Sunday, October 09, 2005

Hide and Seek


(2005) ***

Dakota Fanning has been my hero ever since War of the Worlds. She carries this whole movie, since Robert DeNiro can't seem to be bothered (my guess is that he thinks he's slumming). I really hope she signs on for more horror stuff, because she can really pull it off.

As a whole, however, this barely makes the three stars. After Emily's (Fanning) mother commits suicide, she and DeNiro dad head upstate to chill out. But Emily makes an invisible friend named Charlie who, according to her, is responsible for certain dire acts of vandalism taking place in the bathtub. I have to admit, I didn't see the ultimate twist coming, although several of the steps to get there were pretty obvious. I'mnotMarc does have a good point about a second viewing (see his review from earlier today), just to take in the nuances of Emily's nightmare dilemma once you know the score.

The dvd features 4 alternate "versions" which are really the same version except for the last chapter. They're worth a peek, but don't expect your mind to be blown. Unless, that is, you get crazy for continuity errors.

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