I will admit that I was unaware of the movie “Hush”, directed by Mike Flanagan, which was released April 6th, 2016.
I am well aware of it now! As you all should be, too. Which is why I am writing this review, to make sure people know this movie is out there.
What turned me on to the movie was that I started to see “Hush” being discussed constantly within the Horror Movie Groups on Facebook as a “must-see” movie. Someone in the group would ask for a Horror Movie suggestion that may not be well known, and/or within the Slasher/Thriller sub-genre. “Hush” would get suggested. So, I jotted the movie name down, kind of forgot about it. But, eventually finally decided to watch it because it was mentioned again and again in those same groups.
Not knowing what I was about to watch gave me the advantage of being open to surprise and having no expectation. I’m glad I did it this way. If you read further in my review, that may be ruined for you. So, if you choose to stop here, just know that I loved this movie and you should watch it!
First of all, the set-up.
“Hush” falls within the Blumhouse Production Horror monolith. Not everything they put out is gold, but whatever the silver version of the Midas Touch is, that’s what Blumhouse Production has become for Horror. Most of the movies they are releasing are good-to-great additions to the Horror genre. Then you throw in a sprinkle of Mike Flanagan, who is proving to be one of the recent leaders in the Horror genre as a Writer and Director. He Directed and Wrote the amazing Netflix series “The Haunting on Hill House”, and the successful movies “Before I Wake”, “Doctor Sleep”, “Gerald’s Game”, and more. I think he has a pretty damned good line-up there! And, finally, you add actress Kate Seigel, who happens to be married to Mike Flanagan, and has stared in many of his movies like “Gerald’s Game” and “The Haunting on Hill House” show. So, chemistry and consistency between all these elements is a great start to any film.
Secondly, the story.
The overall basis of the film is a home-invasion thriller/slasher, of which there have been plenty of those in Horror history. However, the caveat to this one is that the main character, Maddie (played by aforementioned Kate Seigel) is a deaf-mute author who lives by herself in a highly secluded area of the woods. A killer shows up at her doorstep and the battle to the death is on!
The deaf and mute aspects of the main character give the writers, and filmography, some great opportunities to add significantly suspenseful scenarios. And, when the determined killer discovers early in the movie about Maddie’s afflictions it adds yet another level of tension. Also, there are scenes placed in the movie where you are pulled into Maddie’s situation further by being deafened with no sound. This was done really well to add to pacing and suspense, and gives you her point of view through the horrific situation.
To add to it all, “Hush” is full of well-placed and well-timed bloody violence that made me cringe in discomfort. For some reason, I was surprised with the level to which this movie brought the gore. Which, if you see my Bloody O’ Graph posted with this review, you’ll see is rated somewhat high on our BoG rating system.
Finally, the recommendation.
Watch it!! It is worth it.
There are many slasher sub-genre cliché’s throughout the movie, but “Hush” really exemplifies it’s differences and strengths in each scene, and really grasps your attention to the very bloody end. I was very pleasantly surprised with this one, and would love to hear feedback from others who have seen it, or watch it after this review is posted.
“Hush” is highly recommended by Mark’s Dark Corner!!! See below where you can find “Hush” as of the writing of this review.
“Hush”
Released: 2016
Rating: R
Director: Mike Flanagan
Writer: Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House, Gerald’s Game) & Kate Seigel
IMDB Rating: 6.6 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Free Streaming as of Blog posting: Netflix
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