Hide and Seek
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: January 28, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
35
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
17
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Surprises with its intensity and grip. Read full review
70
Washington PostDesson Thomson
As cliche-ridden horror films go, Hide and Seek builds a pretty darn good mousetrap. Read full review
63
PremiereKevin Allison
It’s tightly paced and confidently styled. These times call for more daring in our horror films, but for this weekend, this will do the trick. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyScott Brown
Hide and Seek, despite early signs of higher goals, is a factory-standard box of shocks. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
While the final revelation is laughably absurd, DeNiro and Fanning are so far inside their roles that one can't giggle for long. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
The movie's main purpose seems to be to make audiences squirm uncomfortably. Yelp and shriek in armchair-clawing glee? Not likely. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
Aside from its relentless exploitation of a child, this minor thriller features an intriguing beginning, a middling middle and an increasingly silly end, with a multitude of red herrings going squoosh underfoot. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
The movie is OK for a January horror picture, but given the premise and the cast--it should wring you out emotionally as it's scaring you witless. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It's not technically true to say the movie cheats, but let's say it abandons the truth and depth of its earlier scenes. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
From the base-model script to the assembly-line thrills, everything about Hide and Seek is generic except its star. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Its frights are not that chilling or original, its secrets more run-of-the-mill than astounding. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Kind of a drag. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Through its first two-thirds, at least, Hide and Seek does a good enough job of piquing our curiosity that the movie's ultimate dumbness is more than a minor insult. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Jigh class briefly gives way to high camp, which then itself dissipates to an anticlimactic thud. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Takes itself seriously enough to pull off a clever bit of sleight of hand, but doesn't have much to offer once the twist comes out of hiding. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
There are twist endings and there are twist endings -- and then there is the logic-strangling, complete cheat of a reveal that takes place in the final 10 minutes of Hide and Seek. It's so absolutely preposterous that it stops the film cold and draws a collective "Aw c'mon!" Read full review
40
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
That Mr. De Niro and especially Miss Fanning manage to register through all this murk is a testament to their talent, which however squandered does nonetheless shine. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The film's last 20 minutes devolve into a tedious slog through the kind of pointless, predictable running and screaming that give horror movies a bad name. Read full review
40
VarietyDerek Elley
A routine haunted child psychothriller gussied up with A-list casting. Read full review
40
EmpireNick De Semlyen
Aside from some effectively understated acting from the leads, there's not much to remember or recommend. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Far be it from me to spoil the secret, but I will say this: The last reel should've been sent straight to the city dump. Read full review
38
USA TodayMike Clark
There's not a cliché that isn't nailed. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeJanice Page
Ignore the hype. You won't find anything startling or memorable in the derivative Hide and Seek. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesKevin Crust
Unless you're a connoisseur of movies that are so bad they're good, Hide and Seek is one game you're not going to want to play. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It all falls apart at the end, however, and in such a loud and abrasive way that it makes Brian De Palma's "Raising Cain" look like a model of restraint. Read full review
30
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
Like far too many junky post-"Sixth Sense" thrillers, Hide And Seek essentially exists for the sake of its third-act plot twist, but the climactic revelation merely pushes it from bad to worse. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
De Niro gives a crafty performance, and director John Polson (Swimfan) maintains a pleasantly low-key suspense. But the ending is a disappointment. Read full review
25
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
It is a ghastly experience, and I left the theater feeling as if I had waded neck-deep through a stream of raw sewage. Read full review
25
New York PostDebra Birnbaum
A schlocky thriller choking under the weight of its own psychobabble. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A thriller without thrills. It's also a thriller that cheats. The story is stretched to feature length only by having the film's incidents arranged in such a way as to reveal as little as possible. Read full review
20
Film ThreatElias Sevada
Polson offers up a few chilling scares, but the underwritten screenplay really does show off its weaknesses. Read full review
20
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
May steal from the best, but it does it so badly and obviously that it has to depend upon gratuitous shock-cuts and soundtrack stings to elicit any kind of reflex-action fright from the viewer. Read full review
10
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Robert De Niro collects another stupendous paycheck for starring in another piece of exploitable junk.
0
Village VoiceJessica Winter
Hide and Seek follows no semblance of internal logic--the unveiling of Charlie is a ludicrous cheat, the last reel a unique paroxysm of rancid idiocy. Read full review
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