Hide & Seek (15) Review

“Hide & Seek - If you're a fan of psychological...”

Written on: 08/03/2005 by The Daddy (70 reviews written)

Good Points
Genuinely scary
Dakota Fanning gives a perfromance beyond her years
De Niro is good value
As good as any other film in this genre

Bad Points
Some sinister undertones to the movie
Grand finale a bit predictable

General Comments
Hide & Seek - If you're a fan of psychological thrillers then I would urge you to check out Hide and Seek. The film stars top child actress Dakota Fanning, who gave a great turn in Man On Fire opposite Denzel Washington, alongside screen icon Robert De Niro in this mysterious thriller. De Niro plays troubled psychologist David Callaway, whose wife has committed a gruesome suicide after being trapped in an unhappy marriage. Fanning is the couple's messed up daughter Emily who, along with David, found the body after the disturbing suicide.



Emily is one psychologically distraught kid, and David believes the only way to bring his daughter back into reality is by moving away to the sticks away from the painful memories of his wife's demise. Reluctantly, David sells up and moves himself and his daughter into a sleepy country area so he can devote time to her and get her away from the city and, of course, away from the suicide scene. By moving Emily into the country, however, the problems don't go away, but simply escalate to disturbing proportions. Emily is a loner, but this soon changes as she makes a new friend called Charlie. It doesn't take David long to deduce that Charlie is an imaginary friend, seemingly a comforting mechanism for Emily to deal with her troubles. However, it soon becomes clear that whoever or whatever Charlie is, he is anything but imaginary as sinister events begin unravel in the new family home.



If you're a fan of frightening films then you should definitely give this film a chance. Most viewers will be blown away by Fanning's haunting performance as the troubled child and as ever De Niro is on his game, this time as the worried father. Strong support is on hand to with Sandra Bullock popping up as Emily's psychologist and creepy townsfolk being involved in the country scenes, including a love interest for De Niro, a strange deputy and two neighbours who are not all that they seem....