Now, anyone can mess up a movie. But I think it’s an interesting (and usually beneficial) choice when a film has a small cast, and takes place in one setting, one night or day. Real time movies are easy to mess up, but when done right, they’re absolutely captivating. Take tonight’s movie, “Hush,” for example. The movie is about an hour and a half long, and portrays that time realistically. The location is locked into the sole setting of the protagonist’s house. It’s simple, but risky, and it works.

Mike Flanagan’s “Hush”  follows deaf and mute novelist Maddie (Kate Siegel) as she endures likely the most horrific night of her life.

I’d usually wait until the end to say this, but I feel the need to let you know early on; this movie is terrifying. It uses Maddie’s hearing condition to emphasize that horror and draw the audience into her personal experience, making us all wonder; “what she’s going through is so scary. But can you imagine going through it without being able to hear anything that’s happening around you?” It makes you realize how amazingly valuable a thing she is missing, and how lucky we are (if you’re someone without a hearing condition, of course).

Okay, so basically Maddie lives alone in the woods (a great start to any horror movie). The only people around for miles are her neighbors, Sarah (Samantha Sloyan) and John (Michael Trucco). Sarah is a good friend of Maddie, who is teaching her sign language.

The movie opens in a relatable and calming way. Maddie’s cooking something for dinner, Sarah comes over, the house almost catches on fire when they get distracted from the burning food, Sarah leaves to go home. We see the personable and quirky side of the characters. Even in horror movies, it’s important to develop characters and give backstories.

Lately Maddie’s family has been worried about her isolation. Especially her sister, Max (Emilia Graves), who urges her to move back to civilization. However, the wilderness is the only place Maddie can focus on her writing. So she hangs up Facetime and continues her work. What she doesn’t know is that moments earlier, while she was cleaning up after her dinner disaster, Sarah was shoved up against the kitchen glass door and stabbed dozens of times until she fell dead into the arms of her attacker (John Gallagher Jr.). Her screams for help were obviously not heard by Maddie, who had her back to the door.

The fact that if Maddie could have heard Sarah she could have let her in before she was attacked is chilling. The contrasting images of Sarah dying, loud, panic, violence, and Maddie doing the dishes, the world completely devoid of sound… they work together perfectly. Every detail brings you closer to how Maddie perceives the world.

And the violence is perfect. Nothing to extreme that wouldn’t fit the feel of the movie, but the kind of violence that makes you flinch and cry out; “oh, shit!” Maddie’s hand getting slammed in the door and then stepped on, the alcohol she pours all over her leg wound to clean it, the 1996 Scream-esque stabbings… Good mellow Halloween horror as far as violence goes.

“…he’s got the advantage. He can hear you.” says a hallucinated version of Maddie to the real Maddie, who sits crumpled on the floor in shock after watching the attacker murder her neighbor John from inside. She images several different possibilities.

Run. Hide. Wait.

If she runs, she’ll get caught. Her leg is injured. If she hides or waits, he’ll find her or she’ll bleed out before he does. “So,” her hallucination inquires, “what does that leave?”

“Kill him,” she signs. 

The way the choice scene was laid out was very interesting and clever. Earlier in the film, Maddie discussed her “writer’s brain” with Sarah, explaining that she has voices in her head telling her different stories, all with different endings, and she has to get it out onto paper. In this survival situation, she’s able to lay out her different endings like they were the closing to her novel. Except they all, except one, end with her dying. So she takes control and creates her own ending, like she does with her books.

So unfolds her first attempt at killing him, which fails, and that’s where her hand gets crushed. EASILY the most “ack!!” moment in the film. When he tells her through the door that he’s coming in, she smears her blood on the glass, writing “do it.”

She runs to her computer and writes a quick description of the man, a note to her family, and the words “died fighting.” Then she locks herself in the bathroom and sits waiting with a knife. She obviously ends up killing him in a badass way and the movie ends with a crescendo of triumphant music.

A big problem with the film industry as you get deeper and deeper into horror is violence against women that ends with their silent deaths. No message, no bigger meaning, just pure filth. I’m all for violence in the virtual world. Who am I to comment on someone else’s art form? I don’t know what the director, writer or producer were trying to convey when they put their piece together. But I’m sure my female audience can relate when I say that some horror movies approach towards topics such as rape, sexual violence, and general violence against women feels off. It’s a whole thing. I’m not going to get into it too much right now. But what is refreshing about this movie is (among many other things) its portrayal of an incredibly strong and independent woman who kicks ass despite her disability. Her will to survive and bring herself and her neighbors to justice is admirable, and her lack of hesitation to end the bastard’s life… understandable.

IS IT A GOOD HALLOWEEN MOVIE?

That depends. If you’re trying to be in a spooky mood, I’d suggest something more like the Scream or Halloween franchises. But if you’re more flexible about what constitutes a good Halloween movie, I’d go for it! It’s suspenseful, violent, chilling and captivating.

If you’re looking for more Mike Flanagan movies, check out “Before I Wake” (2016) or “Gerald’s Game” (2017). I believe I’ll be reviewing both of those later!

Peace.