'Hush' Review

A few months ago, I was watching one of my favourite reviewers Chris Stuckmann give his thoughts on a very interesting film called 'Hush'. He spoke very highly of the film which left a mark on me. A couple of days ago, I was then scrolling through Netflix seeing what was new and hiding within the depths of the service where I came across none other than 'Hush'. So with the summer movie season disappointing I looked to this film to satisfy me for the time being. So enough of the backstory and now into the review!

'Hush' is a psychological horror/thriller that follows deaf and mute author Maddie Young (Kate Siegel) as she lives alone in quite an isolated area near woodland. Things start to go wrong as a neighbour of Maddie's is pursued and killed on her porch with her not knowing at all due to her condition. The killer (John Gallagher Jr) then sets his attention towards her as he looks to torture her mentally before killing her. Maddie has to use whatever she can to gain an advantage and make up for her inability to hear to make it out alive.

Now from the synopsis, it is a very interesting film. We've all seen home invasion films but how would one cope if they had a disability that would hinder them against an attacker. This creates an interesting scenario from the beginning and also a fresh idea which is great to see. In horror a lot of things have been done to death and it was good to see a fairly new take on a sub genre. This condition does play a big role in the film as Maddie has to work out ways to even the odds and not allow he pursuer to take advantage of it. This does create some interesting situations that lead to some clever thinking which shows Maddie to be quite intelligent. 

However at times throughout the film, this intelligence seems to disappear. As she does carefully plan how to handle certain things, she sometimes doesn't carry this out and does something that is quite stupid and leads her to be in real danger. Sometimes it is too dumb to simply ignore as you'd expect her to know what to do as she has taken the time to plan out her moves. The same with some of her other actions throughout the film where she seems to ruin a chance for herself to escape or possibly get help.

I really liked the character of the killer in this film. From the start he is very creepy as he gets inside the house and creeps out Maddie by stealing her phone and sending images of her from within the house. He also states the haunting lines "I can come in anytime I want, And I can get you anytime I want. But I'm not going to. Not until it's time. When you wish you're dead...that's when I'll come inside". From these two acts we can see that killing isn't the only thing he seeks as he wants to cause as much pain as possible to her physically and mentally. Some people don't like this but you can clearly see how menacing and threatening he is and that by keeping her alive, he is potentially doing more damage. Also who doesn't think a crossbow is awesome? One gripe I have that is I would've preferred him to be anonymous behind the mask for much longer than it was. The mysteriousness makes him more threatening and dangerous and the film does lose some effect due to this. 

Like most horror movies, this one does follow several cliches. We have the classics like losing service on phones and not having working transport to make a quick getaway. However the film does create some ways that aren't just coincidences as you see what causes these problems, mainly due to the killer. Any fan can appreciate this as the writers have taken time to address why this happens rather than it just being bad service or breakdowns which is always good to see. Cliches are fine if they are done well and 'Hush' does a great job with them.

The film also keeps you guessing as you look to see what will happen next. The movie tricks the audience several times into thinking that something is happening that will cause some drama. This works well as it isn't too repetitive and continues the story very well. It is a clever technique that is used very well that keeps the audience on their toes.

Final Verdict = 

'Hush' is a good thriller and highly enjoyable. At 1 hour and 21 minutes long, this film is perfect for a quick and entertaining watch which I highly recommend.

So have you seen 'Hush'? If so what did you think of it? It is on Netflix and you really should check it out if you haven't seen it. I hope this review may have also convinced you to do so. Once again, thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor