Irish Horror 'The Hole in the Ground' To Have World Premiere at Sundance Film Festival

The film is Cronin’s feature debut, which he co-wrote with Stephen Shields, and stars Séana Kerslake (A Date For Mad Mary), James Quinn Markey (Vikings), James Cosmo (T2 Trainspotting), Simone Kirby (Jimmy’s Hall), Steve Wall (An Klondike) and Kati Outinen (Le Havre).

Trying to escape her broken past, Sarah O’Neill (Séana Kerslake) is building a new life on the fringes of a backwood rural town with her young son, Chris (James Quinn Markey). A terrifying encounter with a mysterious neighbour shatters her fragile security, throwing Sarah into a spiralling nightmare of paranoia and mistrust, as she tries to uncover if the disturbing changes in her little boy are connected to an ominous sinkhole buried deep in the forest that borders their home.

Speaking about the film’s Sundance selection, director, Lee Cronin said:

“It’s a privilege to bring The Hole in the Ground to the Sundance Film Festival for its World Premiere this January. A hell of a lot of extremely talented people worked tirelessly to make the movie a reality, so I’m delighted that its creators, funders and supporters can celebrate the perfect launchpad in Utah. Personally, I’m excited to bring my horror story to the big screen, and I can’t wait for Irish audiences to see it when it’s released in cinemas in the new year”.

Sundance is the largest independent film festival in the US. Many notable independent filmmakers have received their big break there, including Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Steven Soderbergh. The festival is also responsible for bringing wider attention to such films as The Blair Witch Project, Little Miss Sunshine, Whiplash, Boyhood, Hereditary, and Get Out.

The Hole in the Ground was shot on location in Dublin, Kildare, and Wicklow, and was produced by Conor Barry and John Keville for Savage Productions, with Benoit Roland and Ulla Simonen for Wrong Men and MADE.

The film was funded by Screen Ireland, the BAI, and Headgear Films, with support coming from Wallimages and the Finnish Film Foundation.

Wildcard Distribution will be releasing The Hole in the Ground in Irish cinemas in early 2019.