/10 · 10 February 2016]

Couldn't disagree with more with reviewer chiefs3182 or a couple of the supposed pro reviewers. I thought the movie was very good and thought provoking. I guess that some people aren't happy unless a movie is all action and explosions, this isn't that. One of the so-called pros criticized the movie for having an overly serious tone. The story was about 2 Iraq war vets with PTSD being pitted against each other by "Agency" types, not a lot of room for humor there. That fool probably thinks that Roger Moore was the best James Bond too. Anyway, it is a little known film worth seeing and I have no problem recommending it. at a time when Hollywood is being criticized for lack of parts for black actors, this was a good vehicle with very good performances by 2. I hope to see them again in some other serious work.

Chadwick's First Starring Movie Role

[Lebowskidoo · 6/10 · 26 September 2020]

An unexciting and poorly structured action movie, with very little action, mostly just exposition scenes. It does have an anti-war stance that I agree with. Luckily, it has Chadwick Boseman in it to keep you interested, he delivers a great performance, much better than the movie he's in.

This is a dirt-poor-man's Taxi Driver.

[matthewssilverhammer · 7/10 · 9 January 2021]

Not in content, style, skill, or soul, mind you; just in more surface-y ways. A war vet who drives a taxi deals with extreme PTSD while overbearing narration blankets much of the film. Still, despite some uncomfortably bad moments that you may expect from this kind of ultra-low-budget thriller, there's way more intrigue and dramatic weight than one might expect, especially when focused on the plight and consequences of the all-too-real forgotten servicemen.

Wow so true today

[ellagantevents · 10/10 · 17 August 2018]

The entire time I was watching this movie I though it was just shot in the last year or so. Still relevant today. And the topics were discussed in a very philosophical manner in the movie that you could not deny it's relevance in today's society. If we don't stop and take a look at what we are doing we will just continue to repeat the same atrocities. Like Spike LEE Said - " Wake Up" . Be woke América!!

Compelling, brilliant acting, powerful look at morality of war

[barleeku · 10/10 · 27 June 2014]

I haven't reviewed a movie in a while but after seeing the 3.4 rating for "The Kill Hole", I felt compelled to respond. I gave it a 10. Not that it's truly one of the great movies like "Apocalypse Now", which it echoes in some ways, but its exceptional qualities are very distinctive. The writing is outstanding. If you're looking for an action movie, then you came to the wrong place. I was ready to turn it off immediately if I found it too slow, but the dialog was compelling and dealt with moral issues central to war: personal responsibility, relationship to authority, how sanctioned violence changes those who act under its mandate and so easily drifts into the indefensible. The acting is superb. Boseman and Kittles give Broadway-level performances and they bring a sizzling commitment to the dialog. It's a true confrontation, filmed with interesting cuts that actually work rather than simply trying to be hip or jarring. Billy Zane is great as the leader of a vets support group and the non-actor veterans who appear in the group speak from the gut and clearly speak their personal truths. The "bad guys" are very much so but acted with pizzaz and, despite being reprehensible, are used to explore the line between punishment and revenge. Landscapes are rendered beautifully, the city scenes are convincing. This could have been a 2-person stage production with the vets group acting as a Greek chorus of sorts; view it as a compelling play fleshed out somewhat for the screen and one won't be disappointed by the lack of action.

Flowed Well

[Tri-State_Skater · 8/10 · 23 July 2021]

I watched this in 2013. Chadwick Boseman had just become famous for being in 42.

The film flows well, and while you can tell the budget was small, they made a good film.

The clothing the characters wore was arranged extremely well. I know this is a small thing, but when Chadwick's character is in his apartment everything from his shorts, to the type of socks he wore, made the scene whole.

At times the film could be a normal buddy movie, and it's nice to watch, which makes the sinister aspect even deeper. We can all relate to the crazy people more than we'd like to think.

For us ladies the film balances showing how handsome both the men are, while making a serious film.