Hush (2008)

Sorry, this movie sucks

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Hush is a pulverizing little exercise in extreme suspense. I'm not talking about this year's Hush, a sleek little home invasion shocker that's worth your time too. No, this Hush is a little seen British flick from back in 2008, and it's a proper nerve jangler. In the tradition of Duel, The Hitcher, Joyride and others, it takes place on a bustling motorway somewhere in great Britain. A young couple trundle through the night on a highway, and find themselves behind a great big creepy semi truck. In one split second, the doors of it's trailer come unstuck and open just a crack, allowing the to see what's inside. It's only a glimpse, but it's unmistakable: a girl, badly hurt and tied up, screams for help before the motion of the vehicle causes the doors to slam shut again. What would you do? This couple bravely pursues the truck and it's villainous driver across many miles of road, trying to rescue the girl inside, avoid getting killed themselves and put an end to whatever is going on. It's one merciless ride into gut churning suspense, and I marvelled at the film's ability to keep such high tension up for a streamlined ninety minutes of pure horror nirvana. It's not too lengthy, never sags or drags and always keeps the vibe as taut as the ominous chain holding those truck doors in place. Swift and sensible in resolution, stylish as all hell and scary in spades. Any horror fan owes it to themselves to take a look.

MAYBE some minor spoilers, but nothing too substantial. I had this movie sitting around for a bit, and I finally decided to watch it this afternoon. With so many movies, I end up watching in chunks, getting up to do other things that pop into my head as I'm watching, but this was one of those movies I started and couldn't pull myself away. The premise sounded interesting to me, a couple stuck on various British motorways, a menacing fella in a semi truck after them, the scares that come along with all of that. Tho they used many clichéd horror movie elements, they all seem to work here because the plotting is so well paced, the storyline makes so much sense. Some examples: The bad guy is always brooding around, his face just out of reach of the light, so you never see his face- this tactic is old, but it works as you use your imagination to paint the scariest face ever on this guy, even if it turns out he probably looks fairly normal. Definitely reminded me of the baddie from I Know What You Did Last Summer (Gordon's Fisherman rain coat and all). The cell phone signal that drops out at the worst moment. The cell phone that rings at the worst possible second. These are used here, but it seems to just make sense, and it's not overly done, so it doesn't get in the way of a good scare. Dumb characters making dumb decisions. This was the one that lowered the rating to an 8.5 or an 8 for me. Zakes' decisions in the start of the film were too much to overlook. You understand why they added them, because the story had to progress somewhere, but this was an area to work on. I won't spoil anything, but you kinda wanted to smack the guy a few times in the start of the film. They did a nice job of making you dislike him a bit in the beginning, that way later on you liked him all that much more. Direction was nice, with some really cool special effects shots on the rainy road, the acting was pretty spot on, and the photography was eerie throughout- nice scenery and locations here...the massive gas station complex/truck stop reminded me of the scenes from High Tension, especially the bathroom stuff. Always fun to see a game of cat and mouse in a horror film like this. Not a perfect film, but darned near it with a fulfilling ending, some really good scares, a lot of nail biting tension, and atmosphere to boot. A definite gem, and a high point of the 'stuck on the road with crazy guy after me' sub-genre. Highly recommended.

This is pretty solid movie, the way that modern horror should look like. Yes, it is a low budget film but followed by very good acting and involving plot of the high pace and tense rhythm. OK, the movie exploits some film work that we have already seen but performs it pretty successfully. The movie has several flows and some details that are not developed carefully enough, but all in all it is a chilly wind that kept me entertained all the time. Must say I did not like the beginning of the movie as it has some screamy dialogs that somehow over-strength the justified screaming in the other part of the movie. I recommend Hush to all horror and thriller lovers giving it higher rate than deserved just because I believe it is underrated.

This movie was mediocre. It had some interesting parts, but after a while, it got a bit long winded. Essentially, a couple is on a trip. She feels that their relationship is going nowhere and that her boyfriend is not following through with any of his life plans. She is trying to tell him something and when she feels she can't get her message across, she parts ways with him. During the trip they he sees what appears to be a nude girl locked in the back of a semi truck. Where he and his girlfriend part ways, the truck turns up. The man realizes that his girlfriend has been kidnapped and sets off to find her and rescue her. He runs into a few pitfalls along the way, some drama and death ensues. It gets pretty typical. Not a bad movie, but no the best I've ever seen either.