The Hollow

Three girls, whose parents died in a horrible car crash, go to an island to live with their aunt, not knowing that on All Hallows Eve a creature which exists within a form of living branch and burning flame seems to stem from witches being burned at the stake with a storm summoned by them bringing evil upon the township like a cursed affliction until the end of Halloween, killing all who dare to stay until its presence returns to where it came from.

It's is ultimately three sisters against a seemingly indestructible wood root creature with fire its life force. Burning embers signal it's presence. Root's reach out and grab you. It screeches.

Stephanie Hunt is the older sister, trying to be the adult, responsible one, Sarah, while Sarah Dugdale is the moody, constantly griping Marley, unhappy that they must go to live with Aunt Cora (Deborah Kara Unger) because traumatized little sister, Emma (Alisha Newman), required extensive medical help that zapped their funds.

Richard Harmon (Grave Encounters 2) might show up on the credits causing interest but he's one among a few disposable characters that have some lines and a smidgen of development before the root fire monster feeds from them. Yeah, it seems that once it's root hands grab hold of folks, it causes them to petrify into a tree with growing branches as its flame drains them of their life force. Or something to that effect. Unger barely makes it past opening credits! Garry Chalk is a face television audiences will recognize, however, he's yet another body count casualty.

I thought the monster was a creative invention in the CGI creature feature canon although it's origin is cliche. And the location shooting British Columbia, Canada, is fabulous. The movie itself is lacking in any sort of story. Dump some girls into a Colorado wilderness aesthetic, have this thing rise out of the woods to reach out and snatch locals, and leave a body count. It is all cut and paste creature feature plotting from a million similar monster movies. I always am a sucker for aftermath small-town devastation, when leads arrive in town to find everyone dead and debris left behind to identify the carnage in the wake of the monster. I especially liked the torn apart faces and ripped asunder corpses littered around the town. Bodies buried for the monster to feed from later is just an excuse to keep Emma alive so her sisters can rescue her. There is a diner scene where survivors hole up as they determine what to do next. Some stay and die while others visit the sheriff's office for weapons but only Sarah and Marley ultimately make it out alive. Exposition comes from Harmon, a paranormal enthusiast at the island after a local told him about the All Hallows Eve creature of legend. It gets us some alleged history and enough to support the monster's reason for existing. As the day ends and dawn rises the sun, it's reign is stopped. So making it through the day is essential. Few do.