WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - It is relatively easy to create an air of creepiness. It isn't really too hard to sustain that mood throughout a movie. The difficult part is coming up with a conclusion that makes sense of the spooky stuff that preceded it.

"Hide and Seek," which pairs a brooding Robert De Niro with adorable child star Dakota Fanning, certainly manages to set us on edge and keeps ratcheting up the suspense. But when it comes to a satisfying payoff, the movie fails to deliver the goods.

The title children's game is one that tiny Emily Callaway (Fanning) loved to play with her mother Alison (Amy Irving), who would tiptoe into her daughter's New York City bedroom imploring, "Come out, come out, wherever you are." The game is innocent enough, but you can bet that before the movie ends, a killer will be stalking with a more malevolent reading of those words.

After hugging Emily and tucking her into bed, Alison slips into the bathtub and quietly commits suicide. Her psychologist husband, David (De Niro), will be distraught when he finds her in the middle of the night, but it is little Emily who will be more lastingly disturbed by the loss. Not only does their move to the secluded, seasonal upstate town of Woodland not seem to help her, Emily begins consorting with a new secret friend named Charlie, who turns mischievous, then vandalous, and finally homicidal.

First-time screenwriter Ari Schlossberg knows how to salt the story with intriguing clues, like the ominous flashbacks that David keeps having of a recent New Year's Eve party. And he knows how to toss in unnerving suspects like the hulking next-door neighbor who lost his own daughter a while ago. And he is smart enough to include attractive supporting characters like David's psychologist protege (Famke Janssen) and a local looker (Elisabeth Shue), both potential competition with Emily for David's attention and potential victims.

It's just that Schlossberg was absent the day they covered rug-pulling final jolts in screenwriting class.

The problem is not with director John Polson (whose debut film "Swimfan" already suggested promise). He not only paces "Hide and Seek" to maximize tension, but draws a stunning performance from the already veteran Fanning.

Sporting dark hair, sunken eyes and a gaunt look, she brings to mind little Wednesday from "The Addams Family." More than the physical, though, it is the inner emotional turmoil beneath a near catatonic surface that makes the 10-year-old Fanning so compelling as an actress. That she looks so vulnerable also adds to the impact of the peril.

After the recent "Meet the Fockers," De Niro has an easy act to follow in playing David Callaway. The role gives him plenty to dig into, even if the ultimate impression is that one of our top screen actors is still taking work far below his capabilities.

Expectations are always a key factor in measuring enjoyment, and if all you expect is to be unnerved for more than an hour, "Hide and Seek" will suffice.

If, on the other hand, you are seeking a thriller you can still savor long after the shrieks are stifled, better wait for something smarter than this.

TITLE: "Hide and Seek"DIRECTOR: John PolsonCAST: Dakota Fanning, Robert De Niro, Elisabeth Shue, Amy Irving and Dylan BakerRATED: R (frightening sequences and violence)GRADE: * * ½ (on a scale of 5)