Hush Trailer (2016)

Trailer for Hush, which premiered at SXSW.

In this heart-pounding thriller from acclaimed writer and director Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Before I Wake), silence takes on a terrifying new dimension for a young woman living along in the woods. Author Maddie Young (Kate Siegel) lives a life of utter isolation after losing her hearing as a teenager. She’s retreated form society, living in seclusion and existing in a completely silent world. But one night, the fragile world is shattered when the masked face of a psychotic killer appears in her window. Without another living soul for miles, and with no way to call for help, it appears that Maddie is at the killer’s mercy… but he may have underestimated his prey. As this horrifying game of cat and mouse escalates to a breathless fever-pitch, Maddie must push herself beyond her mental and physical limits in order to survive the night.

While knowing that the production of Hush lasted only eighteen days is impressive, it's even more impressive that almost all of the film's running time has no dialogue. With a lead character that's deaf, dialogue just didn't make any sense. That means viewers will watch over 70 minutes of a feature film without a single word spoken.

While a number of feature length films premiering at SXSW are hoping to be picked up by a distributor, Hush had nothing to worry about. Shortly before the launch of the 2016 film festival, Netflix announced that they had already purchased the rights to the horror.

The Hush trailer is fairly unique. Considering that the film is a horror/thriller, the first trailer for the film seems to be in no sense of urgency. Instead, the makers want you to take in the environment, and get a sense of what it will be like out in the wilderness where talking and dialogue doesn't take place. Being alone in the cabin is a beautiful thing, but also insanely creepy. We get it.

Now throw in an armed guy wearing a spooky mask and shit hits fan. The idea is so simple, that throwing in the idea of having Maddie (Kate Siegel) be deaf is a stroke of genius.

Though I'm typically not one for horror movies, this film will definitely catch a viewing once it appears on Netflix.

Best of luck at SXSW!