Hush – review

Hush is a horror movie from director Mike Flanagan. The thrills are genuine and the acting is fantastic. The film takes home invasion genre and pushes new life into it with the addition of a character that is deaf and mute. Like Oculus and Absentia, it creates elements of unease and terror that will impress even the most cynical critic.

Maddie Young, played by Kate Siegel, is a young deaf writer living in an isolated cottage in the woods. As she works on her latest novel a masked killer attacks her neighbor. Unable to hear the screams, she attracts the attention of the killer who attempts to break into the house and kill Maddie.  Maddie must find a way to successfully hide, run, or fight back.

Kate Siegel does amazing work as Maddie. She is personable and charismatic so you really want her to live through this frightening ordeal. There is very little dialogue so the movie relies a lot on her physical performance and it pays off. The atmosphere and the unnerving factor of Maddie’s handicap make the character very unique.

The movie is not shy on violence. The gore comes off as very realistic and appropriate to the mood of the story. We never find out the killer’s motivation, which makes it all the more terrifying. Maddie is not written as a typical damsel and her vulnerability makes the performance very realistic and human. The killer is scary and does not fall into the cliché of the mindless slasher or the smart mouthed witty murder. The movie is a living chess game between killer and victim and as the audience we are watching the wheels turn in both their heads and hoping that Maddie will survive.

The movie takes the slasher genre in a bold new direction and is absolutely worth seeing. The acting and direction come together perfectly to make a movie that is sure to become a horror classic. This movie is a must see for any horror fan or anyone who wants to see a movie that is truly thrilling and interesting to behold.