Hide and Seek

Ealasaid/ January 31, 2005/ Movie Reviews and Features

Starring: Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen, Elisabeth Shue
Directed by: John Polson
Rated: R for frightening sequences and violence.
Parental Notes: This is not a movie for youngsters, though teens who like to be scared might enjoy it. There is not a lot of graphic violence, but we do see a number of corpses and there are numerous, drawn-out suspense sequences.

“Hide and Seek” is the sort of solid, standard film which fills the thriller/horror slot on a marquee well without exciting much in the way of comment or controversy. It isn’t terribly original, but it isn’t painfully hackneyed either. It does have some wonderful acting in it, from the legendary Robert De Niro and youngster Dakota Fanning, but its dialog isn’t really anything to write home about. If you have a craving to be strung on the rack of the suspenseful movie, “Hide and Seek” will fill that void, but it’s not going to pull you in if you’re not in the mood.

It is the death of Alison Callaway (Amy Irving), wife of David (Robert De Niro) and mother of Emily (Dakota Fanning), which propels the story. Soon after he and Emily find her exsanguinated body, David decides to move himself and Emily to a house out in the country. David says the move is to let Emily get away from the memories that crowd around their New York apartment but one gets the feeling that the move is as much for David’s sake as for Emily’s. De Niro brings the same craft to his performance here that he brings to all his work, and we get the very real sense that David is every bit as distraught as Emily, although he shows it less.

David is a psychologist, and so one can assume he knows what he’s doing, but Emily’s psychologist, Katherine (Famke Janssen) isn’t so sure. She’s quickly proven correct as Emily’s personality takes a turn for the grim. She discards her beloved dolls, informing David that she has a new friend, “Charlie.” Charlie is a malevolent presence from the moment Emily wanders into the damp, dark cave where she claims to have met him. Soon Emily is dressing up in her departed mother’s gowns and playing increasingly unnerving games with her imaginary friend. Fanning is a fantastic young actress, and she portrays Emily’s gradual slide into near-insanity with ease. It’s a pleasure to see a child actor who actually acts rather than just making faces at the camera.

It’s the rest of the film that drags these two solid performances down into mediocrity. Janssen’s psychologist is a two dimensional plot device, giving David someone to call and talk psychobabble with as Emily begins to lose it, and then showing up to save the day near the end. There are cardboard cutouts with more personality Equally annoying is one of the handful of secondary characters who gives off studiously creepy vibes. He is so obviously a red herring that it’s almost embarrassing.

By the time Charlie is doing truly evil and frightening things like drowning the family cat and shoving people out of windows, it’s clear that he isn’t an imaginary friend. The film does indeed answer the question of what is going on and the revelation produces a satisfying frisson of realization, but it isn’t much of a shock. The final act devolves into an overly drawn-out cat and mouse game and by the end of the film we’re rolling our eyes, wondering which cliche ending the filmmakers chose to wrap things up.

Ultimately, “Hide and Seek” is merely adequate for its genre. It is intelligent enough to rise above the dreck, but it doesn’t quite make it into cream-of-the-crop league. If thrills and scares are what you’re seeking, you will probably enjoy it, but if you’re not a fan of psychological thrillers it isn’t going to change your mind about the genre.