Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
According to Robert Scucci
| Published
Sometimes a psychological horror movie has the perfect cast, but not the best script to make the most of their talents. 2005 Hide and Seek falls into that unfortunate category as Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning really bring their A-game through their tense performances full of frenetic and paranoid energy in the face of an unknown source of terror. I can’t even fault it Hide and Seek for the poor production despite the film’s supposed budget constraints ($25 million is nothing to scoff at), as the cinematography is top-notch and effectively ratchets up the tension before things start to fall apart in the third installment.
I’m reminded of an industry phrase I’ve learned from working with various sound engineers on music projects over the years regarding high level production and talent when applied to average songwriting that I think applies to Hide and Seek. That said, you can polish the shit all you want, but it’s still crap.
But it is Hide and Seek really all that bad? Or is it just contrived and generic — which isn’t necessarily a scathing indictment in the right context — to the point where most seasoned horror fans think it’s a waste of time? Critical Score 13 percent on Rotten tomatoes is telling, but what’s more telling is the 50 percent score on Popcornmeter that suggests Hide and Seek is a somewhat effective psychological thriller that is orders of magnitude better than the critics would have you believe.
If I were to weigh myself, Hide and Seek is contrived and generic, but a solid entry point for the casual horror fan.
Watch out for Charlie
Hide and Seek introduces us to Dr. David Callaway (Robert De Niro), a psychologist who needs a fresh start with his daughter Emily (Dakota Fanning) after the suicide of his wife Allison (Amy Irving). David moves to upstate New York, unpacks his belongings in his study, and begins to put his life back together. As he spends his evenings listening to music and writing in his journal to make sense of the recent tragedy he and Emily suffered, David seems to be doing everything he can to give his daughter a normal life after her mother died.
Aside from David’s recurring nightmare about the New Year’s Eve party where he last saw Alison alive, he seems to have pulled himself together, but is quickly unsettled by Emily’s new imaginary boyfriend “Charlie”. As a psychologist, David has reason to believe that Charlie is a coping mechanism created by Emily to process her grief. David’s hypothesis seems to hold true until there are acts of violence—such as murdering the family cat, even though it’s just David and Emily living alone—for which Emily always blames Charlie.
As the film’s title suggests, Emily likes to play hide-and-seek with Charlie whenever David is in his study, and the result of this seemingly innocent game always ends in violence. After befriending a local woman named Elizabeth (Elisabeth Shue), matters escalate to the point of no return when Emily (and Charlie) invite her to play their twisted version of the game with them. Struggling to overcome his own grief, David does the fatherly thing by trying to help Emily overcome her supposed hallucinations while becoming increasingly paranoid about the ever-elusive Charlie turning his life upside down.
Behaves reasonably well but can’t stick the landing
Remember when I said that Hide and Seek is contrived and generic, but does it carry his talent well? I stand by my statement because Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning walk through the premise convincingly, even as the script leads their characters to painfully obvious conclusions and revelations. The “twist” ending aspires to be Sixth sensebut eventually we get a derivative reveal that will disappoint if you frequent Psychological Horror Airlines.
Most notably, Dakota Fanning gives a stellar performance that’s all the more impressive when you consider that she was just 11 years old at the time. Hide and Seek’s release. Portraying a little girl being tormented by an abusive imaginary boyfriend (or some unknown outsider who pretends to be imaginary) is no easy task, and she convincingly conveys her sense of fear and confusion to the audience through her innocent conversations with her caring father, whenever Charlie points out that it’s not little. You’ll find yourself wondering if she’s a manipulative little girl trying to pull one over on her dad, or if Charlie is really bothering her, and the answer might surprise you if you let your guard down.
I also can’t necessarily fault De Niro and Fanning for doing the best they could with what they were given, because the father-daughter dynamic Hide and Seek it seems to come from a real place.
Hide And Seek Tracking
is Hide and Seek does it deserve a 13 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes? Not even close. If anything, I’d consider this film a mid-level to entry-level psychological horror that has its rightful place in the genre for casual viewers who haven’t yet grown weary of generic genre conventions.
As of this writing Hide and Seek not available on streamingwhich is a shame because it’s a perfect low-stakes film with some superbly shot sequences that are genuinely disturbing. However, you can view the title on request Google Play Movies, Apple TV+, Fandango at homeand Amazon Prime Video.
