Studio: Shout! Studios
Release Date: 11/26/2024
Rating: R
Film Grade: B
The Story: Deaf, mute author, Maddie Young, has retreated to her quiet, country house to work on a follow up to her smash hit debut novel, Midnight Mass. She’s had a rough evening, though, as she’s completely ruined her dinner while also struggling with writer’s block.
But her night is about to get worse as a mysterious, masked stranger enters the picture, ready to play a deadly game of cat and mouse.
My Take: The best psychopathic thriller movies feature a clever killer and a smart victim, and that’s what we have here. Director Mike Flanagan co-wrote the script for this movie with its star, Kate Siegel, and they’ve created a taut story with believable characters, thoughtful action, and loads of tension. It’s a fine example of how a physically overpowered female protagonist can match wits with a brutal killer without having her rely on unrealistic strength. John Gallagher Jr. plays The Man, hunter to Maddie’s prey. There’s more to him than just the faceless mask shown on the set’s cover, as he’s forced to think on his feet even if experience is on his side.
The tension builds slowly as options disappear, and other opportunities present themselves, with the characters constantly working to outmaneuver each other. The setting plays an important part of the movie as it mixes the claustrophobic feel of the house’s interior with the vast isolation of the surrounding woods, leaving the audience to contemplate which offers the better chance at survival.
This isn’t just a typical slasher story, and deaf/mute Maddie isn’t shoehorned into the movie as some type of pandering representation. It’s the story of an interesting and tough woman, who just happens to be deaf and mute. Underlying that, we have some unique insight as to how writers think, worry, and work out possible situations. That’s not just part of the theme, but integral to the plot.
While the movie premiered at South by Southwest in 2016, it was quickly snapped up by Netflix, who owned the rights until they reverted back to Flanagan last year. Enter Shout! Factory, who teamed up with him to put together this special collector’s set. And what a set it is.
There are two 4K versions included, each on its own disc. One is the original version. The second is referred to as the Shush Cut; a brand-new reimagining of the story. When Flanagan was developing the movie, he wanted to shoot it on black and white film as a silent feature. That wasn’t practical at the time, but once the movie left streaming and the rights reverted back to him, he decided to work on a new treatment. First, he desaturated the movie, turning it into the black and white version that he had intended. As a happy accident, they only used the center channel during that process, and he noticed that removing the score actually made the film even more engaging. So, they remixed the sound as well, removing most of the music and enhancing some of the sound effects. That combination really does give the movie a different feel. The third disc is a standard Blu-ray that has both the color and black and white versions. And the fourth disc contains a boatload of extras.
Visuals: Both 4K discs look as clear as you would expect. Comparing them to the Blu-ray, there are scenes where the increased resolution is evident. There’s an early drone tracking shot in the movie that displays some shimmering artifacts on the siding of Maddie’s house as it moves in. It’s distracting on the Blu-ray, but hardly noticeable on the 4K discs. The UHD enhancement is also clear on the 4K discs in some scenes, both in facial features and the environments. For example, wall sconces on the Blu-ray tend to blend in with their reflections on the wall, while the 4K discs show greater separation.
One would be hard pressed to tell that the Shush version wasn’t originally filmed in black and white. While it sounds like a simple process to just desaturate the color, it’s not always that easy, and they’ve done a convincing job here.
Audio: I’m happy to report that the Atmos mix passes my personal bird test in the opening moments of the film as the camera pans from treetops to ground level. We hear chirping and flapping move from the bed layer to the tops as we glide downward. That sounds simple, but it’s surprising just how many other movies fail to take advantage of tops in that way and shows some attention to detail here.
I couldn’t find any use of the wide channels, even though there were some instances where they could have been employed. The mix of surround speakers is mostly used to convey the ambience of the environment. For instance, there’s a distinct change in the sound of crickets between the indoor and outdoor scenes. The film’s score uses a variety of instruments, including some unusual non-musical objects. Pulsating bass warbles unnervingly in some scenes to focus on Maddie’s perspective, giving your subs something to do in what would normally be a mundane setting.
While I thought the mix was good, there were a few areas that could have been improved. Having a deaf main character could have allowed for spatial cues that she would be unaware of, but put in for the audience to hear, heightening the underlying threat and menace. There are some instances of this, such as a scene with a character walking overhead, and while the footsteps come through the top speakers, they’re also heard from the fronts at a much higher sound level, diminishing the effect.
Special Features: This set is absolutely loaded with extras that detail much of the making of the film. You’ll hear nuggets about how they found the house used in the film, the fun behind the writing process, inspiration behind the story, and other such information. The filmmakers and cast are surprisingly open about the process, and much of it is really interesting: Other than the opening drone shot, they only used a single camera for the rest of the film. It was shot in sequence, which is really unusual. The whole thing was almost entirely shot at nights and in just three weeks. The extras abound with these kinds of details.
Much of this was discussed in a home theater setting, in the Picture-In-Picture segment, which was fun to watch, and almost felt like we were there watching it with them. The movie case also cleverly features a pop out cover insert, allowing you to either display the color or black and white version, depending on your personal preference.
Disc One (4K UHD, ORIGINAL VERSION):
- Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan, Actor & Co-Writer Kate Siegel, and Actors Samantha Sloan, John Gallagher, Jr., and Michael Trucco.
Disc Two (4K UHD, "SHUSH CUT"):
- Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel
Disc Three (Blu-ray, ORIGINAL VERSION & "SHUSH CUT"):
- Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, John Gallagher, Jr., and Michael Trucco (Original Version)
- Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel ("Shush Cut”)
Disc Four (Blu-ray, Special Features):
- Feature-Length Picture-In-Picture Video Commentary Eith Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, John Gallagher, Jr., and Michael Trucco (Original Version)
- Interview with Samantha Sloyan
- Interview with Kate Siegel
- Interview with John Gallagher, Jr
- Interview with Michael Trucco
- Interview with Mike Flanagan
- Interview with Producer Trevor Macy
- Interview with Composers The Newton Brothers
- Interview with Director of Photography James Kniest
Final Verdict: I’m not a Netflix subscriber, so this movie completely passed me by. I guess that’s just one of the limits of relying on a streaming platform for distribution. That’s a shame because Hush is a quality, low-budget thriller that isn’t just a simple paint-by-numbers production. The taut script moves along briskly, keeping the audience engaged as they try to figure out the characters’ next moves in a chess-like battle. Filmed for a modest $1M budget, it’s another reminder that the amount of money spent doesn’t indicate how good a movie can be. These smaller films can sit proudly at the same table as the big guys.
It's interesting that viewers have a choice between the original and the reimagined version. Since the Shush Cut is the preference of the director, we watched that one first, followed immediately by the original. My wife preferred the black and white presentation over the color one. In fact, she liked the movie even more than I did and would give it a solid B+. I liked both versions equally, and not sure I could pick a favorite.
This would make a great feature for a viewing party, assuming your guests aren’t turned off by a bit of violence. For such occasions, I’d allow them to choose which version to watch, reminding them that the director prefers the black and white presentation, while the color version will have a more visceral impact (blood and all). Either way, you can’t go wrong, but keep in mind that the one you can only have one first viewing, which will always frame way you’ll think of it.
At the end of the viewing party extra feature, the group thanks both lovers of physical media and the folks at Shout! I’ll second their kudos, since it's unusual to see such loving options and details included for a smaller film like this, and a welcome addition to our library.
This is an easy recommendation for fans of thrillers, and which also comes with bonuses for those that love alternate versions and/or hearing about the making of the feature.
Fun Fact: Flanagan has enjoyed lots of subsequent success with Netflix, turning out more horror mini-series. And that’s allowed him to turn Maddie’s book featured in this movie, Midnight Mass, into another actual production.
The official trailer gives away too many key scenes, but this one features an early segment of the movie and gives the viewer a good idea of what the general atmosphere and mood are like:
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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