Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Directed By: Mike Flanagan
Written By: Kate Siegel , Mike Flanagan
On DVD: Apr 8, 2016
Runtime: 87 minutes
Studio: Intrepid
Pictures Initial release: March 12, 2016
Budget: 70,000 USD
Production company: Blumhouse Productions
MOVIE INFO
In this heart-pounding thriller from acclaimed writer and director Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Before I Wake), silence takes on a terrifying new dimension for a young woman living along in the woods. Author Maddie Young (Kate Siegel) lives a life of utter isolation after losing her hearing as a teenager. She's retreated form society, living in seclusion and existing in a completely silent world. But one night, the fragile world is shattered when the masked face of a psychotic killer appears in her window. Without another living soul for miles, and with no way to call for help, it appears that Maddie is at the killer's mercy... but he may have underestimated his prey. As this horrifying game of cat and mouse escalates to a breathless fever- pitch, Maddie must push herself beyond her mental and physical limits in order to survive the night.
Madison Young, một nữ nhà văn viết chuyện trinh thám đang hoàn tất cuốn cách của mình ở một ngôi nhà cô lập trong rừng thì bị một kẻ đeo mặt nạ đến truy sát. Phim sẽ không khác gì một phim thuộc dòng "Home Invasion" bình thường nếu nhà văn của chúng ta không bị câm điếc, do đó không thể cầu cứu bất cứ ai. Cô buộc phải dùng đến cái đầu của một nhà văn trinh thám để tìm cách sống sót...
| Hush | |
|---|---|
Official poster
| |
| Directed by | Mike Flanagan |
| Produced by |
|
| Written by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Music by | The Newton Brothers |
| Cinematography | James Kniest |
| Edited by | Mike Flanagan |
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release dates
|
|
Running time
| 81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70,000[1] |
REVIEW
| Brian Tallerico
| Brian Tallerico
April 8, 2016 |
Mike Flanagan’s “Hush,” which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival last month before popping up on Netflix today, is an old-fashioned home invasion thriller that works on its own modest terms. It’s one of those simple horror flicks that’s so streamlined it feels long even at only 82 minutes. It might have worked better as a short film or installment of an anthology series like “Masters of Horror,” but Flanagan has a notable skill in building tension and then just allowing it to simmer. He doesn’t resort to the jump scare tactics that mar so many similar low-budget films. In fact, the most terrifying, shocking moments in “Hush” typically come without the loud music cue or pouncing cat that producers commonly think is necessary to get you jumping. There are choices in the final act that I won’t spoil but really didn’t work for me (the script foreshadows it, which made me dread its inevitability even more), but this is a better-than-average, essentially-VOD thriller for the weekend that could offer a glimpse at the future of festival-to-streaming titles.
Maddie (Kate Siegel) is a deaf-mute writer, living in a secluded home. It’s a set-up that short story master Stephen King would love, and it’s no coincidence that we see his Mr. Mercedes on a dresser. The film’s greatest strength is highlighted in the first scene, as Maddie cooks dinner: the sound design. We hear eggs cracking, onions being sliced, asparagus sizzling on the stove—and then the sound falls away as we close in on her face. She has been deaf since the age of 13, and we get a bit more of her history and the way her mind works when neighbor/friend Sarah comes over for a brief visit (Samantha Sloyan).
After Sarah leaves, Maddie goes back to cooking. We see a screaming Sarah run toward her kitchen door, pounding on it for help, but Maddie is completely unaware, even as a crossbow-wielding maniac (John Gallagher Jr. of “10 Cloverfield Lane” and “Short Term 12,” very good here against type) slices Sarah’s throat about ten feet from her neighbor. He even knocks on the door. Maddie doesn’t respond. The masked killer becomes fascinated with Maddie, and decides he wants to prolong her fate and play games with her. He starts by stealing her cell phone and texting her pictures of herself that night. Then, even after the cat has revealed himself to the mouse, he doesn’t just kill her. In “Hush,” the psychotic killer’s motives are vague, so if he’s just a lunatic killing for fun, why not have a little bit more of it?
Flanagan is surprisingly reserved with “Hush” in that a lot of filmmakers would have fallen back on more tricks to keep the audience engaged in what is a largely silent film. He doesn’t allow the unnamed “Man” to monologue his way through the movie. He doesn’t amp up the score (at least until the final act). He really lets his set-up work for the middle 40 minutes of the film as our only two characters move toward the inevitable climax. And he saves a few surprises for the final act.
Not all of those surprises work. “Hush” works best the less you know where it’s going, so I won’t spoil anything, but there some devices in the finale felt a little cheap to me. They’re minor complaints for a film that really works for what it is, even if it isn't particularly new. We watch horror thrillers like “Hush” not to see the wheel reinvented but just to see it spin well. This movie spins.
Mike Flanagan’s “Hush,” which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival last month before popping up on Netflix today, is an old-fashioned home invasion thriller that works on its own modest terms. It’s one of those simple horror flicks that’s so streamlined it feels long even at only 82 minutes. It might have worked better as a short film or installment of an anthology series like “Masters of Horror,” but Flanagan has a notable skill in building tension and then just allowing it to simmer. He doesn’t resort to the jump scare tactics that mar so many similar low-budget films. In fact, the most terrifying, shocking moments in “Hush” typically come without the loud music cue or pouncing cat that producers commonly think is necessary to get you jumping. There are choices in the final act that I won’t spoil but really didn’t work for me (the script foreshadows it, which made me dread its inevitability even more), but this is a better-than-average, essentially-VOD thriller for the weekend that could offer a glimpse at the future of festival-to-streaming titles.
Maddie (Kate Siegel) is a deaf-mute writer, living in a secluded home. It’s a set-up that short story master Stephen King would love, and it’s no coincidence that we see his Mr. Mercedes on a dresser. The film’s greatest strength is highlighted in the first scene, as Maddie cooks dinner: the sound design. We hear eggs cracking, onions being sliced, asparagus sizzling on the stove—and then the sound falls away as we close in on her face. She has been deaf since the age of 13, and we get a bit more of her history and the way her mind works when neighbor/friend Sarah comes over for a brief visit (Samantha Sloyan).
After Sarah leaves, Maddie goes back to cooking. We see a screaming Sarah run toward her kitchen door, pounding on it for help, but Maddie is completely unaware, even as a crossbow-wielding maniac (John Gallagher Jr. of “10 Cloverfield Lane” and “Short Term 12,” very good here against type) slices Sarah’s throat about ten feet from her neighbor. He even knocks on the door. Maddie doesn’t respond. The masked killer becomes fascinated with Maddie, and decides he wants to prolong her fate and play games with her. He starts by stealing her cell phone and texting her pictures of herself that night. Then, even after the cat has revealed himself to the mouse, he doesn’t just kill her. In “Hush,” the psychotic killer’s motives are vague, so if he’s just a lunatic killing for fun, why not have a little bit more of it?
Flanagan is surprisingly reserved with “Hush” in that a lot of filmmakers would have fallen back on more tricks to keep the audience engaged in what is a largely silent film. He doesn’t allow the unnamed “Man” to monologue his way through the movie. He doesn’t amp up the score (at least until the final act). He really lets his set-up work for the middle 40 minutes of the film as our only two characters move toward the inevitable climax. And he saves a few surprises for the final act.
Not all of those surprises work. “Hush” works best the less you know where it’s going, so I won’t spoil anything, but there some devices in the finale felt a little cheap to me. They’re minor complaints for a film that really works for what it is, even if it isn't particularly new. We watch horror thrillers like “Hush” not to see the wheel reinvented but just to see it spin well. This movie spins.
No comments:
Post a Comment