So you like John Gallagher Jr., huh? Well, get ready to have that emotion shaken, because in Hush he abandons his usual affability to play a killer toying with a deaf and mute woman. And no, we’re not talking about the 1998 film Hush or that episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but a new film from writer/director Mike Flanagan.
Flanagan brought us the 2013 standout Oculus, and if he can make a movie about a haunted mirror into something that fantastic, then I’ve got faith he can twist this protagonist’s disadvantages into a special home invasion thriller. Reports out of the South by Southwest Film Festival (the only place where the film has screened) are that Flanagan uses the young woman’s situation to play with the film’s sound, subverting clichés and making for some genuinely tense moments. That’s a risky choice right there, but he brought a risky structure to Oculus and pulled it off masterfully.
The film is written by Flanagan and his wife Kate Siegel, who also stars as the terrorized young woman. It’s a Blumhouse & Intrepid Pictures production, which means a small budget, but when you’re smart about your filmmaking and premise, that doesn’t have to be a hindrance. Flanagan has proven to be smart about his filmmaking, and he and his wife have come up with a solid premise that can be executed on a small budget. Frankly, I can’t find anything about this film that gives me pause, so I’m pretty unequivocally excited for it.
Hush is directed by Mike Flanagan and stars Kate Siegel and John Gallagher Jr. It will be released in the U.S. on Netflix on April 8th, 2016. Further release dates are not currently known.
Do you think Flanagan will build off of his previous success? Let us know in the comments!
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