Check Out the Creepy Trailer for A24’s Irish Horror The Hole in the Ground

A24 has dropped a trailer for its recently acquired The Hole in the Ground, an Irish horror film that draws inspiration from folklore—particularly in the legend of the Changeling, judging from the trailer’s content. Drawing comparisons to the likes of The Babadook or Corin Hardy’s The Hallow, The Hole in the Ground premieres at Sundance in January before hitting theaters in limited release on March 1, 2019.

Our synopsis is as follows:

Sarah and her young son Chris move to a new home in the Irish countryside, next to a forest that hides an enormous sinkhole. One night, Chris vanishes, and when he reappears he seems unharmed and unchanged. But, as his behavior grows increasingly disturbing, Sarah begins to fear that the boy who has returned may not be her son at all. The Hole in the Ground weaves suspense, terror and supernatural folklore into a richly evocative story about the primal fears of motherhood.

“The primal fears of motherhood” certainly sounds like The Babadook, but the comparison may not be entirely earned. That film was ultimately about a mother grappling with the realities of raising a problem child, and the hidden fear of a parent who realizes they may hate their own child. The actual plot of The Hole in the Ground instead sounds a bit more like Leigh Janiak’s 2014 horror film Honeymoon, which starred Rose Leslie as a woman who disappears in the woods before returning with subtle but disturbing changes.

Regardless, the film’s trailer promises plenty of “creepy kid” moments, at any rate. The Hole in the Ground is the feature debut of director Lee Cronin and stars Seána Kerslake, James Cosmo, Kati Outinen and James Quinn Markey.