Now I do love a Home Invasion film and straight of the bat Hush reminded my of the terror of the French horror film Them, a long time favourite horror film of mine and a home invasion horror which has never been topped in my eyes. Hush has topped this film. Hush is, in one word, TERRIFYING. This is the film I have been waiting for to re-ignite the horror fire under me, A horror film which is so well acted and well shot I can finally have faith in whats to come next.
Hush had me on edge throughout the whole film, I was tense, i was glued to the edge of my seat in terror as I watched this poor woman get terrorized and thinking there is no hope for this poor soul. I was willing Maddie to fight holding my breath as I watched her try and escape but to no avail. This is horror! I repeated in my head, this is a REAL horror film, This is what I have been waiting for.
What impressed me were three things, firstly was the Maddie character, played by Kate Siegel (Oculus, Demon Legacy), Siegel played the Maddie character perfectly, the expressions and the terror in her eyes, you would have thought she was, indeed deaf and mute in real life. Secondly the character of the psychopath played by John Gallagher Jr was creepy as hell, you could tell his character was enjoying the game more and more as we watched Maddie try and fail to escape the house. and the third thing was the use of sound in the film, the way the director Mike Flanagan uses even the most subtle sounds like, a knife of glass or the sound of the killer tapping the knife on his chest while Maddie sits there unaware he is even there, adds another layer of fear for the viewer who is shouting 'LOOK BEHIND YOU DAMN IT'. The whole film is just perfectly directed, with every little piece of the horror puzzle woven into a masterpiece of film making in ever scene.
If i was to have any negative comment on the film, and I am scrapping the barrel here, is I thought the reveal of the killers face was a little bit to soon. I personally would have had him reveal his face after a bit more terrorizing, but that is if I am being REALLY picky and this is only because I thought the mask was creepy as hell.
In closing Hush is the perfect example of how not only Home Invasion horror should be made but how horror in general should be made. I am looking forward to seeing how Flanagan does directing the follow up to Ouija. You MUST get Netflix for the soul purpose of seeing this film.