Hush

Let us start with the fact that this is not a horror movie. It's a thriller, with some interesting unusual aspects, as well as a few cringe-worthy flaws (in character logic, as the case always seems to be).

So what makes this movie stand out and feel almost fresh? The obvious first is that our protagonist is deaf-mute. Not being an expert on deaf people, I still believe this was played quite consistently to the movie's credit. It is interesting to occupy the head space of someone missing such an important sense in a frightful situation.

Another thing I noticed is the total lack of jump scares. There isn't a single jump-scare in the movie, which only further distances Hush from being a horror movie. In fact the usual creep factor as a whole is kept to a minimum. It quickly becomes a cat-and-mouse kind of battle of wits more than anything else, which I found a pleasant surprise, despite being more of a horror fanatic.

The third curious thing is that from the get go it's made clear that the killer is very much human. We don't know what his motivations are, he's just out to kill and doesn't give much of a s*** about anything else but his upper hand. He doesn't have much of a plan and has to improvise, as does our protagonist to survive.

I found the thrill in this movie to be more intellectual than primal. The gore is neither profuse nor lacking, it's there when it's needed. It's well shot, acted, directed and edited, considering the modest budget, and doesn't overstay its welcome. I'd recommend it for a rainy evening if you want to see the thriller genre try something new.

Real-life deaf people (without mental disorder) are not so clumsy. The script forced a "deaf helpless" but ended up leaving the protagonist without the other senses of the body. Any deaf person would pick up the vibrations of doors rattling, or reflections/shadows from someone nearby, smelling sweat. I almost liked it but I thought it was a bit of "pushed" agony.

The slasher genre was at it's peak in the 80's, when the 90's came it began to struggle and in this guys opinion it's never fully recovered. Sure every once in a while a high profile slasher movie pops up but the interest never seems to last.

I'd say a primary reason is that they're all the same but that could be said about a lot of horror sub-genres.

Here we have the story of a mute/deaf author who lives out secluded in the forest and you guessed it she falls foul of a masked killer.

The fact she's deaf actually adds more of an element to the movie than you'd imagine and though Hush suffers from the same Slasher tropes as every other it manages to stay fresh regardless.

Well shot, well written and well acted by both little known leads I came away from Hush very satisfied. Sure it's nothing revolutionary but it didn't need to be, it's a demonstration that slashers still have life left in them.

The Good:

The pets role in the film

Some well crafted moments

Both leads were excellent

The Bad:

Slasher tropes

'Hush' is a lot like 'The Strangers', except instead of strangers plural it's only one man, and instead of a husband and wife being terrorized it's a deaf and mute recluse. It's very tense and cleverly written bar a few cliché tropes that come with this kind of movie. It also has a minimal synth score, something I notice more and more horror movies are utilizing - 'You're Next', 'It Follows' - to give it an '80s classic slasher atmosphere. It's hard to even call it horror though as it offers far more thrills than actual scares. I was thoroughly satisfied watching this movie. It's constantly engaging, and that has a lot to do with the terrific performances of both the man and Maggie, and there are a few scenes that are genuinely depraved and chilling. It doesn't break any new ground, but following 'The Babadook' and 'It Follows', 'Hush' continues to reinspire the subtle, quiet corner of the genre and bodes well for the future of psychological thrillers. Highly recommended.

The film started off quite well from the outset, with a nice setup. Having the main character be deaf is interesting, but unfortunately it doesn't pay off very well. There's not much buildup to the game of cat and mouse that makes up the bulk of the story and so the viewer is thrust into the action in a way that seriously lessens its impact. There are flashes of promise in the first ten or so minutes but after that it's a fairly clichéd survival horror that doesn't offer anything spectacular. Some fleeting moments of tension and shock make it worth a one time watch if you're curious, but don't go into it with high expectations.