It may be hard to comprehend a movie with the ability to make the innocent children’s game of hide-and-seek spooky enough to spark people’s interest.

“Hide and Seek,” however, twists and exploits the game’s basic concepts to reaffirm horror’s oldest proverb — what is scariest of all is that which cannot be seen.

Hollywood vet Robert De Niro stars as David Callaway, an esteemed psychologist who decides to start anew in upstate New York after his daughter, Emily, played by Dakota Fanning, witnesses her mother’s suicide in the bathtub.

As the two begin to settle in their new surroundings, Emily befriends the invisible Charlie, whom De Niro believes to be her imaginary friend — that is, until signs begin to hint at his very real presence.

Atypical to the majority of “horror” films in recent days, “Hide and Seek” throws away the grotesque prosthetics and any CGI whatsoever, instead relying on its ability to set razor-sharp tension in its scenes to scare the audience.

Dark rooms, extended buildups, unidentifiable sounds and the “running-wild” imaginations of audiences are the true villains of this film.Director John Polson mirrors Alfred Hitchcock by using fast-paced sequences, lighting tricks and some macabre irony to increase pulse rates. Combined with subplots and thematic restraint, “Hide and Seek” wisely stays away from the 120-minute shockfest and is better defined as a darkly told murder mystery.

Although no one actor’s performance stands above the rest, the main cast is consistent in portraying the sad and scary ambiance of the film.

Dakota Fanning, although only 10 years old, especially shows acting brawn with some difficult scenes — further proving her maturity and integrity as a bona fide actress, which was already established in 2004’s “Man on Fire.”

The movie’s shortcomings are in some of the smaller roles. Actors playing some of the less-significant townies in the film try too hard to make their mark, consequentially cheapening the film’s experience. Also, the ending, although unexplainable for purposes of this review, was the standard Hollywood ending — though the rest of the film’s enjoyment makes up for that.

Fear of the unknown has always been a human fallback — one we try to deny by turning on nightlights and shutting bathroom doors.

Don’t deny this film’s ability to cleverly pinpoint just how fragile we are and just how little we know about others.