MovieChat Forums > Prisoners (2013) Discussion > DUMB PLOT HOLE (contains spolers):

DUMB PLOT HOLE (contains spolers):

posted 8 years ago by cheminaismac
19 replies | jump to latest

How could Holly and her husband build a giant pit under their driveway without any neighbours noticing or without contracting a construction company and notifying their municipal government. The pit was clearly so big that it needed a digging truck. You couldn't just dig that thing with a shovel... It would have have raised massive questions if someone wanted to build a pit under their driveway for no apparent reason. When people keep going missing without a trace some might suspect the giant pit below a house. Like its impossible to hide that it exists and is so, so suspicious. It's just so dumb and obviously not logically possible. I feel like it was just done because the director wanted to have the whistle scene as the ending. He didn't care about whether or not this plot device actually made sense, and because of that when there was just a random pit in her garden I was taken out of the film experience and just rolled my eyes for the remaining few minutes.

Do you agree that it either needed some explanation or should have been different?

[–] TrentReznorandAtticusRoss 8 years ago

Someone could have easily dug that pit themselves, given the time. No one's going to think "that one person has a hole in their backyard... We better go check there", especially if they have no real reason to look there.

No one probably knew it was there to begin with.

[–] KutWrite 8 years ago

What the guy above said, plus…

1. There are no neighbors that close by.

2. The pit could've been there when they bought the house.

3. The pit could've been for something else, say, a septic tank or 50s fallout shelter, then just used by the lady when they had a need.

I was more wondering why no one ever seemed to check the vacant house where the RV was parked. At least to cover that possibility for plot purposes.

[–] superherolu 8 years ago

Not sure why this is considered a plot hole.

It could have been from something as simple as a sinkhole, an old sewer or other construction remnant, old well hole, cavity from an underground stump decomposition.

And if they were digging in the yard, they could just say it was to fix a septic tank or plumbing issue. I know people who have problems with their damaged sewer system and their yard is still torn up with holes in it from dealing with that.

[–] baj2 8 years ago

I feel like it was just done because the director wanted to have the whistle scene as the ending.

In fairness to director Denis Villeneuve, the underground hole and the whistle scene were already part of the original Black List script. The Black List is the list of the best-liked unproduced scripts for a year, voted upon by producers and others who view the scripts of future projects.

[–] skywalkr_00 8 years ago

Maybe you could masturbate less and actually dig a hole and see it's not that difficult.

[–] Steefnesss 8 years ago

I get it, it's a plot point about a hole, a plot hole if you will, but not the kind we're used to.

[–] edinabb 8 years ago

You answered your own question.
It showed how estranged they were from their neighbours!
It's how Josef Fritzl happened. Just google all the cases dubbed the "American Fritzl".

Indeed a strange thing: neighborly ties are dissolving, while little hives of religious nuts rise!

[–] lutufyan 7 years ago

I beleive there are other unquestionable plot holes, way dumber than the ones you raise:

1) If one of the girls escaped, it is evident the police will soon be on your heels. Yet Holly did nothing about it.
2) If Alex disappeared after Keller all of Keller’s yelling to the police he was guilty, wouldn’t that raise suspicion. Only when the detective discovers Keller’s absence from home late at night does he decides to follow him, and foolishly gives himself away when he doesn’t pull over to let the garbage collector pass.
3) Keller discovers the police is following him, that he knows where he was heading but didn’t change his plans. Next, he is found in his secret quarters and was extremely close to be discovered, yet he did nothing about it