Check out our review of the latest Netflix horror flick, Hush.
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| Hello. Is it me you're looking for? |
Taking us back to a simpler time when horror was about tone, tension, and feel, the creator of Hush comes along and gives us a solid entry that's an enjoyable yet basic spin on the domestic thrillers we used to get back in the '90s. Hush is a relevant and timely creeper film that takes us back to the woods for another round against a masked lurker that's thirsty for female blood.
Blending some basic slasher themes with a hint of the masked Strangers into a terrorizing story about a deaf woman living alone in the woods, Hush plays it close to the chest with a new take on a familiar tale. Directed by Mike Flanagan (Oculus), this feature uses standard genre tropes and ideals to establish a methodical, even keeled story that works in the confines of its limited spaces. With only four on screen characters in the entire film, Hush is a worthy opponent against some of the better low budget releases hitting streaming services these days.
Hush is a time capsule back to a time when dynamics and interplay between aggressor and victim were more important. There's a seething chemistry between the two main leads here that oozes off the screen. John Gallagher Jr. (The Newsroom) plays the disturbed masked antagonizer with a calm and collected ease that blows up just at the right times. He's conniving and smart, cool and threatening, but angry and super flawed in all the right areas. This 'man' isn't a typical hack and slash killer and isn't a supernatural being either. He's a portrait of an unhinged madman with a devout taste for blood and manipulation. On the other side of the fence, Kate Siegel stars as the handicapped victim. She plays her role with a simplistic ease and temperament slightly reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn's portrayal in Wait Until Dark. Her Maddie isn't threatened by her impairment but uses it to her full advantage, only cowering at the imminent threat of bodily harm or death.
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| Don't make me get up off this couch and kick your ass! |
For a Netflix release, there's not much to complain about with Hush. It doesn't break any new ground but definitely sets itself apart from the glut of terrible horror releases we've been forced to watch lately. As a lower budget project, Hush definitely begs, borrows, and steals from numerous other features. But it still maintains a wide margin of originality that takes us down a jugular puncturing rabbit hole of sheer violence. The movie is never too gory but features just enough agonizing pain and bodily harm to satisfy a horror fan's appetite for human suffering.
Would I have been happy if I had paid to see this in theaters? Probably not. But, it's a great Netflix watch.
Score
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