The Hole is the tale a bizarre adolescent prank that goes terribly wrong.

Thora Birch plays Liz, a public school ugly duckling who is overshadowed by the other beautiful girls and wants nothing more than to be noticed by Mike Steel (Harrington) the American son a of a famous rock star.

The film tells the story of the mysterious disappearance for 18 days of four pupils from the English school.

When Liz escapes she tells her story to a baffled press and police department, who immediately realise that her version of events does not quite make sense.

Another case scenario is carefully placed for the audience to mull over and to make their own minds up about, and it's not until the very end that the truth is revealed.

This is a stunning thriller built up from a clever premise that takes adolescent infatuation and obsession to its limits.

Liz's personality is so terrifyingly believable that it's possible to almost understand how an innocent plan resulted in such a horrendous nightmare.

Birch, although talking in a slightly wobbly accent, plays the part with intensity and with a talent that belies her tender age and relative inexperience.

The physical darkness of the depiction of their days in the hole is almost as suffocating as the dark tone and mood of this artistic and eerie psychological thriller.

Do not make the mistake of believing that you're about to watch another American teen slasher movie. This is altogether more sinister and moving.