27 December, 2016

2016 Films: #32. Hush


Part of the Netflix binge on December 17th. Hush was co-written by Kate Siegel (also the protagonist of the film) and her husband Mike Flanagan (also the director). The picture premiered at SXSW in the Spring and Netflix purchased the distribution rights.

The premise of the film is very simple. Maddie (Siegel) is a deaf writer who is currently staying in an isolated house in the woods (when will people in film learn that isolation is an invitation to a gruesome death, ugh!). Maddie is in the kitchen when her friend Sarah is attacked outside her house. Sarah pleads for help but Maddie begin deaf, can't hear her and things go south for Sarah. The killer realizes that Maddie is deaf and decides that he has found a second victim. What unfolds is a very nice cat & mouse thriller where Maddie has to fight off a killer who is pretty confident that he can murder a deaf woman.

A very minimalist film that is pretty riveting. I wouldn't say it kept me on the edge of my seat but my wife & I were hollering at the tv trying to warn Maddie of impending danger. It reminded me a lot of 1967's Wait Until Dark, where a blind Audrey Hepburn must outwit some serious dudes or die. Maddie tries to turn the tables on her assailant as she knows that once in the house, she's done for. There are some standard slasher tropes as to be expected but this is a nice little film that is worth a view (it got a very high critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and with a run time of under 90 minutes, you can still get to bed early, like me.



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