Old School Review - A Girl Reviews Hush

Hush, a new horror flick to come out of Blumhouse Productions, is the perfect home invasion film for any night at home. Bought by Netflix during SXSW, Hush is another minimalistic film by director Mike Flanagan (Oculus), who not only directed the film but wrote it along with his wife, and lead, Kate Siegel. 

Maddie (Siegel) is enjoying life right now - she’s got her cat, who is called “Bitch” throughout the movie, her neighbors John and Sarah, and her novel she struggles to write an ending for. Isolated out in the woods seems to be fine until a masked man (John Gallagher Jr.) begins to terrorize Maddie for no apparent reason other than that he enjoys it. Maddie doesn’t know at first she’s about to have a night she’ll never forget, because after an illness as a teenager, Maddie is now completely deaf and mute.

Packed with suspense due to the lack of dialogue and beautiful sound design, Hush is a film that will keep you biting at your nails. The swift and smooth cinematography by James Kniesh allows us to see - and thanks to the sound department, hear - all that Maddie cannot, which helps drive the suspense.

Though hearing and vocally impaired, Maddie fights for her life in some gritty, but not graphic, scenes. The simplicity of the story, and the film itself, is what makes it such a great watch. The scares, mostly done through sound work, are not overdone nor cliche like seen in some other horror flicks. The silence of the film also allows for the performances to shine. Siegel prevails as the heroine, and Gallagher proves to be a sadistic creep.

This isn’t your average home invasion, and the fact that a female protagonist is so strongly portrayed is another great perk of the film. Runtime is less than 90 minutes, and it’s not a film that feels as though it’ll never end. So grab some friends, curl up in front of the television, turn on Netflix and enjoy this fantastic piece of work.

My Personal Rating: 3.5/5