Directed and written by Mike Flanagan, “Hush” has to be on one of the most intriguing films I have watched in a while. It stars relatively unknown Kate Siegel as Maddie, a writer who lives in the middle of nowhere by choice, so she can focus on her writing. She has a friend who comes to visit her who the audience originally assumes is her neighbour, but as we find out later in the film she is just a friend who makes regular visits to check up on her. This premise, although initially seems quite unoriginal, opens up an interesting window of fascination to the audience when we come to find out that the character is actually deaf. Maddie lost her hearing to an illness that she developed as an adolescent (this is where the intrigue of the film comes in).
The premise of “Hush” is basically that a masked home invader discovers Maddie’s house and decides to torment her, unbeknownst to him that she is deaf. Upon further inspection the masked man realizes that Maddie is deaf and mute and this opens up a whole new window of opportunity to him as he lets her know he can come in at any time and initially the audience is scared for Maddie until we realise that we shouldn’t doubt this character for the rest of the film because she is quite honestly amazing.
Now let me just say, I appreciate a good old ghost or supernatural entity in a film, horror or otherwise. However this film doesn’t include any of that and I have to admit, the fact that the villain is simply a man, nothing more, really made this film feel abundantly more realistic and prompted me to ask myself “what would I do?” at almost every scene.
I love that Hollywood is now casting people of colour and members of the LGBTQ community, but it is also great to see that disability in cinema is becoming something of prominence also. In a typical horror film, an isolated female being terrorized is a detriment in itself; however, the fact that the character has a disability means that she must rely on her intelligence in order to make it out of the situation alive. Her heightened senses mean she can feel the vibrations of the house and sense tension. I believe that this praises difference in people whether male or female and highlights that if you have an inability it doesn’t mean that all hope is lost, which is thought provoking for a horror film.
“Hush” is available to watch on Netflix and I think you should definitely give it a try. It appeals to all of your senses and leaves you constantly on the edge of your seat. Remember to breathe throughout the film because the tension is real!
– by Adrianna Jakimowicz
