Hide and Seek
Directed by John Polson
- horror
- mystery
The story
David Callaway tries to piece together his life in the wake of his wife's suicide and has been left to raise his nine-year-old daughter, Emily on his own. David is at first amused to discover that Emily has created an imaginary friend named 'Charlie', but it isn't long before 'Charlie' develops a sinister and violent side, and as David struggles with his daughter's growing emotional problems, he comes to the frightening realisation that 'Charlie' isn't just a figment of Emily's imagination.
What it’s like
Dim, cold interiors with a blue-grey palette, the light of a rural New York house going flat and wintry through the windows, and long, watchful shots that hold on empty hallways and doorways until something shifts at the edge of the frame. The score leans on low strings and sudden orchestral stings that punch through quiet rooms. The mood is grief-soaked unease that slowly tips into dread, suited to a late night alone with the lights off, or a rainy evening when you want a chill without much gore. The pacing is deliberate at first, with a widowed father's domestic routines, then escalates through jump-scare beats and a mounting sense of wrongness. Its emotional core is a grieving man struggling to reach a withdrawn child while his fear grows. Intensity is moderate: some startling scares, a few brief, sharp moments of violence and blood, and disturbing themes of suicide and child distress, but nothing sustained or extreme. It is for viewers who enjoy psychological horror with an emotional anchor and a creeping, twisty mystery.
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