Hush (2016) Directed by Mike Flanagan
It is kind of rare these days for an original horror movie to be decent. When Hush came on Netflix a couple months back I didn’t read the synopsis, I just saw the picture. I saw a girl with a masked guy standing behind her and rolled my eyes. I just thought oh great another run of the mill low budget slasher movie. Then I heard Jack and Nick from The Jack and Nick Horror Show talking about it, I respect their opinions so I figured I would check it out.
Hush isn’t your typical movie, while being a low budget indie movie, it does have an interesting story. A deaf/mute writer lives in a secluded cabin in the woods. An unknown, masked villain shows up at her house and torments her. The twist of the girl being deaf gives this movie a helpless feeling. He can literally sneak up on her any time he wants to, he knows this and he uses it to scare her even more. The suspense is gut wrenching at times and the sick/sadistic personality of the killer gives you an uneasy feeling the whole film. Madde the deaf writer is more resourceful than you originally assume at the beginning. She puts up a big fight with the man, stealing his crossbow and escaping his grasp. He takes the mask off within the first half hour. I like and dislike this at the same time. The mask was rather creepy and I liked the emotionless look of it, but at the same time when he removes the mask it gives him more of a human element. After all, the more human he is, the more unnerving his actions are.
The acting is quite strong for only having 4 characters. Maddie and the killer have great chemistry and their back and forth is great. As the movie goes on Maddie becomes stronger and braver. She even begs him to come into the house so she can fight him. Her handicap has almost made her more resourceful, she’s very intelligent and uses this wit to hold her own. The camera work is also very strong. The subtle angles and quick cuts work very well with the atmosphere of the film. The dialogue is basically one sided since Maddie is deaf, but she uses other ways to express herself, her facial expressions are wonderful and she writes notes for the killer on the windows. The movie does have times where there is a lack of talking altogether but it gives you more of a feel of Maddie’s life. Perhaps the killer is cocky with her since she is handicapped because he doesn’t take her seriously until she begins to fight back.
The special effects aren’t in your face and over the top but pretty realistic. The movie relies more on atmosphere and expression than most films of this genre and time. All the blood and gore is nicely done, it feels believable because it isn’t excessive. The body count isn’t huge but with only 4 characters, you really can’t expect much. This is probably one of the best home invasion type horror movies I have seen due to the fact that it is pretty realistic and does such a great job of establishing characters.
In conclusion, Hush is a very competently made, the acting is quite strong and the score is even very effective. If you have Netflix and you’re looking for something new to watch, really you should give it a shot. While it isn’t perfect, the movie is quite short coming in at 1 hour and 21 minutes. I would give this movie a B. I enjoyed it for what it was, there are a few things I would change. I didn’t like how the killer took the mask off so quickly and I didn’t understand how she wasn’t able to talk after becoming deaf as a teenager. She already had the years of hearing, she should be able to make any kind of sound it seems. Since Netflix sucks for horror, this is a gem in a pile of shit. Give it a look!
