Hide and Seek **
Cast: Robert De Niro, Dakota Fanning, Famke Janssen, Elisabeth Shue, Amy Irving, Dylan Baker
Director: John Polson
Running Length: 1:42
MPAA Classification: R

After his wife kills herself, psychologist David Callaway (DeNiro) and his only daughter Emily (Fanning) move to a secluded house to start fresh. The death of her mother has affected Emily, and her father finds her very withdrawn and not herself. She lashes out at David's female friend Elizabeth (Shue), detailing her mother's suicide in an attempt to scare her off. The only happiness she finds is from her new imaginary friend, Charlie. But Charlie is not the nice sort of imaginary friend. He writes accusations on the bathroom walls for David to find, and kills the family cat. David refuses to hospitalize Emily for her imaginary friend's actions, hoping that things will get better on their own. But they don't, and Charlie becomes a force that must be reckoned with.

"Hide and Seek" is a movie that desperately wants to be better than it is, but director John Polson is no master cratsman, and the big reveal, when it comes, is not really a surprise. In addition, all the goodwill built up in the first 2/3 of the movie evaporates quickly as "Hide and Seek" degenerates into standard horror movie cliches. The time between revelation and end of the movie is too great to maintain the tension, and the second twist leaves you shaking your head.

Forget DeNiro, Dakota Fanning is the star of this movie, and the best reason to go see it. It is hard to believe that so young an actress can carry an entire movie, but carry it she does. Any faults are the script's and director's. Fanning is convincing as the girl who is haunted by her mother's death and an unstable imaginary friend. She deserves more than the final product delivers.