31 Nights of Horror Hide & Seek

Platform: Vudu (owned movie)

Director: John Polson

Release Year: 2005

Watch Date: October 3, 2023

My Rating: 6.9

Where to begin with this psychological thriller? The first time I saw it, I immediately figured it out. Yes, this is an immediate spoiler. After Emily comes back from playing in the forest and David starts talking to her there is a very telling look of confusion on her face. It almost says, “What the heck, dad…we were just playing together.” That’s when I knew. My friends were all super surprised at the movie's end when David turned out to be Charlie.

So now that I have completely spoiled the movie for you. This is a run of the mill psychological thriller where you are trying to figure out who Emily’s friend Charlie is. If you carefully listen to the things Emily says, once you know David is Charlie, and you watch the movie a second time…it is very obvious by the way she answers David’s questions. It is interesting to watch how Emily becomes more unkempt as the movie progresses and she realizes what a monster Charlie is.

One thing I love about this movie is Famke Janssen. I don’t know if I have expressed my admiration of her here before, but I think she is a fantastic actress. I love that she can play the protagonist just as well as a supporting character or the antagonist. I also think she is stunning. If I were to have girl crushes they would be on Famke and Cate Blanchett (who is also a phenomenal actress).

Anyhow, even though the movie is predictable and the script isn’t that great, Dakota Fanning does an amazing job acting. Robert De Niro also portrays the split personalities of Charlie and David. I will definitely watch this again.

Photo Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hide_and_Seek_%282005_film%29