The Popkorn Junkie :: Hide & Seek

SPOILER REVIEW! SPOILER REVIEW! SPOILER REVIEW!

      For some strange reason, I am a big fan of director John Polson, and I don't really know how to justify such a statement. He has only directed two mainstream pictures, but I thought "Swimfan" was absolutely marvelous, and one of the better thrillers to come around in a long time. "Hide & Seek" is much different from that film. For starters, this is more of a horror film than a thriller. Secondly, this film is not aimed at a teenage audience -- you don't sign on Robert DeNiro for a film if you are striving to attract a teenage audience. And, lastly, this film is a little more complicated; a little darker and little more foreboding. It kind of reminded me of the mediocre arthouse schlock "Wendigo" from a couple of years back in the way it built up tension through the atmosphere and the location. The landscape becomes just as much of a character as any of the folks making the cool millions. Director John Polson has a very keen eye, and works very well with images and pacing. Here, he has taken everything that was good about "Swimfan", but amped it up for an adult audience and thrown in a little M. Night Shyamalan storytelling for added comfort.

      In one of his better roles in recent memory, Robert DeNiro stars as David Callaway, an esteemed psychologist who, along with his beautiful wife (Amy Irving) and adorable daughter Emily (Dakota Fanning), lives a very comfortable life in an attractive New York apartment. In the first few minutes we know two things -- (01) this family is not wanting for anything, and (02) the wife is not very happy at all. The story takes off when David discovers his wife in the tub, soaking in a bath of her own blood. She has killed herself. We immediately switch to David deciding that he should take his daughter to live in upstate New York, to a place that is unusually quiet because it is primarily a summer retreat for rich tourists. He does this against the wishes of his friend and child psychiatrist Katherine (Famke Janssen). As soon as they get settled in, Emily confides in her father that she has made a new friend named Charlie, whom David automatically perceives to be imaginary. David has also made a friend, a beautiful local woman named Elizabeth (Elisabeth Shue). When he invites her to dinner, the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan.

      The remainder of the film deals with a string of strange occurrences that happen to David, mysterious and violent acts that Emily blames on her invisible friend Charlie. But, is Charlie invisible? Is he even imaginary? That is the question raised in the middle fifty percent of the film. The first twenty five percent is the set-up, the middle fifty the exploration, and the final twenty-five the pay-off. This is one of those films when you are presented with an enormous onslaught of supporting characters, each one exhibiting some signs that they could be the person responsible for whatever is going on. The first one we meet is an eerie town sheriff, played with awkward creepiness by the great and underrated Dylan Baker. He seems more like a pedophile than a sheriff, at first. Next, we meet the couple who live next door -- Melissa Leo and Robert John Burke -- who have just lost a daughter of their own to cancer, and really seem to have an unhealthy obsession with Emily. They both deliver sterling performances. When the huge twist is revealed at the end of the film, it works on the strength of the performance by DeNiro. This is the first truly great psychopath he has played in a long time, and he does it like he has been wanting to do it for years and years now.

      What separates "Hide & Seek" from most other flops of the genre is that director John Polson has packed this film with wonderful actors, who all deliver on their material. Dylan Baker is a minor character, at best, and he has as much fun with the role as possible, the same thing going for Melissa Leo and Robert John Burke. Famke Janssen was the only person I thought was slightly wasted, in a role that requires very little, but demands an exceptional amount, especially towards the end of the film. Dakota Fanning, as always, demonstrates that she can tackle virtually every genre imaginable and still come out on top. It would not be a risky statement to say that she is the most talented and well-paid child actor working today. Then, there's Bobby DeNiro. Was he the perfect choice for this role? Probably not. As the father and casanova, he flounders a little. But, all of that is forgotten as soon as he turns around to look at his daughter and we realize what has been working against us for the length of the film. DeNiro turns it on at the end of this film, and his energy and power are the driving forces that bring "Hide & Seek" home.

      Critics have not been and will not be as kind to this film as I have been. This was the kind of movie that left me feeling satisfied because I knew I had just watched amazing actors deliver fine performances, a fine director weave an interesting tale, and the father of all psycho characters turn up the heat once more. "Hide & Seek" will be one of those horror films you rent a lot, because it both entertains and jolts. This is by no means the in your face horror of "The Grudge", but a lot is to be said for less than immediate pacing and genuine chills. It is the expectation of what could happen that gets the heart pounding, and you don't really have to deliver anything to have accomplished your goal. "Hide & Seek" was probably the best film I have seen in 2005, and I am giving it three and a half pops because it pleased the hell out of me. Maybe I had been expecting some wretched. I was pleasantly surprised.

-- Billy Ray ( 4 out of 4 pops )

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