''Cord'' (also released as ''Hide and Seek'') is a

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring

Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury (1978 film), The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various films across the ...

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American-Canadian actress and professional poker player. Known for her distinctive breathy voice and comedic timing, she is the recipient of a Saturn Award, and a GLAAD Award, ...

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He has starred in five films by Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan and has been nominated for three Canadian Screen Awards, once for Best Actor for '' Elephant Song'' ...

, and

Vincent Gallo Vincent Gallo (born April 11, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and musician. He has won several accolades, including a Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and has been nominated for the Palme d'Or, the Golden Lion, and the Bronze Horse. Gallo was ...

Plot

After struggling with infertility, Anne (Daryl Hannah) finally succeeds in getting pregnant through invitro fertilization with her husband Jack (Bruce Greenwood). However, one night, Anne awakens to discover a masked intruder in her room. Terrified, Anne tries to escape, but the intruder chloroforms her into unconsciousness, rendering her helpless as he kidnaps her and takes her to an isolated house. In the morning, Anne finds herself held captive by a couple named Frank (Vincent Gallo) and Helen (Jennifer Tilly). Helen has gone mad after her baby was aborted by Frank upon learning that it would have been born deformed. The procedure left her sterile, and he is now attempting to make it up to her by giving her Anne's baby. Anne recognizes Frank as a technician at her fertility clinic, and Helen later tells her that he secretly replaced her fertilized egg with one of Helen's instead. Frank stages a car accident with a horribly burned body to make everyone believe Anne is dead; Jack refuses to accept it and pressures the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

to continue investigating, but after several months they dismiss his ideas. After dealing with several escape attempts, Frank finds himself frustrated both with Helen's bipolar insanity and her refusal to have sex with him while she is "pregnant", and he attempts to force himself on Anne before being interrupted by Helen. Frank chases Anne outdoors while Helen terrorizes a

diaper A diaper (, North American English) or a nappy (British English, Australian English, Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without using a toilet, by absorbing or containing waste products to p ...

service saleswoman. Subsequently, Frank attempts a forcible

amniocentesis Amniocentesis is a medical procedure used primarily in the prenatal diagnosis of genetic conditions. It has other uses such as in the assessment of infection and fetal lung maturity. Prenatal diagnostic testing, which includes amniocentesis, is ...

, against Helen's wishes, and during the argument he lets it slip that he never switched her eggs. Helen snaps; she kills, dismembers, and cooks Frank's body. Her increasing madness leads her to threaten Anne with a

caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section, cesarean, or caesarean delivery, is the Surgery, surgical procedure by which one or more babies are Childbirth, delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen. It is often performed because va ...

, and Anne finally manages to escape. She calls Jack from a nearby

phone booth A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; typically the user steps into the booth and closes the booth ...

, but Helen runs it down with her truck in the middle of the call. Although she chases and shoots at Anne, Anne cuts her face with broken glass and runs, collapsing on the roadside where she is found by a local teenager. The police still refuse to believe Jack's story, even after seeing the damage to the phone booth, so Jack travels to the house Anne described, only to be ambushed by Helen with a

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal Club (weapon), club used in the sport of baseball to hit the Baseball (ball), ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more t ...

. Helen then kills a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

at the hospital and again kidnaps Anne to force her into having the baby. Helen decides to allow her to have a natural birth rather than a C-section, but Anne manages to break free, and after a violent struggle she wraps one of her chains around Helen's neck and strangles her. Helen rises up for one final shot but misses and dies. As the police take Helen's body away, Anne emerges from the house with Jack and her new baby.

Cast

as Anne White *

as Helen *

as Jack *

as Frank

Reception

Nathan Rabin Nathan Rabin () is an American film and music critic. Rabin was the first head writer for ''The A.V. Club'', a position he held until he left the ''Onion'' organization in 2013.

from

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

gave the film a very bad review, stating: "Director Sidney J. Furie's (Ladybugs, Iron Eagle 4) latest is bereft of suspense, but so full of embarrassing low points that it's impossible to single out just one. Who could choose between seeing Hannah force-fed against her will through a tube and watching Tilly yell at the grotesque doll baby she's attached to her stomach to simulate pregnancy? For that matter, who could choose between Gallo forcing a very-pregnant Hannah to run in front of his tractor as exercise and Tilly threatening to perform a makeshift caesarian on Hannah with a pair of sharp scissors? It all adds up to one of the most deeply unpleasant films in recent memory, ineptly executed schlock that's as fun to watch as videotaped footage of terrified real-life hostages blankly reiterating their captors' demands." ''Mitch'' from "The Video Vacuum" gave it two stars and wrote: "Hide and Seek has a solid enough premise. It's just that the script plays all its cards too soon and things fizzle out long before the finale. Fans of Tilly will want to check it out just to see her do her thing, but all in all, it's not worth seeking out."

References

External links

* {{Sidney J. Furie 2000 films 2000 thriller films Canadian thriller films Fetal abduction in fiction Films directed by Sidney J. Furie 2000s pregnancy films Trimark Pictures films Canadian pregnancy films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films English-language thriller films