Hush (2016)

Running Time: 1hr 21min

Release Date: April 8, 2016

Review by: Stacey

After director Mike Flanagan proved with his 2011 film, Absentia, that he could make an effective horror film with a small budget and a simple concept, I didn't have any reservations about his latest effort, the home-invasion thriller Hush.  Where his other films rest more on the supernatural angle, Hush gives us a moderate-paced flick that is actually pretty damn frightening.

Maddie (co-writer Kate Siegel) is an author and deaf/mute who lost her hearing when she was a young girl.  Living isolated in her home in the woods other than visits from her friendly neighbors, Sarah (Samantha Sloyan) and Sarah's boyfriend John (Michael Trucco), and FaceTime/texts with family, Maddie leads a fairly quiet life.  Until one night when a masked man shows up at her window and begins to torment her.  Unable to hear and with little chance to escape, Maddie is forced to fight to stay alive.

  Sounds like pretty standard fare in the home-invasion subgenre, huh?  While it's not exactly reinventing anything, Hush definitely brought something different to the table.  In particular, the idea to make the lead character deaf/mute meant the majority of the film would have to be carried on her ability to emote her thoughts and feelings throughout.  While there was dialogue in the film, from the intruder (John Gallagher Jr.) and characters Sarah and John, there was only about 15 minutes of it total, but you hardly even notice because your attention is directed at everything else that's happening.

The storytelling in the beginning of the film was good enough to establish your connection with the characters, especially the lead, so that once that was out of the way, the fun started.  Gallagher as the intruder was a great casting choice; he never hammed it up or overracted, he was just simply creepy.  I'm glad they decided to have him remove his mask halfway through the film for the rest of it, the masks thing in these types of movies can get a bit hokey.  To see the real person makes it that much more personal and frightening alongside the character's blatant disregard for anyone's life.  

 

While Hush didn't rely on jump scares or cheap tactics to get the audience to move, there were some definite cringe worthy moments that will most likely make you squirm in your seat (I might have tossed my phone at one point).  It never reaches "torture porn" status by any means and the moments where violence occurs were simple but effective enough to make you feel their pain.  The score by The Newton Brothers (Oculus, Proxy) was a perfect addition to the film, as well.

 I won't lie, the pacing was a little wonky in moments, despite its short runtime.  It did feel like it dragged at some point halfway into the movie, but it never lost my interest, thankfully.  I felt like there were several plot points that were either ignored or purposefully left out to keep the movie rolling along, and I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't the only one picking up on some of these things.  That said, the last 20 minutes did redeem itself so the pacing issues will be a minor complaint.

As much as I want to, I won't give much more away considering this was just released on Netflix today, but I will say that this is definitely a no-frills movie with a great story.  Flanagan kills it again with Hush, so go and watch it, dammit!

4/5 LOCK YOUR GODDAMN DOORS, PEOPLE

 Out on Netflix now!
Check out the trailer below