Hush 2016

Hush - 2016

So this is one of those films that I watch one time and never watch again. Now, this is not because it was a bad movie, quite the contrary, I am not ashamed to say this movie scared the hell out of me. There is no supernatural monster or demon. The villain in this film is just a human being. Which, in some ways, makes this even more terrifying. There is just something when a movie could be real that makes it even scarier.

With a very small cast and a singular location, it makes the film even more believable. You almost get a claustrophobic feeling as you go through being trapped in the house with Maddie. The only advantage that you have is that you can hear. Did I forget to mention? Maddie is deaf and mute. So you get to be the silent witness to her terror at the hands of a very, very bad man. The sense of dread and fear permeates this film from the first sign of danger to the last frame. Something else this film does remarkably well gives you a sense of what it is like to be deaf. At almost seemingly random moments, all sound is removed and you start to get a good sense of just how isolated Maddie is, and just how dependant those of us who can hear, are on our hearing.

I cannot praise our lead actress enough, Kate Siegel, who is also a co-writer of this terrifying little story. Kate is a hearing actress but took the time to learn ASL (American Sign Language). Though, according to my resident expert in ASL, she is a bit lazy with her signs she gets them spot on.

The fact that neither her eyes nor her body gives away the fact that she can actually hear is a testament to her dedication to this role. Most people instinctively react to sounds and she has no reaction to anything unless it is within her line of sight. This is not her first film though, so she has had time to hone her skills. She had roles in the 2013 horror film “Oculus”, the 2014 “Demon Legacy” and most recently in the film “Ouija 2” due out sometime in 2016. She brings a strength to Maddie, but yet also a vulnerability and loneliness that makes her likable, believable, and someone that you actually cheer for to make it through to the end. I can honestly say that I am excited to see how her career blossoms and where she goes from here.

Onto the man that I hold responsible for my latest run of nightmares. Though his character does not have a name, it doesn’t make him any less creepy. If anything, it makes it worse, because he becomes the fear made flesh every time you hear a bump in the middle of the night and you are home alone, or you are walking through a dark parking lot. I watched this with my 17-year-old son and ended up awake most of the night because of every little noise outside my window. Which in the light of day I can say was probably raccoons, or deer, or the random bear, but that logic did not stop me from checking every window and door lock every night since. Our nameless character is not, thank goodness, a nameless actor. The very talented man behind the nightmare is John Gallagher Jr. He has had roles in “Law and Order: SVU” and “Criminal Intent” as well as a role in the 2010 Megan Fox movie “Jonah Hex” and most recently the 2016 thriller “10 Cloverfield Lane”. John’s character in this film is made even more terrifying by the fact that he has no remorse for what is going on. It is like it is just another “day at the office”. He seems to enjoy terrifying Maddie and taunting her with the fact that she is stuck inside the house, but he is not stuck outside. The calm demeanor that he has, makes you almost sick with fear as you cannot predict what his next move will be. I am very much looking forward to what he has going in his future and how he is going to terrify me next.

I was curious about some aspects of this movie so I did a little research on this film. I found out that there are less than 15 minutes of dialogue throughout the whole movie, which means over 70 minutes of this film is silent. This means that the atmosphere and ambient music have a LOT to do with the mood of this film. There is no dialogue to hold you and keep you pulled in, it is all the interactions between Maddie and this terrifying man that keeps you wanting to see what happens next and hoping and praying that she is going to get away from this man who seems hell-bent not only to kill her but make her “beg” for the end to come. Some people would say that having over ¾ of a film that is silent would make for a pretty boring movie, this is not the case, you get so used to there being no spoken dialogue that when there is, it sticks with you.

I cannot personally praise this movie enough. Between the fact that they took a pretty often used concept, turned it on its head, and gave people something to be scared of again. To me, it falls in the same category as the 2008 Liv Tyler thriller “The Strangers” and 2007 “Funny Games” each of those films great in their own right, but again they are part of that “One time watch” movie club for me. This movie is great for a scary movie night. Though you might want to keep a couple lights on, and your cell phone close. If you see someone in a white mask outside your window…… You should Pray…….