Notable Cast: Kate
Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, Emilia Graves
When it comes to modern horror, Mike Flanagan might be one
of the best and freshest voices in the industry. His first two films were the
atmospheric suffocation of Absentia
and the shockingly effective time blending of Oculus, films that rocked their concepts and effectively executed
what could have been questionable ideas into modern classics. This is the
reason why I was initially stoked to dive into his spin on the home invasion
film Hush. Now, the fact that it was
seemingly kicked straight to Netflix did give me hesitation, but don’t be
afraid because Hush continues the
trend of Flanagan nailing the horror genre down to a science even if the basic
foundation is nothing all that original.
Maddie is a fiercely independent young woman, focused on her
career as an author, and living in a rural house with only her nearby friend as
a social connection outside of the internet and phone. She also happens to be deaf
and mute and it makes her stronger. However, one dark night she is going to
have an unwanted guest. An unwanted guest with some malicious intents.
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| Facebook stalking seems minuscule when there is a killer on the loose. |
The home invasion sub-genre of horror and thrillers has been
a bit saturated in the last handful of years. The genre is many decades old
already, but with the continued success of films like The Purge, You’re Next,
or The Strangers, it’s not going anywhere
soon. Unfortunately, outside of the execution of a specific film, the genre is
run a bit thin when it comes to concept and formula. Hush, at its weakest, does run the gauntlet of the formula with its
masked intruder, character arcs, and its vague narrative. In this manner, as the
film sort of jogs through the motions of a trapped protagonist rising up to
take on the vicious killer with tricks and traps, it can be a bit hum drum.
Even with the twist of having a deaf and mute protagonist, Hush plays things a bit safe in this sense as it just pounds home a
lot of the same instances and plot developments that any coherent horror fan
will have seen time and time again. With a shorter run time, it’s not like the
film is going to throw a lot of massive curve balls at an audience like other
films in the genre have attempted to do.
This is where director Mike Flanagan shines though. The man
has knocked the ball out of the park with films about possibly imaginary giant
bugs and a killer mirror, so giving him a well-worn concept isn’t actually a detriment.
He kills it on this one too. Hush is
slathered in his patented vague and well-paced atmosphere, utilizing the modern
muted tones of color scheme and the simplicity of the film to allow it its own
effectiveness. He does not use the deaf and mute aspect in the bombastic ways I
would have assumed for a film with some directors gunning for some ridiculous
sound design or anything like that. It’s never treated as a big gimmick outside
of building some serious tension in a handful of scenes and this is where the
film really works. The film even ably addresses the technology factor that so
many home invasion films struggle to make effective. The audience actually
gives a shit about the heroine, even with the limited initial build for her
character, and the villain is both fascinatingly creepy, charming, and
shockingly evil to give the film a solid balance of good versus evil. The
tension, thus, is damn effective as it throws in some slick narrative speed
bumps and a few fun home invasion set pieces.
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| Peek a boo. |
At its foundations, Hush
is essentially just another home invasion flick and if you don’t buy into the
atmospheric style of Flanagan, then you won’t be hooked by this film. On the
flip side, if you do grab onto the simplistic and effective style of the film
then it’s a sure fire cult classic in the making continuing Flanagan’s already
impressive resume of horror films. Buy into the tension and you won’t regret it
with Hush.
Written By Matt Reifschneider
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