The most terrifying of screams goes off with a “Hush”, in writer/director Mike Flanagan’s straight to Netflix shriek fest. The concept of silence takes on a terrifying new dimension for a young woman living a simple life in the woods. Author Maddie Young (Kate Siegel) lives a life of utter isolation after losing her hearing as a teenager. She’s retreated form society, living in seclusion and existing in a completely silent world that suits her needs. But one night, the fragile world is shattered when the masked face of a psychotic killer appears in her window. Without another living soul for miles, and with no way to call for help, it appears that Maddie is at the killer’s mercy, but he may have underestimated his prey. As this horrifying game of cat and mouse escalates to a breathless fever-pitch, Maddie must push herself beyond her mental and physical limits in order to survive the night and thwart her determined nemesis. “Hush” is rated R for adult language and physical violence.
The very creative touches of “Hush” is what takes this streaming-only concept and turns it into a very enjoyable sit. Flanagan recently impressed me (Until the last ten minutes) with 2013’s “Oculus”, so it’s nice to see a guy who isn’t handicapped by the simplicity of a cheap production. It’s that simplicity that gives this movie an original take on an otherwise over-saturated genre. With the character of Maddie being deaf, the movie translates her struggle physically by putting the audience in her very shoes, experimenting with audio teases that had me even checking the volume on my television set. The concept of silence is golden really applies well to the movie, because between a muted musical score and long periods of tension-building silence, the movie really puts us inside the mentality of a tortured protagonist who is still coming to terms with the complexities of her handicap. While the cinematography of the movie isn’t anything rich or luxurious, the movie does capitalize on some top-notch editing during scenes that reflect Maddie’s realizations. The film’s screenplay is very smart in how it’s pits the main protagonist against this psychopath, without sacrificing some of the realism to the situation. This is an everyday woman challenged against someone physically stronger, so she has to find ways to combat that strength using her intelligence. Even the slightest of details like her author background is carefully choreographed to remind the audience why these little things were introduced early into the film.
In keeping with the theme of simplicity, the film only features four different actors, so each performance is given notable amounts of time to shine in their own ways. Kate Siegel is every bit believable as a deaf young woman. Without any speaking, we have to not only believe this, but also engage in her personality to want to spend 81 minutes with her. Siegel triumphs in spades, giving everything that she has to her character, and really making you feel the loneliness of such a woman. There’s kind of a tragic telling of how she lives her life away from friends and family, made even worse by the fact that this masked figure now stands at her door threatening to take away what little she has. It made me feel great empathy for her without it feeling hurtful to the very integrity of her character. The final battle between her and her stalker is inspiring, considering the kind of transformation that she takes from beginning to end. The movie isn’t very long, but we feel an immense growth in the life legs of Maddie. I won’t spoil too much about the killer, but a couple of aspects to his development is the only things I didn’t enjoy about the movie. I thought he was a solid enough actor, and very menacing when the movie needed him to be, but my problems lie in some of the creative aspects of his character. For one, his mask is shed by the half hour mark of the movie. I’ve always been of the belief that the monster is even scarier when we don’t know their identity, and I felt that the reveal visually was a little anti-climatic. Secondly, his character comes off a little plain. I do like that he isn’t given any backstory, as I feel a killer should always be a mysterious presence, but there’s nothing about his performance that makes him stand out as anything other than time filler.
The movie also captures some really solid logic in fight choreography that felt very human. These are ninjas or martial arts specialist, so their movements during the big conflict scene feel just right considering the lack of time that Maddie really has to think. With very little blood in the movie, the film instead presents rapid-fire edits which bring the most impact of each strike. Being deaf, Maddie has to always keep her eyes open, as do the audience. The surprise attacks happen quickly, so it’s quite easy to see and feel what is going through this woman psychologically. In that aspect, “Hush” strikes a personal chord with its audience that is against-the- grain for terror films today.
Mike Flanagan puts two mice in a cage and lets them fight it out in a brutal fight for survival. His concise direction, equaled by his intelligently efficient script, makes “Hush” a gripping breath of fresh air.
7/10