Review: Hide and Seek

After a long work week, it’s nice to watch something that doesn't require too much brain power to have a nice time—and Huh Jung's film directorial debut, Hide and Seek (2013), is just that. One big thing this movie has in common with some past reviews is that it takes an age-old plot and tweaks it just enough to make it feel new. The direction is solid, and with a captivating suspense that's enough to make you jump even when you're expecting something, Hide and Seek is a fun watch as long as you’re open to a viewing without scrutiny.

Hide and Seek follows Seongsoo (Son Hyeonju), a wealthy man with a very content family, on a search for his estranged brother, Sungchul (Kim Wonhae), who's recently gone missing. With no knowledge of who he is now or where to begin, Seongsoo starts with the obvious: Sungchul's apartment. This apartment is located in a decidedly grimy complex in a bad part of town, and there's not much to find besides symbols scrawled on the wall beneath every doorbell and his neighbor who's horrified when she finds out why Seongsoo is there. Sungchul seems to have a bad reputation, and given the movie's opening of a young woman in the same complex having her home invaded by a dark figure with a lead pipe, the situation seems pretty clear. This doesn't stop Seongsoo on his search; in fact, it quickly becomes his responsibility to not only find Sungchul, but to stop him. 

Among the many twists and turns, Seongsoo is revealed early on to have some neuroses; his OCD keeps him scrubbing the clean toilet seat at his own business and turning the fridge's contents so their labels face the same direction. It's only natural that he'd have recurring nightmares of a homeless man who mucked up that same bathroom. This image forces the class divide narrative into place: the rich tend to think of the poor as disposable inconveniences. But there's a conflicting plot point to that sentiment where, in this case, they have every reason to be afraid when people who appear to be filthy psychopaths turn out to be filthy psychopaths. 

With this in mind, Hide and Seek is best watched without a lens too critical; there are plot holes abound and a frustration that comes with characters' hesitation to act or even call for help. But the mystery is set up so well that you can’t help but take it all in until the credits start rolling, and only then you might notice that not everything quite adds up. The fact is, there's an innate fear of home invasion and invasion of privacy that's accessible to most everybody. It's a good concept to build on if you want to make your audience's skin crawl; and it's in conveying this feeling that Hide and Seek shines, even with its flaws.