John and the Hole

While exploring the neighboring woods, 13-year-old John discovers an unfinished bunker — a deep hole in the ground. Seemingly without provocation, he drugs his affluent parents and older sister and drags their unconscious bodies into the bunker, where he holds them captive. As they anxiously wait for John to free them from the hole, the boy returns home, where he can finally do what he wants.

• massachusetts
• bunker
• family relationships
• coming of age
• based on short story
• disturbed teenager
• internal conflict
• abduction
• family captivity
• psychological detachment
• emotional void
• parents under threat
• manipulative behavior
• identity confusion
• power imbalance