The Chilling Robert De Niro Thriller with Five Endings That Everyone Forgot

If you want to stump a film nerd, ask them: 'What's the most underrated Robert De Niro horror movie?' And no, I'm not talking about Godsend, the 2004 snooze-fest that most of us pretend never happened (sorry, Greg Kinnear). I'm talking about Hide and Seek from 2005. You know—the one with Dakota Fanning and that wild psycho-thriller twist nobody can ever agree on. Or more accurately, “twists,” plural, since there are actually five (!) different endings, depending on which country you saw it in. Seriously, the behind-the-scenes details here are honestly weirder than the movie’s plot. So, with the film hitting its 20-year mark, let’s look back and see what actually happened to Hide and Seek.

Quick Plot Recap (Just in Case)

Hide and Seek is directed by John Polson (yep, the guy behind Swimfan) from a script by first-timer Ari Schlossberg. The film centers on Emily Callaway, played by a noticeably haunted Dakota Fanning. After Emily’s mother dies by suicide in their NYC bathtub, her dad (De Niro), a psychologist named David, spirals and drags Emily upstate to a very isolated, snowed-in lake house. Instead of healing, it gets worse: Emily invents an 'imaginary' friend, Charlie, with some not-so-imaginary violent tendencies. The whole thing is one big, chilly descent into family drama, paranoia, and (predictable, but well-acted) psychological horror.

The Script, the Deal, the Cast

The story started with Ari Schlossberg writing what he basically hoped would be the freakiest thing ever. He wrote it alone, in the dark, out loud—getting very method to nail the 'multiple selves' vibe. Producer Barry Josephson picked up the script hot off The Ladykillers and convinced 20th Century Fox to buy in, but with the rare promise that Schlossberg would stay in control and no other writers would get involved.

Polson, trying to bounce back from Swimfan, was jazzed to exploit De Niro’s range as a dad teetering on the edge. Famke Janssen (playing Dr. Kate Carson) admitted she only joined because De Niro was involved—a move I respect.

As for Emily, Fanning was THE go-to kid actor of the era, but still had to audition. Polson assumed she wouldn’t bother and started looking for 'the next Dakota Fanning,' but Fanning nailed the audition and even dropped her usual million-dollar payday. Her trade-off? Equal top billing with De Niro. Smart move. She said the script actually scared her so much she couldn’t finish it alone upstairs. In hindsight, most horror fans probably wish the finished film was half as creepy as Dakota’s first read.

Shooting, Bugs, and Musical Creepiness

Filming was a solid winter affair: January to March 2004 on a $30 million budget. The fancy house is real (Haworth, New Jersey), but the bulk was shot in New York City and Silvercup Studios. Fanning rocked a brown wig and some pretty intense eye makeup to look authentically haunted. Dariusz Wolski (the cinematographer) got creative, making the film visually darker as things went downhill.

There’s that infamous cat death (don’t worry, entirely fake), and also a pretty gnarly scene where Emily hooks a live beetle for bait. No actual beetles harmed: the props team staged everything, using surgical glue and fake blood with 24 insects for maximum realism. Fanning got a full safety briefing (yep, for bug-piercing acting).

Composer John Ottman (“Gothika,” “Cellular”) added to the tension by weaving bits of Fanning’s singing voice into the score. Meanwhile, Steven J. Jordan (Production Designer) contributed to the unsettling mood with tons of “Emily’s” disturbing crayon sketches, allowing for maximum flexibility in editing especially with all those alternate endings.

The Five Endings (No, Really — Five)

And here’s where things get weird. Fox didn’t just film multiple endings—they wanted nobody to know the real one. For the first time since the ‘30s, they shipped Hide and Seek to theaters without the final reel, sending it separately and even hiring guards to deliver them by hand. The endings themselves? Pretty wild for a mainstream genre flick:

• Original US Ending: After everything goes down, we see Emily’s final drawing—a two-headed, smiley-faced portrait with her and Kate, hinting she’s inherited Dad’s mental issues. (This also doubles as one of the “alternate” endings on home video.)
• Alternate 'Happy' Ending: The last shot is nearly identical, except now Emily’s drawing features just one head. Message: Maybe she’s safe after all. Good for her?
• The Psych Ward Ending: Most dramatic by far. Emily is in a locked room that turns out to be a children’s mental hospital. She asks Kate to leave the door ajar, Kate refuses, door gets locked, and we're left with Emily giving a sinister smile to her own reflection while starting a new game of hide and seek. Yikes.
• Overseas Ending: Same setup as the psych ward but less overtly creepy. Emily doesn’t get out of bed or do the countdown, just quietly sits as Kate leaves, still clearly in an institution.
• Alternate 'Home' Ending: Instead of a hospital, Emily’s now at home with Kate. Same locked door, same mirror routine—Emily slowly slips into 'Charlie' mode, to nobody’s surprise.

Depending on where you saw it in 2005, you could have walked out thinking Emily was fine, doomed, or locked up. The DVD actually lets you randomize which ending you get, like a creepy pick-your-own-adventure.

You Probably Didn’t See These (19 Minutes of Deleted Scenes):

There’s a whole collection of deleted scenes on the DVD—mostly filler, but a few gems hint louder at Emily’s darker side. Among them:

- Emily deadpan asking, after catching a fish with Dad, “Wait, aren't we gonna eat it?”—with just the right amount of serial-killer energy
- Emily faking a wrist-slitting prank on her babysitter (who promptly nopes out and never returns)
- A very Don’t Look Now-lite dream scene with Emily wandering through the woods in a yellow raincoat, waiting for Charlie, with a bird jump scare
Some of these probably would’ve made the final movie creepier, but they got cut—likely in favor of the various 'happier' or more ambiguous endings.

Release, Reception, and the Afterlife

So how’d it do? Hide and Seek was released on January 28, 2005, and actually opened at #1, beating out Are We There Yet?, Million Dollar Baby, Coach Carter, Meet the Fockers, and The Aviator. The critics were not kind: 12% on Rotten Tomatoes, a ’meh’ 35 on Metacritic, but it still pulled in $127 million worldwide—quadrupling its budget.

Dakota Fanning snagged an MTV Movie Award for Best Frightened Performance and nearly won a Fangoria Chainsaw Award, but none of that could save the movie from iffy word-of-mouth. So, no sequel or franchise in sight.

What Happened to Everyone?

What about the folks behind the camera? John Polson made one more forgettable film (Tenderness in 2009) before moving to TV. Schlossberg’s writing movie career never really took off again. De Niro hasn’t gone near horror since, which, to be honest, is probably the right call. Fanning, though, kept one foot in the genre and is back these days in Vicious, directed by Bryan Bertino.

Final Thoughts

So Hide and Seek, despite its solid cast and big box office, basically gets remembered for its wild distribution scheme, five different endings, and a twist that most horror fans saw coming by the second act. Is it De Niro’s worst horror movie? Maybe. Most underrated? That’s a bigger stretch, but the story behind it is honestly way more entertaining than the final act.

'Hide and Seek is a terrific picture with an ending everyone will be talking about. We think it's worth the effort.' – Fox exec Richard Myerson, on the whole “let’s ship the ending separately and hire security”