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Hide and Seek
Metascore
35 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 34 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 34
  3. Negative: 14 out of 34
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  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    75
    Surprises with its intensity and grip.
  2. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    70
    As cliche-ridden horror films go, Hide and Seek builds a pretty darn good mousetrap.
  3. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Kevin Allison
    63
    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.
  4. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Scott Brown
    58
    Hide and Seek, despite early signs of higher goals, is a factory-standard box of shocks.
  5. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    50
    It's not technically true to say the movie cheats, but let's say it abandons the truth and depth of its earlier scenes.
  6. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    50
    Its frights are not that chilling or original, its secrets more run-of-the-mill than astounding.
  7. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    50
    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.
  8. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    50
    The movie's main purpose seems to be to make audiences squirm uncomfortably. Yelp and shriek in armchair-clawing glee? Not likely.
  9. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Rick Groen
    50
    From the base-model script to the assembly-line thrills, everything about Hide and Seek is generic except its star.
  10. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    50
    Kind of a drag.
  11. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    50
    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.
  12. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Chuck Wilson
    50
    While the final revelation is laughably absurd, DeNiro and Fanning are so far inside their roles that one can't giggle for long.
  13. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    50
    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.
  14. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Ann Hornaday
    50
    Jigh class briefly gives way to high camp, which then itself dissipates to an anticlimactic thud.
  15. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    42
    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.
  16. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Michael Rechtshaffen
    40
    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!"
  17. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    40
    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.
  18. Empire
    Reviewed by: Nick De Semlyen
    40
    Aside from some effectively understated acting from the leads, there's not much to remember or recommend.
  19. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    40
    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.
  20. Variety
    Reviewed by: Derek Elley
    40
    A routine haunted child psychothriller gussied up with A-list casting.
  21. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Mike Clark
    38
    There's not a cliché that isn't nailed.
  22. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Janice Page
    38
    Ignore the hype. You won't find anything startling or memorable in the derivative Hide and Seek.
  23. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    38
    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.
  24. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    30
    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.
  25. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Nathan Rabin
    30
    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.
  26. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Crust
    30
    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.
  27. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    30
    De Niro gives a crafty performance, and director John Polson (Swimfan) maintains a pleasantly low-key suspense. But the ending is a disappointment.
  28. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Debra Birnbaum
    25
    A schlocky thriller choking under the weight of its own psychobabble.
  29. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    25
    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.
  30. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    25
    It is a ghastly experience, and I left the theater feeling as if I had waded neck-deep through a stream of raw sewage.
  31. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Elias Sevada
    20
    Polson offers up a few chilling scares, but the underwritten screenplay really does show off its weaknesses.
  32. Dallas Observer
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    20
    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.
  33. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    10
    Robert De Niro collects another stupendous paycheck for starring in another piece of exploitable junk.
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  34. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Jessica Winter
    0
    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.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.0 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 48 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 33
  3. Negative: 10 out of 33
  1. Alex
    10
    I thought the movie was well done I don't know what the critics are saying very good twist and it made me jump go watch it if you love thrillers.… Full Review »
  2. Amalia
    8
    A new way to scare people, is not just a stupid monster film, is psychologica fear, good acted and creepy.
  3. JessP.
    9
    I thought it was really good and it was jumpy and very twisted!!
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