Carissa Marsh
Staff Writer
Eight one thousand… nine one thousand… ten one thousand. Ready or not, here I come!
Who ever thought that an innocent children’s game would become the subject of a gruesome nightmare? But this is just what happens in “Hide and Seek” when the favorite childhood game goes terribly wrong and Emily Callaway’s imaginary friend Charlie becomes more real than she ever imagined.
After the suicide of her mother, the 9-year-old girl played by Dakota Fanning struggles to come to terms with her mother’s sudden death. In an attempt to ease the pain and grief, Emily’s father David (Robert De Niro), who is a psychologist, decides to uproot his young daughter from home where everything reminds them of their loss and move to a quiet, wooded area in upstate New York. Emily’s doctor Katherine (Famke Janssen) disagrees with David’s idea to relocate, but they move nonetheless.
Once in their new home, Emily is still devastated by the absence of her mother. Though she was once a happy, energetic child, she becomes lonely, desolate and stricken with grief. That is until she meets Charlie.
Charlie is Emily’s imaginary friend, her only friend, and she finds solace in playing games with him. Their favorite game is hide and seek.
Things quickly spiral out of control and the question soon becomes, “Who is Charlie?” Emily’s imaginary (or real?) friend turns into a frightening nightmare and people start to die. When playing with Charlie, you can run, but you can’t hide.
De Niro’s performance in “Hide and Seek” is top-notch. Departing from his funny-man persona in “Meet the Parents” and “Meet the Fockers” he takes a more serious turn that can be likened to his performance in 2004’s “Godsend.” De Niro’s flexibility as an actor is what makes his role in “Hide and Seek” so convincing. When the film takes an unexpected turn, De Niro enables the audience to keep following the action.
Once again, Fanning pulls off an incredible performance. Fanning, who starred opposite Denzel Washington in “Man on Fire” and Brittany Murphy in “Uptown Girls,” is able to reel in her audience, capturing us with her big, unblinking eyes. Despite her young age, Fanning’s range as an actor rivals that of her co-stars. In “Hide and Seek,” Fanning conveys both a sense of innocence and wickedness at the same time.
This leaves people wondering, “Is she Charlie?” Though at times Fanning’s role as a grief-stricken, motherless child borders on being too melodramatic, it never becomes over-the-top and unbelievable because of the circumstances.
“Hide and Seek” was directed by John Polson, who has done about as much work acting as he has directing. Polson was in front of the camera for 2000’s action-packed film “Mission: Impossible II” but jumped back behind the camera in 2002 when he directed another thriller, “Swimfan.” Polson is also known for the Tropicana Short Film Festival (Tropfest), which he created in 1993.
Polson plays up the theme of the game hide and seek with camera shots that come from behind closet doors and lighting that falls eerily over the face. Menacing music and Fanning’s coaxing “come out, come out, wherever you are” add to the overall frightening effect.
Screenwriter Ari Schlossberg takes the credit for the suspenseful script that reveals just enough information at the right time to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
Together, Polson and Schlossberg create a powerfully scary thriller that the audience feels connected to through the familiarity of childhood games and imaginary friends. It is obvious that this is definitely not child’s play.
In the wave of scary movies that have been hitting theaters recently, “Hide and Seek” stands out above the rest.
The acting is on-point and the twist at the end is good enough to make you want to see the movie a second time. After experiencing “Hide and Seek” you will never again feel the same way about your favorite childhood pastime.
02-03-2005
