Hide & Seek

Oh dear Bollywood, you and me just aren't destined to get along are we?

I've genuinely not enjoyed a single Indian/Bollywood film thus far and as a purveyor of world cinema that really saddens me because I want to.

Hide & Seek tells the story of a group of people who all wake up dazed and confused in a seemingly shut down mall. All knowing each other they must work together to find out who brought them there.

The acting is positively soap opera level, the cast are forgettable, the story plays poorly and goes out with a fizzle rather than a bang.

Based on the premise I actually had fairly high hopes from this one but as always Bollywood demonstrates that we just go together like tuna and donuts.

The Good:

Interesting concept

The Bad:

I despise Indian music

Flitting between Hindi and English always puts me off

Some really poor soap opera level acting

One of the characters is a drug addict, one is crazy & one is a criminal...whoever thought this film was a good idea & produced it must be also be high & mental to make something this criminally bad. Never before have I said aloud to my own TV, "Did you just put a musical interlude into a horror film?" For anyone planning I'm watching this...view the title as a partial warning to how laughably bad this film is - hide & do not seek to watch it. I would threaten you with a homicidal santa but this film is punishment enough.

I enjoy scary movies with twists and turns, flashbacks and vengeful motives. As long as the script is executed nicely, and the actors don't ham it up, I'll rate such movies higher.

The Blair Witch Project, Hostel and other movies are what you watch when you seek night-time entertainment - Hide & Seek unfolds in a very similar way. Six characters who mostly dislike each other, are abducted by a mysterious agent and end up in some enclosed mall with all communication to the outside world broken down, not even mobile phones work here. Wonder why there's no security in such a huge premises anyway let's leave it at that.

The main antagonist is set to play a game of "hide and seek" on these clueless bunch, that too on similar themes that were played by the same characters 12 years ago. There's plenty of symbolism in the movie with Taj Mahal replica gifts, a loaded revolver, a video camcorder and a butcher's knife.

In short, hide & seek succeeds in grabbing your attention from the first scene itself. Also, special kudos to the acting cast that they did so well despite initial thoughts they could be amateurish.

However, the script still leaves behind plenty of loose ends which the film-makers should have solved. It looks like they were in a hurry to finish filming. Probably they were struggling due to tight budgets. If it's a low-budget flick, it's quite good quality though.

1. The original Hide & Seek game 12 years back wasn't depicted properly. They showed bits and pieces in flashbacks but the sequence wasn't clear. It would have been better if had they shown the entire sequence in one go. Here's my humble appeal - PLEASE DON'T OVERUSE FLASHBACKS.

2. The climax (I won't reveal) could have been handled better.

Anyway, next time I have to go to a mall alone at night, I might think of scenes from this movie.

Go and watch it.

This film has got lots to it's credit: No story No reason for the script Full of forgettable stuff No recall value at all Worth missing a watch and saving your time and money

I wish I felt better tonight, because as a journalist I should be able to do this movie justice, it deserves it!

I went into this movie with low expectations, as a Pewdiepie fan, I'm predisposed against anything out of India that could be from T Series... BUT, right from the very OPENING, I was HOOKED!!! I'm a Metal Music Media Influencer & I own my own Promotions/PR business, & when I heard the first strains of Indian Metal - which you RARELY hear, I KNEW this would be a movie different from the flock!

I hate spoilers, and like I said I'm not feeling well, so I'll be brief, this is a movie told on 2 timelines of 6 friends, and a tragic night that happened 12 years in the past that has affected all of them to this day. You can try tho figure it all out in the flashes they show you at the beginning, God knows I tried, even thought of rewinding and pausing it a bunch of times until I did, but as you go along you understand that even if you DID do that, you COULDN'T understand! The filmmakers PURPOSEFULLY feed you little bits and pieces of information about that nights events, even purposefully give you false information, to build you up then year you down. You won't understand the full picture until the end, so don't try! But what any incredible journey it is! This movie reminds me of reading a REALLY GOOD murder mystery on a stormy school day where you get to stay home! All excitement and build up, and SO WORTH IT, like when Charlie Bucket FINALLY got the golden ticket after like his 6th chocolate bar, & everyone thought the contest was over, THAT kind of worth it - in the end!