Hide and Seek

Director:
John Polson

Writer (WGA):
Ari Schlossberg (written by)

Release Date:
28 January 2005 (USA)

Genre:
Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Cast :
* Robert De Niro as David Callaway/Charlie
* Dakota Fanning as Emily Callaway
* Famke Janssen as Katherine
* Elisabeth Shue as Elizabeth
* Amy Irving as Allison Callaway

Original Sound Track :
1. Leaving the City (Main Title) 2:07
2. Exploring 2:26
3. What Did You Do? 4:15
4. Can You See Now? 2:31
5. Toy Shrine 1:48
6. The Playground 1:47
7. Getting Away! 2:46
8. Doll Head 2:46
9. Playing with Charlie 3:36
10. Beyond Therapy 1:46
11. Snooping 2:08
12. Kitty Bath 2:03
13. Marco Polo 2:06
14. The Cave 2:13
15. Hide & Seek (Emily's Theme) 4:40
16. Hide & Seek 4:01

Plot :
Following his discovery of the body of his wife in a bathtub after her suicide, Dr. David Callaway (Robert De Niro), a psychologist working in New York City, decides to move with his daughter Emily (Dakota Fanning) to upstate New York. There, Emily befriends a mysterious imaginary friend who wishes to be named "Charlie". Her friendship with Charlie begins to disturb David when he discovers their cat dead in the bathtub. Charlie is apparently responsible for this horrific act, according to Emily. David also has recurring nightmares at a specific time of the night where, in the dream, he keeps re-living the New Years' Eve that he discovers his wife cheating on him. When a family friend, Katherine (Famke Janssen) comes to visit David and Emily, Emily reveals that she and Charlie are getting closer and have a mutual desire to upset their father. Soon they meet a man and a woman that are their neighbors. They had a daughter that passed away from cancer, and in a photo, it is revealed that the daughter looks exactly like Emily. The husband soon starts coming to visit Emily and talks to her very often.

When David meets local woman Elizabeth (Elisabeth Shue) to whom he has become attracted, Charlie hides in a closet and then bursts out, pushing Elizabeth out a second-story window, causing her death. After the police discover her car crashed near David's house, David asks Emily what happened. Emily claims Charlie had caused her death and then tells David where her body is. A terrified David discovers Elizabeth's body in a bathtub full of blood. David asks Emily where Charlie is, and Emily tells him that Charlie "just left the house". David, armed with a knife, goes outside, where he meets his concerned neighbor that has become friends with Emily. The neighbor claims he heard noises and saw David walk out of the woods with a shovel moments before. David assumes that his neighbor is Charlie and begins to act aggressive. Thinking that David has killed his own daughter and buried her in the woods, the neighbor asks to see Emily, but David refuses and cuts the neighbor with his knife. The neighbor then calls the police.

After this, David discovers that he has split personality. David realizes that Charlie is not imaginary at all, but that in fact, he is Charlie. David also discovers that under his Charlie personality, he killed his wife and then made it appear to be a suicide, after discovering his wife's affair. David's entire personality then becomes fully consumed by the increasingly violent Charlie, leading him to murder the local sheriff, who came to investigate the previous altercation. Emily calls Katherine for help and Katherine arrives in time to rescue Emily. Katherine shoots David/Charlie in the cave behind their house where Emily first met 'Charlie'.

The movie ends with Emily preparing for school while living a new life with Katherine, Emily draws a picture of herself and Katherine, suggesting that everything is fine. But when the camera cuts back to Emily's drawing, Emily has two heads suggesting that she herself also suffers from split personality.

Pictures :