Critic Reviews
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J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
The movie goes down the tubes in the last third.
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Rex Reed, New York Observer
[An] idiotic, yawn-a-minute thriller.
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Jessica Winter, Village Voice
Follows no semblance of internal logic.
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
I think it's just so well made, so well photographed.
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Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
Through its first two-thirds, at least, Hide and Seek does a good enough job of piquing our curiosity that the movie's ultimate dumbness is more than a minor insult.
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Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter
It's so absolutely preposterous that it stops the film cold and draws a collective 'Aw c'mon!' from viewers wondering if maybe they should take back some of that ill will that greeted M. Night Shyamalan's surprise turn of events in The Village.
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Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Older teens may enjoy; too creepy for kids.
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Harry Haun, Film Journal International
The movie starts out as one thing and suddenly jumps the tracks into something else. Then there's the question of credibility that this abrupt switch invites.
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Nathan Rabin, AV Club
A tawdry cocktail of red herrings, cheap psychology, and shameless horror-movie tropes.
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Russ Breimeier, Christianity Today
This movie has more red herrings than an Agatha Christie novel combined with the aquarium downtown. The real question is, 'How did this stinker attract such a big name cast?'
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Kurt Loder, MTV
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.
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Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
The best way to tell when things are getting bleak is to check Dakota Fanning's face. When she starts to look like a poached egg, that's when you better hide.
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Brent Simon, Now Playing Magazine
If you have a high threshold for nonsense and are a big fan of either lead actor, you will likely not find this film as utterly idiotic as you should.
Read all 13 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Hide and Seek is a predictable and mediocre thriller that not even the good performances by Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning can salvage. The film had a good idea, but it quickly falls apart, and becomes a tired film that tries too hard to deliver the thrills. For me, a good thriller… More
Hide and Seek is a predictable and mediocre thriller that not even the good performances by Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning can salvage. The film had a good idea, but it quickly falls apart, and becomes a tired film that tries too hard to deliver the thrills. For me, a good thriller film has got to be effortless in delivering a top-notch story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Though Hide and Seek starts off good enough to keep you interested, the director doesn't know where to take this story and give us, the viewer an exciting climax. Hide and Seek is simply a mediocre thriller that doesn't try to thrill you. This film is quite uninspired with an ineffective overused formula to create its thrills and tension. What's really surprising is that the good cast that director John Polson directs can't save the film from being a dud. I felt that the film started off well enough, but then it ventured into too similar territory of ideas that have been explored in previous films. I felt that the overused, cliché elements killed this film, and made it quite boring. A good cast is wasted here, and there's nothing going on that really kept me interested in this film. I didn't like the film, and felt it was very mediocre, and this is the perfect example of how a movie that uses old clichéd ideas to create a "new" thriller can turn out, it turns bad. Hide and Seek is boring, uninspired and dull. What could have been a good film is ruined by a bad script and overused ideas.
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Unexpected twists and exceptional performances. Creepy and cleverly written. A must see!
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i guessed the ending... yeah, when the movie is completely dependent on the ending like this (saw movies) and you predict the ending, it has nothing going for it.
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Story about a mental :|
But it was nice.
That kid Dakota Fanning is awesome.
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Robert De Niro is such a random actor. This Movie kept me wondering, then the surprise. . But it was a tiny bit strange to see Dakota playing a role of "disturbed" kid.
The House was so cute they lived in.
<i>Awesome reveal</I>
After the police discover her… More
Robert De Niro is such a random actor. This Movie kept me wondering, then the surprise. . But it was a tiny bit strange to see Dakota playing a role of "disturbed" kid.
The House was so cute they lived in.
<i>Awesome reveal</I>
After the police discover her car crashed near David's house, David asks Emily what happened. Emily claims Charlie had caused her death and then tells David where her body is. A terrified David discovers Elizabeth's body in a bathtub full of blood. David asks Emily where Charlie is, and Emily tells him that Charlie "just left the house". David, armed with a knife, goes outside, where he meets his concerned neighbor that has become friends with Emily. The neighbor claims he heard noises and saw David walk out of the woods with a shovel moments before. David assumes that his neighbor is Charlie and begins to act aggressive. Thinking that David has killed his own daughter and buried her in the woods, the neighbor asks to see Emily, but David refuses and cuts the neighbor with his knife. The neighbor then calls the police. As he is in his house a door opens. David thinking it was their neighbor he goes armed and ready. Nobody is there just boxes and his psychologist equipment. After this, David discovers that he has split personality. David realizes that Charlie is not imaginary at all, but that in fact, he is Charlie.
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Such a disaster. While the acting is quite good from Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning, it is a horrible story and highly predictable. It took interesting ideas from other movies and combined them into one, forgetting that people would recognize them without even thinking.
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Good thriller. A widower (Robert De Niro) tries to look after his daughter after the suicide of his wife and her mother. Emily (Dakota Fanning) doesn't make friends but prefers to play hide and seek with her imaginary friend Charlie. Good cast. Dakota plays the weird little girl… More
Good thriller. A widower (Robert De Niro) tries to look after his daughter after the suicide of his wife and her mother. Emily (Dakota Fanning) doesn't make friends but prefers to play hide and seek with her imaginary friend Charlie. Good cast. Dakota plays the weird little girl very convincingly. Be ready to be seating on the edge of your seat!
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This psychological thriller bases its success on its two main characters and their actors, and DeNiro and Fanning deliver as always. The first half of the film isn't terribly exciting but interesting enough to make the audience hope for a shocking twist or solution. Sadly, the… More
This psychological thriller bases its success on its two main characters and their actors, and DeNiro and Fanning deliver as always. The first half of the film isn't terribly exciting but interesting enough to make the audience hope for a shocking twist or solution. Sadly, the one presented towards the end is neither very convincing nor surprising, after that the showdown seems to drag on forever, using many stereotypes known to thriller finales. Leaves the audience unsatisfied and with the impression this could have been a lot better with a smarter script.
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I wonder why most of flix and I don't see eye to eye on this..is it cause Mr De Niro...should be commended?
But really...
it was a terrible yawn.
Totally predictable.
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Im not a fan of horror movies for the most part - but I was this one. The movie is unpredictable (for the most part) and has you thinking all the way through it. I like it the most, because it COULD happen, unlike the majority of horror movies made.
This is the only horror movie, I… More
Im not a fan of horror movies for the most part - but I was this one. The movie is unpredictable (for the most part) and has you thinking all the way through it. I like it the most, because it COULD happen, unlike the majority of horror movies made.
This is the only horror movie, I will probably ever give a steady five. Watch it, even if your not a fan of them!
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To minimize disappointment I'd recommend watching this hot on the heels of "Godsend", after which it will seem like a masterpiece! It isn't great, but "Hide & Seek" is well made and decently performed all round, especially by Dakota Fanning, a good… More
To minimize disappointment I'd recommend watching this hot on the heels of "Godsend", after which it will seem like a masterpiece! It isn't great, but "Hide & Seek" is well made and decently performed all round, especially by Dakota Fanning, a good little actress with a very expressive face. This is one of those slow-burning, mild horror movies which starts out supernatural and ends up psychological. The way the plot resolves itself is not so much predictable as inevitable, the only surprise being that Fanning doesn't end up with the faux-creepy bereaved neighbours at the end of the film.
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I'm so sick of "i'm a duel personality bad guy" movies.
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More like I'd rather die than see
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If want a ghost movie or even a hack-slash-bloody horror movie, this movie is not for you. This movie plays on your mind and less of the whole sound loud music now and show a jumpy scene. There are no supernatural characters in this movie, which makes it realistic and therefore more… More
If want a ghost movie or even a hack-slash-bloody horror movie, this movie is not for you. This movie plays on your mind and less of the whole sound loud music now and show a jumpy scene. There are no supernatural characters in this movie, which makes it realistic and therefore more believable. I usually find myself hating characters of scary movies because they are so stupid or have dumb actions, but this movie is not one of them. I enjoyed the movie because of the twist. Will this movie give you nightmares? No, but once you find out what's really going on, you can't help but be a little terrified. In my book, this is one of the better horror movies.
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I found this much more enjoyable, second time around, shows yet another side to Robert De Niro's acting skills and young Dakota Fanning is just great in all her roles too, I think this was possibly the best film she has been in. Quite spooky in bits, but it's a great watch… More
I found this much more enjoyable, second time around, shows yet another side to Robert De Niro's acting skills and young Dakota Fanning is just great in all her roles too, I think this was possibly the best film she has been in. Quite spooky in bits, but it's a great watch and a great twist too
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The only mystery in this predictable slasher movie is why an actor of Robert De Niro's stature would agree to appear in it.
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A slow but very good thriller with a neat twist!
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Went to see it at the cinema, it was as boring as hell (and I can sit through a lot if I feel the payoff's coming somewhere). The cast did as best as they could with a script which seemed to be flawed. Psychological ideas were nice, but wasn't delivered properly.
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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