A keen interest in theories of psychoanalysis, which swept the foreign world in the late 60s, was reflected in the film industry. A series of films appeared, with the light hand of film critics called "Freudian." The basis for the plot of such films was all sorts of deviations of mental development, and the disclosure of the image of the heroes was not transformed into a psychological study of mental qualities, but into a psychiatric analysis of fractures.
In line with current trends
It is no wonder that the projects of the horror genre gladly exaggerated this topic. The film “Hide and Seek” (reviews of the film is a confirmation of this), although not in direct form, but continues to investigate one of the violations, namely, the split personality line. Director John Paulson, an eminent short film master, one of the organizers of the Tropfest festival, received not very flattering reviews from the audience for his debut "full meter". The rating of the tape according to IMDb was only 5.90. The film “Hide and Seek” was also not praised by critics; out of 155 official reviews, only 20 were written in a positive way, and 135 in a negative way.
The plot of the picture
The game “Hide and Seek”, the actors and roles of which were selected each other during the casting by producer Barry Josephson, contains an intriguing plot. The protagonist, New York’s children's psychologist David Calaway (Robert De Niro) and his daughter Emily (young Dakota Fanning), 11 years old, experience a terrible loss - the death of a beloved wife and caring mother. To distract the child, the father buys a country house and takes his daughter away from terrible memories. However, a hasty move does not bring them longed-for reassurance. David notices his daughter all the symptoms of a progressive mental illness. The girl has a fictitious friend Charlie, who has an evil disposition, who accuses the death of his mother David and prompts Emmy to do harm to her father in every possible way. A series of frightening, with an admixture of mysticism, incidents (after real crimes) suddenly finds a logical explanation. So, in the overwhelming majority, keeping the intrigue, they briefly describe the storyline and characterize the film “Hide and Seek” by the audience.
Intriguing trailer
The film “Hide and Seek” was especially disappointed by the people who were encouraged by the trailer. They expected a lot from John Paulson's project. A rural outback, a lonely lantern on a dilapidated porch, attracting a nearby forest and a gloomy cave - an ideal prologue for horror. The behavior of the hero De Niro, whose wife made a successful suicide attempt, gives hope for the presence of the spirit of the deceased, and the young Dakota Fanning with saucer-sized eyes is an ideal victim. To complete the set of intriguing components - the presence of some evil entity, spying on new residents and periodically arranging obscurantism. After such an entertaining commercial, only the most skeptical individual did not include the film “Hide and Seek” in the list of mandatory tapes. Trailer reviews for every second user were enthusiastic.
Disappointment after the premiere
Unfortunately, after the premiere of the cinema, most viewers left disappointed. The film "Hide and Seek" reviews compared to the anticipating comments on the trailer received restrained. Many film lovers, leaving reviews of the tape, noted that in the creation of John Paulson, once again, a good idea did not find a well-deserved decent incarnation. It seems that 97 minutes is too much for the director. The short-haul maestro could not keep up the pace and sank to platitudes. Almost the entire narrative of the tape was reduced to a mockery of the unfortunate heroine Dakota Fanning. In addition, the creators, trying to save the deplorable situation, shot as many as four alternative finals, in some countries the picture was shown with the original ending, in others - with the alternative. The picture is the first case in the history of the film industry, when the finished tape was distributed without a climax. She was brought separately to the cinema on the day of the premiere. The existence of alternative final shots, perhaps, was the reason that the film “Hide and Seek” received diametrically opposite reviews from reviewers.
Subjective opinion
Among the variety of comments and reviews, there are also positive opinions about the film “Hide and Seek”. Reviews of the audience about the film, written in a neutral or positive manner, note that the tape was shot professionally and efficiently, however, it was not able to break out of the framework of typical thrillers for a one-time viewing. At the same time, the film is not bad in its genre. While watching, the beholder will flinch more than once with fright, but the connoisseur of the horror will not be shocked by the “original climax”. The "chip" on which the narrative is built has recently been repeatedly used in such projects and has already become one of the well-known cinematic stamps. It is not easy to predict her, but she is no longer surprised.
Male lead
Fortunately for the creators, the film "Hide and Seek" the actors - performers of the main roles pulled to a decent level. It could not be otherwise, because the main male role in the film was played by the charismatic Robert de Niro. Repeated winner of the Oscars and Golden Globes for a long creative career played a lot of diverse roles. Most popular among the paintings in his filmography are The Godfather 2, Awakening, Once Upon a Time in America, Good Fellows, and Casino. Most of the characters embodied on the screen by the actor are complex personalities with a contradictory character, striving, first of all, to understand themselves. The artist’s assets also include well-known film masterpieces and paintings that went unnoticed, notable only for the participation in the production of a master of stage art. Unfortunately, "Hide and Seek", according to the assessment of world film critics, refers to the latter. Although the personality of de Niro’s character - David Colway - was subjected to detailed psychiatric analysis by specialists, as evidenced by several media publications.
The main star of the film
But what really impresses the viewer while watching is the realistic, adult-like professional game of the very young Dakota Fenning. The girl began her career with episodic roles in a number of well-known television series, her debut is considered to be "I - Sam." For participating in the drama, the seven-year-old baby was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award. A year later, Dakota was already starring in the Steven Spielberg project “The Abducted”. By this time, on her account there were several enthusiastic reviews from eminent film critics. In the same period, the demanded talent is removed in three film projects: “24 hours”, “Stylish little thing” and “Hansel and Gretel”. Before taking part in the production of "Hide and Seek", the girl manages to gain experience in the crime drama "Anger". Many authors, contributors who analyze the game of Hide and Seek, got the impression that the baby, accurately understanding the smallest details of the character of her heroine, carefully constructed an acting performance. Many experts called not de Niro, but Dakota the main star of the thriller, basing his statement on the fact that it, in fact, rests on the entire film. The viewer was simply horrified when he saw in the eyes of the heroine Fenning either horror or glimpses of madness.
Instead of a conclusion
In a word, the film "Hide and Seek" (audience reviews of the film confirm this) can be recommended for viewing for the sake of this young but worthy talented performer. And the rest, according to the experts of the film industry, the film is an ordinary “scarecrow” that will certainly tickle the audience’s nerves, but it will be forgotten in just a couple of days.