Hide and Seek (2005)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

John Polson

Writer (WGA):

Ari Schlossberg (written by)

Release Date:

28 January 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Come out come out whatever you are

Plot:

As a widower tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide, his daughter finds solace -- at first -- in her imaginary friend.

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Widower | Imaginary Friend | Suicide | Small Town

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	David Callaway
Dakota Fanning	...	Emily Callaway
Famke Janssen	...	Katherine
Elisabeth Shue	...	Elizabeth
Amy Irving	...	Alison Callaway
Dylan Baker	...	Sheriff Hafferty
Melissa Leo	...	Laura
Robert John Burke	...	Steven
Molly Grant Kallins	...	Amy
David Chandler	...	Mr. Haskins
Stewart Summers	...	Doctor
Jake Dylan Baumer	...	Disturbed Boy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Josh Flitter	...	Little Boy (uncredited)
Alicia Harding	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Rose Pasquale	...	Gas Customer (uncredited)
Brendan Sexton III	...	Store Clerk (uncredited)

Directed by
John Polson

Writing credits (WGA)
Ari Schlossberg		(written by)

Produced by
Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr.	....	executive producer
Barry Josephson	....	producer
Dana Robin	....	co-producer
John P. Rogers	....	co-producer

Original Music by
John Ottman

Cinematography by
Dariusz Wolski

Film Editing by
Jeffrey Ford

Casting by
Amanda Mackey Johnson
Cathy Sandrich

Production Design by
Steven J. Jordan

Art Direction by
Emily Beck
Dennis Bradford

Set Decoration by
Judy Gurr
Beth Kushnick

Costume Design by
Aude Bronson-Howard

Makeup Department
Annemarie Bradley	....	additional hair stylist
Milton Buras	....	key hair stylist
John Caglione Jr.	....	key makeup artist
Ilona Herman	....	hair stylist: Mr. De Niro
Ilona Herman	....	makeup artist: Mr. De Niro
Francesca Buccellato	....	additional makeup artist (uncredited)
Joseph Farulla	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)
Mary Anne Spano	....	additional makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Joe Hartwick Jr.	....	production supervisor
Dana Robin	....	unit production manager
Patrick Esposito	....	post-production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Deanna Leslie	....	key second assistant director (as Deanna Leslie Kelly)
Patrick Mangan	....	second assistant director (as Patrick J. Mangan)
Michelle Regina	....	dga trainee
Thomas A. Reilly	....	first assistant director (as Tom Reilly)
Shannon Von Ronne	....	second second assistant director (as Shannon M. Von Ronne)

Art Department
David Cooney	....	storyboard artist
John Davis	....	storyboard artist
Frank Didio	....	co-construction coordinator
Kathryn Freund	....	set dresser
Jeffrey L. Glave	....	scenic chargeman
Adam Goodnoff-Cernese	....	set dresser
Julia G. Hickman	....	art department coordinator
Jordan Jacobs	....	assistant art director
Nancy Jordan	....	art department coordinator
Dan Kuchar	....	assistant art director
Bernard Lyster	....	dressing props
Christopher G. Markunas	....	carpenter (as C.G. Markunas)
Vinny Mazzarella	....	assistant property master
Joseph S. Patire	....	carpenter (as Joe Patire)
Ron Petagna	....	carpenter
Karl Shefelman	....	storyboard artist
Richard Tenewitz	....	carpenter
James Whelan	....	set dresser
Joan Winters	....	graphic designer
Scott Woods	....	illustrator
Richard Tenewitz	....	construction coordinator: reshoots (uncredited)

Sound Department
Erik Aadahl	....	sound designer
Laurel Bridges	....	utility sound
Derek Casari	....	adr engineer
Derek Casari	....	foley engineer
Dawn Fintor	....	foley artist
Tim Gomillion	....	sound recordist
Doug Hemphill	....	sound re-recording mixer (as D.M. Hemphill)
Warren Hendriks	....	first assistant sound editor
Mildred Iatrou	....	dialogue editor (as Mildred Iatrou Morgan)
R.J. Kizer	....	adr editor
R.J. Kizer	....	dialogue editor
Dave Kulczycki	....	sound editor (as David Kulczycki)
John A. Larsen	....	supervising sound editor
Skip Longfellow	....	assistant sound editor
Paul Massey	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Murray	....	foley supervisor (as John M. Murray)
Howard Neiman	....	foley editor
Tom Nelson	....	sound mixer
Steve F. Price	....	foley editor
Charleen Richards	....	adr mixer (as Charleen Richards-Stevees)
Dennis Rogers	....	sound recordist
Mike Schmidt	....	boom operator
William Stein	....	re-recording engineer
Alicia Stevenson	....	foley artist
Elliot Tyson	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Anthony Woodman	....	sound librarian
Alex Raspa	....	adr mixer: New York (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Wilfred Caban	....	special effects foreman (as Will Caban)
Carmen M. Campolo Jr.	....	special effects assistant (as Carmen Campolo Jr.)
Steven Kirshoff	....	special effects coordinator (as Steve Kirshoff)

Visual Effects by
Ryan Beadle	....	digital I/O
Cosmas Paul Bolger Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Steve Caldwell	....	digital compositor
Joe Finley	....	digital intermediate colorist
R.J. Harbour	....	digital compositor
Shaina Holmes	....	digital compositor
Shaina Holmes	....	digital coordinator
Lori C. Miller	....	digital compositor
Marco S. Paolini	....	digital compositor
Amani Williams	....	digital compositor
Brian Gyss	....	digital imaging: Modern VideoFilm (uncredited)

Stunts
G.A. Aguilar	....	stunt coordinator
John Cenatiempo	....	stunt double
Blaise Corrigan	....	stunts
Jeffrey Lee Gibson	....	stunts
John Polce	....	stunts (as John J. Polce)
Gary Tacon	....	stunts
Shawnna Thibodeau	....	stunt double

Camera and Electrical Department
Sebastián Almeida	....	camera loader
Colin Anderson	....	Steadicam operator
Colin Anderson	....	camera operator
Robert M. Andres	....	key grip
Will Arnot	....	Steadicam operator
Will Arnot	....	camera operator: "b" camera
K.C. Bailey	....	still photographer
Liza Bambenek	....	assistant camera
Angela Bellisio	....	assistant camera
Vincent Camuto	....	video assist assistant
Vincent Camuto	....	video assist playback
Patrick Capone	....	director of photography: second unit
Lamont Crawford	....	second dolly grip
Doug Dalisera	....	best boy electric
Stanley Fernandez Jr.	....	first assistant camera
Stanley Fernandez Jr.	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Joel Holland	....	video assist operator
William Moore	....	electrician
Heather Norton	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera, re-shoots
Thomas O'Connor	....	rigging electrician
Phil Pastuhov	....	aerial director of photography
Darren Ryan	....	24 frame video operator
J. Dan Wright	....	light balloon technician

Casting Department
Aisha Coley	....	casting executive
Sig De Miguel	....	casting associate
Wendy Weidman	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Susan Bakula	....	costume shop supervisor
Addie Hall	....	costumer
Cheryl Kilbourne-Kimpton	....	wardrobe supervisor
Marcie Olivi	....	costumer: Mr. De Niro
Monica Ruiz-Ziegler	....	costume coordinator
JP Sarni	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
Jeff Mee	....	post-production coordinator
Sandra Nash	....	assistant editor
Jim Passon	....	color timer
Craig Tanner	....	associate editor
Sarah Thiessen	....	first assistant editor
Chris McClintock	....	post-production coordinator (uncredited)

Music Department
Debbi Datz-Pyle	....	score contractor
Robert Fernandez	....	scoring mixer
Rick Giovinazzo	....	additional orchestrator
Amanda Goodpaster	....	music editor
Mark Graham	....	music librarian
Damon Intrabartolo	....	conductor
Damon Intrabartolo	....	orchestrator
Jason Lloyd	....	scoring cue mixer
Frank Macchia	....	additional orchestrator
Larry Mah	....	digital score recordist
Sujin Nam	....	score coordinator
John Ottman	....	orchestrator
Lior Rosner	....	additional music arranger
Lior Rosner	....	additional orchestrator
Bart Samolis	....	musician
Jeffrey Schindler	....	additional orchestrator (as Jeff Schindler)
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Tom Steel	....	scoring stage manager
Casey Stone	....	music scoring mixer
Erich Stratmann	....	music editor: temp music
Bill Talbott	....	scoring technician
Gordon Wimpress	....	scoring intern
Mark Jan Wlodarkiewicz	....	music editor: temp music (as Mark Wlodarkiewicz)

Other crew
Peter Anders	....	craft service
Peter Bobrow	....	location assistant
Peter Bobrow	....	location manager: second unit
Oren Bonen	....	on-set production assistant: Mr. De Niro
Al Cerullo	....	helicopter pilot: aerial unit (as Al Cerullo Jr.)
Jan Cerwonka	....	studio teacher
Felix Chen	....	payroll accountant
Kathy Ciric	....	location manager
Daniel B. Cone	....	production assistant
Kimberly Cooper	....	production executive
Jennifer Crammer	....	assistant production coordinator
Tony Cypres	....	first assistant accountant
Erin S. Ellescas	....	assistant: Mr. Carraciolo Jr.
Andrew Fiero	....	production assistant
Melissa Gelernter	....	assistant: Mr. Josephson
Laurie Gershon	....	product placement/clearances
Dave Ginsberg	....	location scout
Catherine Gore	....	script supervisor
Eli Gurevich	....	second assistant accountant
Alexes Hargrove	....	staff set production assistant
Michael Hartel	....	assistant location manager
Mark D. Houston	....	assistant post-production accountant
Perry M. Kimura	....	digital scanning and recording: EFILM
Rachel Konstantin	....	stand-in
Stosh Kozlowski	....	location assistant
Kim Kraftsky	....	animal trainer (as Kim Krafsky)
Amy Leigh Johnson	....	publicist
Anita Maffei	....	set production assistant
Seth Marshall	....	assistant: Robert De Niro
Steve McAuliff	....	animal trainer
Melissa Milo	....	assistant: Mr. De Niro
Rick Negron	....	adr loop group
Kyle O'Brien	....	production accountant
Gerald Orange	....	security: Mr. De Niro (as Gerald L. Orange)
Susan Orga	....	location coordinator
Evan T. Reilly	....	script coordinator
Matt Robken	....	assistant: Mr. Polson, Los Angeles
Kara Ryan	....	production assistant
Stephen A. Sands	....	psychological consultant
Andrew Saxe	....	location manager
Daisy Schwartz	....	on-set assistant
Susan Silas	....	location scout
Beau Tipton	....	production assistant
David Velasco	....	location scout
Janice Williams	....	production coordinator
Mark J. Wylie	....	assistant: Mr. De Niro
Alexander F. Young	....	assistant: Mr. Josephson
David Zaretsky	....	assistant: Mr. Polson, New York
Richie Adams	....	title designer: main title sequence (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• Fox 2000 Pictures
• Josephson Entertainment
• MBC Beteiligungs Filmproduktion

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2005) (worldwide) (all media)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (all media)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Italia (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Netherlands (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (2005) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox de Argentina (2005) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Bontonfilm (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Fox-Warner (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Gemini Film (2005) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Custom Film Effects (opticals)
• Digital Filmworks (visual effects)
• Modern VideoFilm (visual effects)

Other Companies

• 20th Century Fox Studios  post-production facilities
• Animal Actors  animals provided by
• Custom Film Effects  end titles
• Custom Film Effects  opticals
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color and prints (as Deluxe)
• Doc Hollywood Records  soundtrack released by
• Historic Films Archive  footage courtesy of
• Ignite Creative  main titles
• Jo Anne Kane Music Services  score preparation (as JoAnn Kane Music Services)
• Loop de Loop  voice casting
• Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox Studios, The  score recorded at (as The Newman Stage, Twentieth Century Fox)
• Panavision  cameras and lenses
• Scarlet Letters  end titles
• Signet Soundelux Studios  score mixed at (as Signet Sound Deluxe)
• Sylvia Fay/Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting
• Technicolor  dailies

MPAA:

Rated R for frightening sequences and violence.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | UK:15 | USA:R | Ireland:18 (DVD/VHS release)

Filming Locations:

Haworth, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

At the dinner scene where Emily is presented books, the top book is Charlotte's Web. Dakota Fanning would play Fern Arable, the main human character, in the live-action adaptation of the story in 2006.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Emily is laying on her bedroom floor, she draws a picture of her and Charlie at the window, but she draws herself with blonde hair, the actress's natural hair color.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alison: Faster.
Emily: No, no, no.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hide and Seek: Do You Want to Play? The Making of 'Hide and Seek' (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Set 'em Up Joe

A classic underachiever.

Maybe Robert De Niro's doctor in Godsend (2004) went to the same medical school of horrors as his Dr. David Callaway in Hide and Seek, this year's De Niro toss away film, from which he deposits his considerable paycheck along with cash from Meet the Fockers. Why he doesn't concentrate his fortune and connections (as Clint Eastwood does) to craft an artful small film that would allow his acting gifts is the only mystery for me from his prolific but arguably spotty career.

Young Emily Callaway (Dakota Fanning) has lost her mother (Amy Irving) to suicide. Psychologist dad moves her to an older, rambling house in the woods in upstate New York to start a new life. Not new are the abundant clichés of the horror film: the suspicious neighbors, whom director John Polson makes as creepy as possible; the questionable sheriff; the doors leading to scares; the mutilated dolls; Emily's imaginary friend, Charlie, who appears to be causing numberless offenses in the house; and knives placed as objects of intrinsic interest; and a vulnerable girl friend, Elizabeth (Elisabeth Shue). I stopped counting, for the film is one extended cliché after another.

The interest for serious filmgoers might be the depiction of the psychological stat after a loss to suicide. Whatever the term might be such as "post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome," the film does a credible job showing how difficult it is for Emily to lead a normal life after the loss of her mother (and for her father as well). While there are echoes of Stephen King (The Shining's "Here's Johnny" comes to mind) and Hitchcock (think shower scene), there is no comparison in quality with those classics. The audience at the preview enjoyed some of the stock shock moments behind the many closed doors. Hide and Seek will titillate horror fans but disappoint discerning film buffs, who look for some believable edge and innovation.

Milton in Paradise Lost expressed the descent from happiness to despair: "Farewell happy fields, Where joy forever dwells: hail, horrors!" Hide and Seek is not a classic horror film; it is a classic underachiever.