Hush

Produced by husband and wife writer/director team Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel, Hush follows the standard home invasion horror plot, but freshens the genre with a few simple, but effective, twists.

What’s the deal?

Maddie Young (Kate Siegel) is a deaf author living comfortably in the woods in self-imposed exile. John Gallagher Jnr (10 Cloverfield Lane, The Newsroom) is a sadistic thrill-killing psychopath randomly stalking her neighbourhood woods. Intrigued by her disability, The Killer begins a deathly game of cat-and-mouse wherein Maddie is trapped and taunted in her own home, with any possible means of escape excruciatingly picked off one-by-one.

It’s good!

This is truly less-is-more filmmaking. The set, plot and cast are minimal, relying on a slow build of tension through use of sound and clever narrative reveals rather than a proliferation of jump scares (even though there’s a few of those – what would a horror film be without?). Indeed, there’s a horrifically tense moment about a third of the way in, which significantly ups the stakes for our heroine and sets an edgy tone for the rest of the film. With a minute cast carrying the film, its success is hugely dependent on the ability and chemistry of the two leads. Suffice to say, they do not disappoint. As The Killer, Gallagher brings creepy realism to a character that could’ve easily become a cliché while Siegel holds her own with a nuanced portrayal of a very human heroine. Of particular note is the decision to omit any backstory or motivation for The Killer, while at the same time revealing more of the character than other slashers of similar ilk. One of the criticisms towards Western horror, as opposed to the more atmospheric J-Horror sub-genre, is the need to provide a rationale for the antagonist’s actions. Think of chaos theory. Sometimes things just ‘happen’ without reason, which provides a much more fearsome context for the viewer.

What’s wrong with you?

There's a couple of scenes in the final act which are a little confusing and require a rather large suspension of belief. The ending in particular was a real disappointment, given the calibre of the rest of the film.

Neo-Maxi Zoom Dweeb-ery

You're not going to see Hush in the cinemas. The flick was released though Netflix, probably one of the first new films to be distributed via VOD method. It's going to be interesting to see how VOD services can carve a niche for themselves against the larger cinema chains. For independent or first-time filmmakers, debuting work through a solid brand with broad international reach such as Netflix provides digital cred and immediate advocacy of quality. Additionally, when content is delivered straight into the home on such a platform, it provokes a ‘view first, research second’ mentality. Barriers-to-view, such as ensuring your product is adequately promoted for any kind of audience awareness (or even just pushing people to get off the couch and into a cinema), are obliterated. It's a great option for indies, and the viewers are the ultimate winners as they get more options of less commercial product.

Truth?

Hush puts enough new spin on the home invasion sub-genre to keep you involved...until the end.

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#Horror #NetflixnChill