I have a soft spot for home-invasion cinema (The Strangers, You're Next, the French film Inside) partly because I find the basic idea frightening on a very immediate and primal level. Directed by Mike Flanagan (Oculus) and released directly to Netflix after a well-received unveiling at South by Southwest, Hush is a steady and well-executed example of the suspense sub-genre. The heroine, a novelist who lives alone in a cabin, is deaf, and the film mines the he-can-hear-her-but-she-cannot-hear-him conceit for considerable suspense. As played by Kate Siegel, she is also resourceful and sympathetic; by the end, one truly roots for her to overcome her pursuer and survive the night. The film is crafty and hard-edged enough, though, for any number of outcomes to feel within the realms of possibility.

Many have said the film shows the antagonist's face too soon. It does render him less scary, but it also lets the film utilize John Gallagher, Jr., a talented actor, more. And it also shows the physical exertion and bouts of frustration experienced by the home invader over the course of the night, which seems relatively novel to me.

B+

I liked it. The main girl being deaf and mute was a unique twist and added some genuine suspense. John Gallagher Jr. is a good actor and while it's cool seeing him play a completely different character here than in 10 Cloverfield Lane, had he kept the mask on longer it would have been way more effective IMO.

I really enjoyed the movie. The whole concept is great and its executed very well. The heroine is overall resourceful but its not in-your-face resourceful because she is a doctor or medical student, she is pretty much handicapped here and gets by with some stroke of luck here (like the neighbor showing up). Both Siegel and Gallagher Jr. are great in here, specially the later. I was really surprised to see him in this role, he picks up good movies or challenging roles most of the times.

7/10

This is a good little thriller. Again, from Mike Flanagan. He's an interesting director. All of his films so far are original. There's no generic slasher films or generic haunting films or whatever. Each of his films has a unique angle or incident or plot. Hush is no different. It's a cabin in the woods with a killer than taunts and plays with his female victim. We've all seen that before, right? Ahh, but she's deaf and mute. There's the angle, and it's a decent one. Flanagan does not fully utilise it, however, and that's a shame because it could have been such a unique horror film if he had. Unfortunately, sound plays all too big a role from the viewer's perspective, and that is a total waste of potentially submerging us in the fear that our protagonist is experiencing. It stumbles again when the killer takes his mask off. I was screaming inside for him not to take it off. Yet he does. And it goes from a 7 straight to a 3. It's still a tense and entertaining journey to the end, but it could have been so much more. B