Hide and Seek - 4/10.

Spoilers but that is taken for granted as the section is for our take on the movie.

Think the movie has to be broken down into 3 sections.

1 - Before the killer is revealed.

2 - What you think of the killer and the whole uncovering.

3 - The story and the ending after the killer is found out.

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On #1 above, I liked it and as expected Dakota was very good and Deniro was good.

On #2, I didn't have a problem with it, usually the killer / murderer isn't that hard to figure out. And for me, this movie was as much for seeing the actors as anything else - besides the above - Elizabeth Shue, Famke J, etc.

On #3, the ending was standard.

So overall it was good enough with the actors in it.

- One question - in the last scene, did the picture change with the extra head added or did Dakota draw the 2 heads. Or is there suppose to really be a Charlie.

Hide and Seek is a great horror/thriller. It's not scary, but it's quite a good movie. I liked how the so-called "twist" ending actually made some sense, unlike recent horror movies like White Noise and The Forgotten. The twist made sense, and it didn't require you to think about the movie forever. It came instantly. I guess it was a little predictable, because my first guess in the movie turned out to be the right guess. However, the movie does a good job of throwing off the audience, so I was still a little surprised with the ending. Another positive thing about the movie was Dakota Fanning. She gave the audience a "oh my god, that's one freakin' creepy little girl" vibe. She was excellent. De Niro was good too. Overall, I thought it was well done. A few plot holes, but the movie was very well crafted, and definently better than White Noise.

B

Spoilers (highlight)

The extra head symbolized that while her father, De Niro, had two personalities (Charlie and himself), Dakota Fanning also did.

Spoilers

I agree with your review. Dakota F was really great in those scenes on the bed, stairs and even the first scene on the turning ride. She just had an amazing look and her eyes were so spooky.

Also on Deniro, I guess it was expected how it happened - He probably was sold on the extra meat he got to play in this role. This just popped into my head - Very similar to the hook for Harrison Ford in What Lies Beneath.

Yeah, that's a good comparison. Both did good.

Spoilers

On the 2 ..., did that happen after the father died cause I don't think she was like that the whole movie.

Spoilers

I would guess so. She didn't have changing personalities through the movie, though there might be something we're missing.

Goldie, you need to put Spoiler alert. :wink: Once you said about Harrison Ford in What Lies Beneth, I immediately know the twist.

Goldie, I edited your post with spoiler warnings. It's better, so people don't come in here and find out what happens.

That's fine, I mentioned the spoilers up top and usually I don't post in this review section.

Anyway, for me, I never come into this section until I have seen the movie - isn't this section suppose to be where you can analyze the movie.

In the future, I will try to spoilers and white ink on all posts

That's true. In this section, spoilers should be expected. It's just that some posters have tantrum attacks when seeing a spoiler.

Grow up zing....seriosuly...

I never even mentioned your name. You're not the only one who freaks out. Maybe you are the one that needs to grow up.

Assuming makes an ass out of you and... well, just you.

Please refrain from the name calling....it is against rules....thank you :wink:

One thing I dont understand is how the movie got a R rating. There was absolutely nothing grotesque or gory about the movie. There was no swearing at all. So why did this one get an R rating when The Grudge which was more gory got a PG-13?

Anyhow the movie seems to take alot from the Shining as opposed to your standard horror movie, it was also nice to see Elisabeth Shue back in the big screen and not aged that much at all. I thought some parts here and there were slow but the acting is rather well done. I think this movie is aimed more at adults as opposed to your standard teeny boopers

B-

SPOILERS My guess would be the child abuse factor of it. The fact that a dad was trying to murder his daughter in a long chase scene is grisly stuff and sadly, something that really does happen, albeit not so cheesily as it did in Hide and Seek. That and the bathtub full of blood. But really, it wasn't that much more violent then Secret Window, just a few short edits and it could've been an easy PG-13.

Anyway, I'd give it a C-. It's just an incredibly bland, cliche movie, with nothing that doesn't make it the least bit generic. Aside from Dakota Fanning, the film just lacks anything special that differentiates from any other murder mysteries you can find on basic cable. C-

I'm rather undecided at this point. I mean it was a decent horror flick, and a great performance from Dakota Fanning (nothing special from DeNiro, though). But, it lacked anything... worthwhile. Nothing stood out as great to me.

Spoilers, before the hissy fits start

I thought it was a lot like Secret Window too, when we find out the father has two personalities. We just didn't get that double scene, where they talk to themselves. So, she did develop a second personality after the whole ordeal with her dad, or did she have it all along? Just wondering to understand better.

Anywho, I would have to settle on C+ for now. Maybe more, maybe less. I'll need to let the entire movie sink in before I go on anything final. But, that always happens. I gave Elektra a B+ at first, now it's a B. White Noise a B-, now it's a C+.

Grade: C+

A mediocre film at best that is made better by an excellent performance by Dakota Fanning. The twist was nothing exceptional and was quite predictable and the ending dragged on endlessly.

Grade: B

He was just refering to me anyway. :wink:

Spoilers within, so beware .

Grade: C

I was excited to see this movie because I thought it looked just great. But, aside from a wonderful performance by Dakota Fanning it wasn't anything special at all. The movie was exactly like Secret Window; same twist, except I liked Secret Window better b/c it showed Shooter so it did a better job of throwing you off from figuring out that it's all actually Johnny Depp. In Hide & Seek, I knew that it was DeNiro after the second 2:06 flashback, when they showed him looking bewildered as his wife leaves the ballroom, then they show him following her into the elevator and out the doors. That's when I knew the wife did something that ticked him off and he flipped his lid. From that point, I already knew it was him and all the excitement, for me, anyway, just drained right out of the film. I didn't enjoy the ending, either. I knew that Dakota's character just wasn't going to die, but as soon as Katherine shows up, I was like, okay, one of them kills him and Dakota goes to live with her... which was exactly what happened. My thing with the movie was that it just seemed too predictable. There just really wasn't any suspense.

A question I had about the movie was whether Dakota had a split personality throughout the whole movie, or developed it after watching David/Charlie die? I thought she probably had it throughout the movie, but perhaps wasn't aware of it? Because it seemed like she might have been a different personality at times like when she smashed the face of the doll and gave it back to the girl. But that might not be it at all.. she might have just been messed up from the death of her mother and did that for anger, spite, whatever. Also, she seemed to like 'playing' with Charlie before she realized he was killing people. After Elizabeth is killed is when she says she doesn't want to play with Charlie anymore and that she wants him to go away.

It was a great movie until that twist, i didnt like it so much, but the movies was all around good!
Not scary at all, but it is a little spooky at time!

Wonderful performance by Dakota =D> that girl needs an Oscar \:D/

B-

*spoilers*

Hide and Seek is a movie that the second it starts, you know the ending. I'm tired of the "split personality" thing, it's quite annoying that every other film has it. I was hoping nobody would have the split personality in this, but of course DeNiro did, and that was quite predictible. Hide and Seek will definetely be on my worst of 2005 list come the end of the year.

*end spoilers*

4/10 (D+)

Hide and Seek is a good horror/thriller, one or two scenes shocked me. DeNiro and Dakota Faning plays their role very well. i'm satisfied. but sadly at the end there are some unanswered question. leaves a question mark to me. so overall it's still enjoyable. i gave it B grade.