Starring:
Judd Nelson as Eric Bryce
Kristy Swanson as Shannon Muir
Robert Giardina as James
Julia Sinks as Kayley
James Anthony as Spencer Toland
Dan Buran as Kent
Christa Campbell as Caudwell
Heather Dawn as Sgt. Bennett
Peter Mayer as General Tate
Chris Nolte as Lt. Hendricks
Jennifer Lyn Quackenbush as Elizabeth Williams
David Selby as General Ryker
Special Features:
Exploring The Black Hole A Behind the Scenes Featurette with the Cast and Crew
Other Info:
Widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
DTS 5.1 Surround Sound
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“It’s 2 A.M. in St. Louis when a routine scientific experiment goes terribly wrong and an explosion shakes the city. A scientific team investigates, clashing with an intergalactic, voltage-devouring creature that vaporizes them.
By 7 A.M. a chain of earthquakes is tearing the city apart while a massive swirling black hole is consuming the remains. The alien is devouring every source of electricity it finds and destroying every human who blocks its way. Mass chaos rules as St. Louis is being evacuated. Only a few people, scientist Eric Bryce (Judd Nelson, “The Breakfast Club”), his assistant Shannon (Kristy Swanson, “Big Daddy”), and General Ryker (David Selby, “End Game”) comprehend the mortal danger.
By midnight, the Pentagon initiates a nuclear attack against the black hole. Bryce has only one hour to find a solution to obliterate the alien and the colossal black hole before mankind is annihilated.”
“The Black Hole” is rated PG for sci-fi violence, peril & thematic elements.
Mini-Review:
The most notable thing about “The Black Hole” is the special effects. For a low budget film, they look pretty good. The scenes where the black hole destroys St. Louis look pretty good and the monster looks decent. Rather than showing a poor looking CG character, they go the Predator route and only show a shimmering invisible outline. It was a clever way to go low budget with the effects and still have something that looked OK.
Other than the effects, “The Black Hole” is completely unremarkable. The plot isn’t terribly original or engaging and there are no interesting characters in the film. Judd Nelson as Eric Bryce is the only one that comes close to having a personality, but even he seems like he’s phoning it in on this one. This movie is purely C-Movie fare that you’d find on the SCI FI Channel late at night.
I’m not sure who to recommend this one to. You’d have to either be really bored or a big Judd Nelson or Kristy Swanson fan to enjoy this one. You’re probably better off going and finding a good sci-fi book to read.
There is one bonus feature included on this DVD. It’s your standard ‘making of’ video featuring interviews with the cast and crew and some effects footage. I had to laugh, though, as the producer explained how this could really happen with a straight face. When the aliens attack, I’ll remember he warned us first.
