Review of Hide and Seek (2005) by Robert D — 01 Jun 2012

This film is incredibly under-rated. It's been subtly directed by John Polson, and it's got a fantastic cast. The plot has been intelligently written and the scares may not be horrifying, but the atmosphere keeps you creeped out.

After the death of his wife, David Callaway (Robert De Niro) and his daughter Emily (Dakota Fanning) leave their home in New York City and move to upstate New York. His daughter is still upset from the death of her mother, and David hopes that a new surrounding will help her get over it. Shortly after they move in, Emily finds a mysterious friend called Charlie, whom David believes is imaginary. When a family friend, Katherine (Famke Janssen), comes to visit, Emily tells her that she and Charlie are playing a game to upset David. But as horrific events occur in the house, such as the killing of the cat, Emily says that Charlie is responsible. David soon starts to realise that this Charlie may not be an imagination, and he must find him before someone else is killed. This is a very creepy and eerie story. The character Charlie is actually very scary, though you hardly ever get to see his appearance. You keep guessing who Charlie is, and there are many possibilities. The characters are not all likeable. I found Emily very annoying with her ramblings about Charlie and her stubborn attitude. David was a great character. Some of the dialogue was also really smart.

The acting was sublime. Robert De Niro was fantastic. He was cast so well. His performance was outstanding. Dakota Fanning was great. Even though her character may have been annoying, she played her really well. Famke Janssen is very attractive, but she was also a good actor in this. The whole cast was damn good.

The way they scare you is terrific. There's a lot of shock horror which is kind of cheap, but there are other ways they decide to scare you with. They blend the cinematography with the music really well, and the effect is really scary. They create some really horrifying atmosphere here, which is great in a horror film.

My complaint would be that the twist at the end was disapointing. You're expecting this really shocking and scary climax at the end, but it's not really that scary. It's a reasonable climax, there's nothing wrong with the twist, it's unexpected, but it's not what you want and it doesn't scare you. Some of the other stuff was really unrealistic in this, such as the stuff they say, and I think it was only put in this to make it cool.

The twists may be disapointing, but this keeps you on the edge of your seat. The acting is wonderful, and they creat sublime effect on you with the film's atmosphere. The plot is very clever, and Charlie will creep you out. A pretty good horror film.