Hide and Seek (2005)

As a widower tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide, his daughter finds solace -- at first -- in her imaginary friend.

Director:

John Polson

Writer:

Ari Schlossberg

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Robert De Niro	...	David Callaway
Dakota Fanning	...	Emily Callaway
Famke Janssen	...	Katherine
Elisabeth Shue	...	Elizabeth
Amy Irving	...	Alison Callaway
Dylan Baker	...	Sheriff Hafferty
Melissa Leo	...	Laura
Robert John Burke	...	Steven
Molly Grant Kallins	...	Amy
David Chandler	...	Mr. Haskins
Jake Dylan Baumer	...	Disturbed Boy

Storyline

Hide and Seek revolves around a widower and his daughter. They move to upstate and Emily soon creates an imaginary friend named Charlie... but this act takes an unexpected and terrifying turn, where her father and doctor start to worry about Emily's gruesome habits.

---

Plot Keywords:

suicide | doctor | imaginary friend | widower | moving in | 

---

Taglines:

Come out come out whatever you are

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for frightening sequences and violence

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 January 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mente siniestra

Filming Locations:

257 Central Park West, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$502,631 (Japan) (22 April 2005)

Gross:

$3,082,877 (Japan) (13 May 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox 2000 Pictures, Josephson Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Auditions were held for the part of Emily because director John Polson hoped he would be able to "find another Dakota Fanning". Among the hopefuls were AnnaSophia Robb, but in the end, Dakota Fanning herself was cast.

---

Goofs

When Emily is laying on her bedroom floor, she draws a picture of her and Charlie at the window, but she draws herself with blonde hair, the actress's natural hair color.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Alison: Faster.
Emily: No, no, no.

---

Connections

Featured in Hide and Seek: Do You Want to Play? The Making of 'Hide and Seek' (2005)

---

Soundtracks

"Sax Kitten"
Written by Carlos Diernhammer
Courtesy of Extreme Production Music

User Reviews

Come out wherever you are.....

As a psychological thriller, or a horror film, "Hide and Seek" doesn't break new ground. In fact, once it's over, the viewer feels somehow manipulated by what we have just witnessed. There are, supposedly, four different alternative endings for the movie, but unfortunately, the one being shown, doesn't add anything to what we have already seen.

Although the film has some interesting moments, director John Polson has gone for the Grand Guignol effect. Ari Schlosberg's screen play gives us hints about what to expect, yet, when we realize the mystery at the center of the story, we keep scratching our heads.

Suffice it to say, this film doesn't add anything to Robert DeNiro's brilliant career. Mr. DeNiro's last choices in films puzzle us, as well as his fans because we know he is capable of doing much better. Yet, as shown with this film and "Meet the Parents", and its sequel, "Meet the Fockers", "Analize This", and "Analize That", the actor keeps us wondering about his choices.

Dakota Fanning is a young actress who shows an uncanny sense of how to upstage Mr. DeNiro in most of their scenes together. As Emily, in this film, this girl shows an enormous range in what she is capable of doing. One can see Ms. Fanning growing to be another Jody Foster in later years.

The rest of the cast is completely underused. Amy Irving is only seen in flashbacks, which is a shame since she is a valuable actress. Famke Janssen has a few key scenes. The same goes for Melissa Leo, Elisabeth Shue and Robert John Burke.

The only consolation was it was shown on cable and we felt lucky not having spent the price of admission.