David and Alison Callaway (Robert De Niro and Amy Irving), a not so happily married couple, live in New York City with their young daughter Emily (Dakota Fanning). In a set up somewhat similar to "Cold Creek Manor" (Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone), the challenges of life in the big city result in a move to the country for peace and quiet. Of course, there are trapdoors in life that are found in small towns that even NYC doesn’t have.

After Alison Callaway’s bloody bathtub suicide, father and daughter hightail it to a large home on the lake, in a town that is pretty much deserted except during the summer months. David, who is a psychologist, starts to be concerned for Emily when she begins seeing Charlie, a person who begins to wreak havoc on the household, and who she claims writes in blood on the bathroom wall, much like the scene of Alison’s demise.

David exhibits an eerie calm rather than sadness about the death of his wife. He is anxious about Emily’s odd behavior and he consults with his colleague, and Emily’s psychologist, Katherine (Famke Janssen). They both agree that it’s not unusual that given the trauma Emily’s gone through that she might make up a friend to confide in. Of course, Dr. David’s having his own problems sleeping. He wakes up each night at 2:06 a.m., the exact time he discovered his wife’s body. And each night a new horror awaits him beyond the bathroom door.

David and Emily’s new home town of Woodland, seems to be populated with a number of eccentric residents, including a nosey real estate agent and the inquisitive Sheriff Hafferty (Dylan Baker), who has a key to every house around the lake. Nervous next door neighbors Laura (Melissa Leo) and her husband are overjoyed that the father and daughter have moved in, even though it reminds them of the recent loss of their own child.

Emily enlightens Elizabeth (Elisabeth Shue), a possible love interest for Dad, when she tells her that Mom slit her wrists, and she warns Elizabeth, "just hope you don’t end up like her."

As the body count mounts, you can deduce that the villain is either supernatural or one of the remaining actors. The fun in this film comes from unraveling this mystery.

Young Dakota Fanning brings a certain horror to this mystery with her gaunt, hollow eyed look. De Niro is De Niro and to say too much about him would be a spoiler. Janssen and Shue add glamour to what otherwise is a bleak story. Hey, since this is a horror film, whose looking for good times?

Horror movies are in right now and they seem to do well at the box office, even if the film is not very good. Despite the stellar cast "Hide and Seek" falls into that category. There are a few moments that make you jump, but not enough suspense to sustain or create a feeling of true horror. The film aims to be a modern day "Psycho," but misses the mark in part because we are more used to domestic violence than was the case 50 years ago. There are surprises that when revealed don’t shock us like the revelations in the recent thriller "Forgotten." Definitely a movie that deserves to be released in January so that by the end of the year it will be long forgotten.