Why let her fall in the hole without digging up the place?
His wife is sucked down the hole and his reaction is, "Oh well. She's dead. Because even though I just discovered this basement, I know the hole is too deep to survive the fall. Let's visit her once a year and draw her a picture."
If it were me, I'd have called 911 and would have bulldozed that place if necessary. I would have at least dropped a line down there, with a camera (with the help of police) and figured out for sure where my wife was.
This movie pretty much sucked.