Sometimes for fear it is not enough to make noise or make scary sounds. In most cases, it is the Hush that is the most frightening. Hush director Mike Flanagan understands this very well, which is why he did a great job on his film. Hush scares not so much with scary moments or faces that suddenly appear on the whole screen, it is about something completely different. The fear of this film lies in its realism and simplicity. It’s frightening that the situation that happened to the main character can happen to anyone. What is the meaning behind all this? Let’s talk about it, if you’re not afraid!
Meaning of the movie title
Hush is a direct indication that the main character is deaf and dumb. She does not hear a single sound, so the fear that a maniac will sneak up from behind only intensifies. The girl is not able to hear him, so she has to rely only on her own vision. Is she scared about it? Undoubtedly. But will this disease stop her? We don’t think, because the will of a person is always stronger than any horrors or not? In general, it is up to the viewer to find out.
The meaning of the film
Mike Flanagan is still quite a young director, but after his work called “Oculus” he made eminent people talk about him. That is why he is now, as they say, “on horseback.” With his work Hush, he wanted to show that loud and scary sounds are not needed for horror, sometimes their absence can be much more terrible. Therefore, the plot of his picture will be filled with this thought.
Maddie, the main character, will face a maniac who wants her painful death. The woman suffered from meningitis in childhood, after which she stopped hearing sounds. But she overcame the new conditions of life. Now she is a very famous writer, whose career is just beginning. At the moment she is in her house, located deep in the forest. Only now her work process is interrupted by a maniac, who is heart-rendingly watching her from behind her door. The masked man wants to kill her, but a quick death will not suit him. He desires long and painful suffering.
In the film, if you think about it, there is no diversity or variety of locations. In fact, the whole plot is driven by only five heroes, and there are practically no dialogues, because our heroine is deaf and dumb. She does not hear anything, so it is pointless to communicate with her. Even a maniac understands this, so one day she sends a message to her only with the help of her lips, because the girl can read on them. He actively uses this feature of the victim for his own purposes. This minimalism and simplicity creates the so-called emptiness effect that accompanies the viewer throughout the film. The name Hush is fully justified.
Of course, there are a lot of films about how maniacs slowly try to get their victim, so it is very difficult to add something new to this genre. But the director was able to do it. The fact that the heroine is deaf and mute moves the plot well and gives the maniac an advantage. He can actually break the wall behind her, but she won’t notice. And this is rare when the weakness of the heroine is shown precisely from the weak side, because, for example, a blind person can hear sounds, so left with the killer in the dark, he will definitely become hunters, and the maniac will become a victim. The deaf-mute heroine has only the negative aspects of her illness, but not the positive ones. This reinforces the effect of helplessness.
Flanagan was obviously inspired by old horror films. This classic note of quiet horror is felt. That is why there is a lot of violence in the film, but it is not central. By the end of the film, of course, the heroine and the maniac will be exhausted both physically and mentally. This will show us how dire the situation was at the moment.
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the house of the main character is not an impregnable fortress. It can be easily destroyed, and it is easy to penetrate into it. This does not give her a chance to sit in safety. That is why the feeling of helplessness is so strong.
The film turned out not too long, but it catches so much that even after watching it, it’s scary to be in a similar situation. The director knows how to create truly scary situations. Their realism and the possibility that they will happen in our lives makes our hearts beat wildly in fear for a long time after viewing. The director is bravo, the film turned out to be really scary, and not just frightening, like most modern horrors!
