Hide and Seek (2005)

Robert De Niro is an excellent, beloved actor who never seems to be loved when he takes part in a horror movie. He's tried a few times over the years with films such as "Angel Heart" and "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein"; his performance in "Frankenstein" was panned so much that some critics could not understand why an actor who "does nothing but gangster films" be cast as the Monster. "Hide and Seek" is another film where the suspense and mood seem to never truly develop and the viewer is left bored and unsatisfied. I personally feel that this has more to do with the attempt to create a spooky psychological movie than De Niro's performance.


Dr. David Callaway and his daughter Emily move out to a quiet rural town after Emily's mother commits suicide. David and his daughter have a troubled relationship and he tries the best he can, using his background as a psychologist to make some kind of breakthrough. Emily begins talking about her friend "Charlie", whom David takes to be an imaginary friend. David's friend Katherine believes this is healthy, but when David finds angry messages written on the wall and the family cat drowned in the bath tub, Emily claims that"Charlie" did it. Soon "Charlie" becomes violent and David is powerless to find or stop Emily's dangerous friend. Will David and Katherine be able to save Emily from "Charlie" before it's too late?

Trick r' Treat (2007)

Happy Halloween! What better film to review on such a holiday other than “Trick r’ Treat”!? This film is perhaps the best anthology ever made, rivaling even the original “Creepshow”. This movie blends the various story arcs in and out of each other with ample ease and grace, and it takes several viewings of this movie to catch all of the subtle details. Each story arc is solid and entertaining, a rare thing to find in an anthology; this might be because the writer and director are the same person, Michael Dougherty, instead of having a writer and possible director for each story. A sequel was recently announced!

One storyline is about a couple returning from various Halloween festivities. They are seen all around town throughout the other stories. Emma hates the holiday and is ready to be done with it while Henry loves it. While Henry is getting ready for bed and sexy-time, Emma is outside taking down decorations. While doing so, she is attacked and killed and when she doesn’t come back in, Henry goes out and finds her mutilated corpse hanging from a scarecrow.

The next story is about a Principal Wilkins who teaches a troubling making child to follow the rules of Halloween. This story has a brief introduction of Principal Wilkins neighbor, Mr. Kreeg.

The third storyline is about a group of teens who gather carved jack-o-lanterns and bring them to an old rock quarry. Here, local legend has it that a bus driver was bribed to drive eight troubled special-needs children off the cliff, but no one knows for sure whatever happened to the bus driver. While there, a prank gets goes terribly wrong and the teens must pay the price.

The fourth storyline is about Laurie, a 22 year old virgin who is being pressured by her older sister and her friends to find someone for the night. While the other girls are having fun at a party, Laurie meets a killer dressed as a vampire, but little does he know….

The final story arc is about Principal Wilkins neighbor, the hermit-like Mr. Kreeg. He hates everything, including Halloween, so when the spirit of the holiday arrives in the embodiment of Sam, the two go head to head. If only Mr. Kreeg knew the rules of the holiday as well as his neighbor!