Hush

It’s hard to deny that the home-invasion genre has been done to death in the last several years, and yet it’s equally clear that filmmaker Mike Flanagan, following up his excellent Oculus, does a superb job of employing a rather familiar premise as a springboard for a tense and creepy little chiller. The narrative follows deaf author Maddie (Kate Siegel) as she’s stalked by a malevolent figure (John Gallagher Jr) at a remote cottage, with the movie predominantly detailing the inevitable game of cat and mouse that ensues between the two characters. Hush kicks off with an admittedly engrossing opening stretch revolving around Maddie’s isolated existence, with the promising atmosphere heightened by Siegel’s absolutely mesmerizing turn as the sympathetic central character. There’s little doubt, as well, that the initial emphasis on Gallagher’s surreptitious pursuit of Maddie is handled exceedingly well by Flanagan, as these scenes have been infused with a feeling of palpable suspense that paves the way for a decent (if overly familiar) midsection – with the less-than-surprising second act benefiting substantially from an ongoing inclusion of nailbiting sequences. The erratic vibe becomes non-existent as Hush storms into its engrossing final half hour, which boasts one captivating interlude after another and ratchets up the tension to an almost unbearable level – with the strong ending effectively confirming the movie’s place as another solid effort from a justifiably up-and-coming filmmaker.

***1/2 out of ****