A young Dakota Fanning stars in the ‘unsettling’ movie as she makes an imaginary friend, that becomes less so imaginary as time goes on – viewers are calling it a ‘must-watch’
The horror film is more than 20 years old but fans are still raving about its suspenseful scenes online.
Hide and Seek was first released in 2005 and was a box office hit, with two A-list actors at the heart of its unsettling story. Robert De Niro stars alongside a young Dakota Fanning, who plays his daughter Emily in the movie and went on to win an MTV Movie Award for her performance.
Directed by another John Polson, the film sees De Niro play a single parent, David, who, after finding his wife dead in their home, decides to move him and his daughter to upstate New York. In their new house, Emily makes an imaginary friend, who she calls Charlie, but it’s not long before her relationship with him raises alarm bells for David.
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After discovering their cat dead in the bathtub, Emily tells her dad that it was in fact Charlie who was responsible. As her behavior becomes more unusual and the young girl grows more hostile towards her father, David starts to worry that Charlie may not be imaginary after all.
A Rotten Tomatoes review states: “Amazing horror, actually giving the creepy vibe and keeping you on your toes; don’t understand all the bad criticism; some used before tropes, but not everything must be innovative, and as far as horror/thriller goes, this was amazing, and the acting is exceptional! A must-watch if you like the genre.”
Another viewer shared: “Great acting by great actors. Had a plot twist I didn’t expect but saw after watching the movie a couple of times. Don’t listen to critics; it’s definitely worth a watch!”
In its opening weekend in US theaters, the film grossed $21 million and went on to gross a worldwide total of $122.7 million. However, critics didn’t have the best things to say about the film, in spite of its popularity with horror fans.
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One MTV critic wrote: “Shameless in its appropriation of incidents and atmosphere from earlier horror movies, with De Niro giving one of the emptier performances of his latter-day career.” While others even claimed De Niro’s performance was “blank.”
In disagreement, many viewers have taken to the review site to share their admiration for the psychological horror. A fan said: “It’s no classic by any means necessary, but perfect performances by De Niro and Fanning make for an entertaining thriller.”
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In an unusual turn of events, Hide and Seek actually has various different endings, depending on where the film was shown, and on DVD, the main menu offers the option to choose which one you want to see. When the movie hit theaters in the US, its most commonly known ending involved a pretty picture drawn by a now slightly older Emily, revealing the truth behind it all.
To see which side you stand on, you can watch the 2005 horror Hide and Seek now on Disney+.
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