( there be spoiler ) after her mom suicide little emily callaway and dakota fanning and become so seriously withdraw into a fantasy world . it be then agree by her psychologist father david and robert de niro and and his former student and child trauma expert katherine and fmake janssen and that it would be best to get her away from new york city and move to the country for little emily to recover from the shock that she suffer from . right from the start thing do not turn out the way david expect for emily with her become more and more withdrawn from reality and into a fantasy world . it in that world where emily have this friend that she involve with in play game and like hide and seek and name charlie . charlie at first seem harmless enough but a thing start to happen at the country house that border on insanity and later even cross over to murder the fictictonal charlie be someone that not at all to be ignore . emily be soon in danger of be commit to a mental institution for the rest of her life because and or her fantasy and of him . we at first have no idea just who charlie be and like david and later katherine we assume that he only a make believe friend that emily conjure up . when the family cat and later one of the neighbor elizabeth and elisabeth shue and end up dead and in the bathtub and the same place that david dead wife be find and it become evident that this charlie be a crazed lunatic on the loose in and around the woodland estates where david and emily be stray at . be give clue all throughout the movie of charlie identity and who behind his murderous action with a special focus of the clock and by david bed and strike 2 represent06 representam and glimpse of some kind of party that david and his late wife alison and amy irving and attend just before she be find dead from silt her wrist . be also give to understand that david next door and and somewhat unstable and neighbor have something to do with the weird and deadly going on at david and emily country home . i not until the last ten minute or so in the movie hide and seek that be expose to who really charlie be and why he do the terrible thing that he do and also why emily be so terrified of him . not bad horror mystery thriller that a lot well then you would have expect it to be with the many negative review that the movie hide and seek get in he press and on tv . rober de niro give a very controlled but effective performance a david callaway the befuddle father who can not grasp what his young daughter be go through and feel at first that she the one somehow responsible for the carnage that be go on in and around the house . young dakota fanning be perfect a emily who suffer more from the truth then some fantasy that her father david and his colleague katherine think that she have . the next door neighbor laura and steven and melissa leo and robert john bork and be a bit odd who action can be explain that their young daughter recently die of cancer and look upon emily a a replacement for her . but later the two and especially steven and come across a more then just grieve parent but very unstable and dangerous individual . the end though a bit labored do put all the piece of the puzzle together in just who charlie be and what the reason for his action . with charlie reveal himself to everyone in the movie but little emily a the sick depraved and homicidal person that he really be . with katheine and who charlie early slam down a flight of stair and come to emily rescue in a spine tingling and deadly confrontation with charlie at a deserted cave . where he first meet and get friendly and involve with the unsuspecting emily and much later the rest of the unfortunate people that he come in contact with in the film hide and seek .