Hide and Seek starring Dakota Fanning and Robert DeNiro was shown on Film4 Friday 14th December.

Now this is a film that critics have completely slammed, with most saying that it was absolute rubbish. Well as usual, I completely disagree with what they think and I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Granted, it’s not one of those movies that will blow you away completely, but it has a decent pace, a great cast and some very good twists and turns all the way through which makes it really entertaining.

Robert DeNiro plays David Callaway, a psychiatrist and father to a young girl called Emily. After her mother’s sudden death Emily creates a seemingly imaginary friend named Charlie who always gets the blame for anything strange that happens in the home.

Soon however, things begin to take a more sinister twist and the events surrounding the family become increasingly serious. Could Charlie be more than just an Imaginary friend and if so what exactly does he want?

Both Robert DeNiro and Dakota Fanning manage to give great performances and it’s interesting to watch how young Dakota measures up to be equally as good in the movie as DeNiro and I have to admit that I think she even outshone him in places!

We are used to seeing Dakota play the cute, happy go lucky kid in most of her recent movies but Hide and Seek sees her take on an entirely different role completely. Gone is the trademark long blonde hair and in its place is a short brown lank look that completely adds to the intensity of the character.

Although the film is definitely a bit of a slow burner, if you persevere through the sometimes slow start you will be rewarded with a tense and psychological movie that really knows how to play on the small details and leave you guessing.

I enjoyed the ending of the movie, and didn’t see it coming until just before the big reveal, but it has been openly criticised by others for being a little predictable in places. All I can advise is that you watch it for yourself and enjoy this creepy psychological horror without listening to critics and without taking it too seriously.

Robert DeNiro is one of my favourite actors and after recently seeing him in Stardust it is refreshing to see that he can still shine, even in such a different role to those we usually see him in!

Full cast list for the 2005 film Hide and Seek: Amy Irving, Brendan Sexton III, Dakota Fanning, David Chandler, Dylan Baker, Elisabeth Shue, Famke Janssen, Jacqueline Lovell, Jake Dylan Baumer, Josh Flitter, Melissa Leo, Molly Grant Kallins, Robert De Niro, Robert John Burke, Rose Pasquale, Stewart Summers.