I may be contributing to our annual Horrorthon here at TSL, but I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not as knowledgeable about the horror genre as the rest of the crew. Most of the horror films I watched growing up were the edited versions that would play on my favorite local channel, Fox-16 out of Little Rock. If not there, I’d see scary movies at my friend’s bunking parties when I was in grade school or junior high. That’s how I first saw the FRIDAY THE 13TH series, and I even remember seeing Fulci’s HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (1981) at one such party. I didn’t have a clue who Fulci was at the time, but I do remember a victim’s throat being ripped out! I’d go home and have a hard time sleeping. I’ve never been good with gore, and I’ve always preferred action films. With that said, I’ve been trying to up my horror game over the last few years. I try to take part in the weekly #ScarySocial live tweet event, and I’ll watch horror films periodically that my friends tell me about or that seem interesting for some reason. I’ve still got a large backlog to get through, and I’ll never watch the classic gorefests, but I know way more now than I did a few years ago. Horrorthon is an amazing place to learn more.
I came across a horror movie ten years ago that I loved, and I still watch it every year. That film is HUSH, which I see as more like a nightmarish thriller than a straight on horror film. The setup is incredible as our lead character Maddie, who’s both deaf and unable to speak, finds herself being stalked at her remote home. There are some early visuals that illustrate the psychopathic evil of “The Man” (John Gallagher, Jr.) as he turns his attention towards Maddie, while also showing us how vulnerable her inability to hear or speak make her in this situation. There’s also a sequence involving the Man sending current pictures to our heroine’s laptop that show her being watched. It’s here that she first realizes something horrific is going on, and it’s a truly chilling scene. The movie hooked me right there, and I was completely invested as the psycho played his cruel games with her.
I thought Kate Siegel was exceptional in the lead role. I didn’t know a thing about the actress going into the film all those years ago, and I’m not sure I’ve watched any of her work since, but I still don’t think anyone could have been better. She proves herself to be smart, resourceful, and not near the fun, easy target our killer thinks she’s going to be. After being put through hell both physically and mentally over the first couple of acts, I can only describe her character as a total bad-ass as the film races towards its conclusion! She also co-wrote the film with its director, Mike Flanagan, which helped me appreciate her work even more as she helped craft the amazing character. John Gallagher, Jr. is effectively creepy as the killer. This character could have walked straight out of an 80’s horror film, as we never understand why he’s so evil, which makes him more terrifying as far as I’m concerned. I don’t have to understand his motives to want him to die by the end.
As a warning for the more squeamish viewers like me, some of the violence is extremely difficult to watch, with various hands and necks being the most susceptible to extreme harm. The violence is realistic and personal, and I still look away because I know it’s coming and can’t really handle it. It also is one of the reasons the movie stays with me year after year. Just writing about it now is making my toes curl up a bit.
If you’ve seen HUSH before, I hope this makes you want to watch it again. If you’ve never seen it, I’ll let this serve as my recommendation that it’s a movie I love and think you probably will too. And if you want to know even more about the film, check out Lisa’s REVIEW from when it first came out back in 2016. It has more detail about her own personal reactions to the film, as well as her unique critical insight.
