Will Slater: 'He said it was scary . . . but in a good way'

WHEN you have just turned 12, you really want to go to a 12 certificate film. At least that's what I assumed when organising a cinema trip as part of the birthday celebrations for our eldest daughter. Without any Twilight releases or romcoms on offer, we were scouting around for a suitable film.

I first suggested the reissue of Back to the Future, which got a swift "seen it", the inference being that if it was good enough to entertain you back in the dark ages, then it wasn't really going to be up to scratch now.

It was at this point that I recommended The Hole. In 3D. Now, I had seen the odd review about it and they all seemed pretty enthusiastic, firmly placing it as a new-to-me-genre: family horror. A colleague at work, who shall remain nameless, then said it was a really good film. He did say it was quite scary, but in a good way.

"It's by the guy who made Gremlins, your girls will love it ..." he added, sealing my thoughts that it might be just the thing for a group of 12-year-olds at the cinema on their own. Besides, it was a 12A, how scary could it really be?

So I bought the tickets, made sure they had snacks aplenty and beat a hasty retreat, bumping into another colleague in the foyer as I did so.

The girls weren't buzzing with excitement when I picked them up. They could even be described as rather subdued. "Enjoy the film?" I asked cheerily. "It was really scary," came the reply.

"But in a good way," I countered, hopefully.

"No, three of us left the cinema and only went back when the horrible bit was over. It should have been a 15."

"Or an 18," added another.

Even then I slightly missed the message. I put it down to group dynamics, a bit of collective hysteria and too many Maltesers. The moment passed and we were all distracted by thoughts of pizza and the chocolate fountain we had in store.

So I am at work on Monday and chatting to the friend I saw in foyer.

"What did you go to see?"

"The Hole."

"Oh really, any good?"

"Not really, but it was surprisingly horrific. I couldn't believe it was a 12. It was the relentless nature of the scary scenes and the tone was all wrong. There were lots of kids there and they didn't look like they were enjoying it much."

It seems that adult reviewers, and filmmakers, aren't always in tune with their audience. Next time, it's Pixar or nothing.

This article was first published in Scotland On Sunday, 17 October, 2010