HUSH (2016)
4-Disc Collector's Edition
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray
Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: Region-Free (4K Ultra HD), A (Blu-ray)
Rating: R
Duration: 81 Minutes 41 Seconds
Audio: English Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) (Original Version), DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles (Original Version), English Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) (Shush Cut), DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles (Original Version & Shush Cut)
Video: Color & B&W Dolby Vision (HDR10) 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.35:1), Color & B&W 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Mike Flanagan
Cast: Kate Siegel, John Gallagher Jr., Samantha Sloyan, Michael Trucco
Before filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Oculus) went became horror a modern day horror wunderkind with brilliant adaptations of Stephen King (Doctor Sleep), Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House), Edgar Allen Poe (The Fall of the House of Usher) , Christopher Pike (The Midnight Club) and Henry James (The Haunting of Bly Manor), he made the tight-knit suspense slasher Hush (2016) as a Netflix Original.
In it deaf-mute horror author Maddie Young (Kate Siegel, The Haunting of Hill House), who lost her abilities to hear and speak at the age of age 13 has moved away from NYC to live in a remote house nestled into the woods upstate, to work on her next novel, which she seems to be struggling with. Her only friends seems to be her furry white cat "Bitch", and a friendly neighbor Sarah (Samantha Sloyan, Midnight Mass) who at the start of the film briefly visits to discuss having just read some of her newest writing. Later that night Sarah arrives at the house screaming and pounding on the front door, Maddie is only feet away but cannot hear and does not see the commotion, as a masked killer (John Gallagher Jr., 10 Cloverfield Lane) shoots Sarah with a crossbow bolt and then stabs her to death right on the front step of Maddie's house. The killer is curious about Maddie and observes that she is a deaf mute, while she's on her computer video messaging her sister he grabs her cellphone. As the night wears on she starts to receive pics from her own phone, images from mere seconds before, alerting her to the fact that she is not alone. The killer reveals himself to her, wearing an eerie non-descript white mask, and this begins a tense game of cat and mouse between cold-blooded killer and the deaf-mute Maddie, who proves herself to be quite resourceful.
Flanagan's home invasion/slasher is atmospheric and tense, bringing to mind several films, including the original Halloween, Wait Until Dark, and The Strangers, it's a not unfamiliar premise, but it's executed to perfection, and occasionally he turns the slasher convention on their ear, and at just under 82-minutes, which I think is the perfect amount of time for a slasher, there's no filler here, just a straight up nail-biting thriller that builds tension upon tension, occasionally offering release by way of Maddie's cunning allowing her to evade being an easy victim, but never fully releasing the tension, leading up to a pulse-pounding finale that had me in it's grips right up till the end.
The single-locations of a rural house in the woods, the surrounding forest, the look of the killer and his methods, it's all solid stuff. I love that they make the decision to unmask the killer early on as well, which does not feel like the right thing to do, but the way they introduce it, with Maddie trying to get off the hook by alerting the killer to the fact that she has not seen his face, that he could walk away, and she won't tell. Hos reply, to take of his mask, a clear message that he is not going anywhere, till she's dead, but not until he torments her for hours, taunting her with the corpse of her friend, and even when a would-be rescuer arrives by way of Sarah's solid-dude boyfriend (Michael Trucco, The Bye Bye Man) things don't go right, again leaving Maddie to fend for herself.
There's the usual slasher hurdle to overcome, and that would be poor decisions being made from all sides, but that's easy enough to let go of after years of slasher/thriller fandom, I just go with it, It's also quite easy to appreciate the level of thought that went into it, in the extras Flanagan and Siegel both talk about playing through the scenes at their home with Flanagan attempting to break into their home to enact some of the situations, and it pays off well, both with the realism and threat of the home invasion, and using the location and resources available to both evade and at times get the upper hand on the killer, who has taken her sensory deprived status as a disadvantage, but what she lacks for in speech an hearing she makes up for with tenacity and resourcefulness.
Audio/Video: Hush (2016) was formerly a streamer-only exclusive on Netflix, but no longer! The home-invasion slasher make it's worldwide physical media debut with a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray dual-format release, offering not only the restored 4K version of the original film, supervised and approved by Director Mike Flanagan, but a brand new and exclusive black-and-white version of the film, dubbed the "Shush Cut". Both version looks fantastic, watching the original version in color it's easy to appreciate the quality of 4K disc versus the inferior 4K streaming version, boy howdy, it just ain't the same folks, this 4K disc blows it away in every aspect, colors are more saturated and truer looking, though there is a green/blue push that I thought was rather ugly, Blacks are deeper and more nuanced, contrast is greatly improved, with superior depth and clarity as well. The Black and white version also looks wonderful, and I have to say, despite my initial pre-viewing thoughts of "why?" I was one over, the starker image and contrast of the B&W totally works in the films favor. The black & white is now my preferred way to watch it, I love it, it pops just a bit more, and looks sharper and more crisp with color-filters. Both the Original Version and Shish Cut get their own dedicated 4K discs, with a Blu-ray disc containing the 1080p version on a single disc.
Onto the audio, we get English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1), DTS-HS MA 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround for the Theatrical Cut, plus new Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1), DTS-HS MA 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround audio mixes that removes nearly all of the score and remixing the sound design to heighten the effects for the Shush Cut. Also, you can choose the Original Version audio while watching the Shush cut, or vice versa, the Shush Cut Audio for the Original Version, so in reality there are actually four audio/video combinations to choose from.
Onto the extras, disc one, features the 4K Ultra HD presentation of the Original Version with the Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan, Actor & Co-Writer Kate Siegel, and Actors Samantha Sloan, John Gallagher, Jr.. On disc 2 we get the 4K Ultra HD presentation of the Shush Cut, which sports a 4-min Introduction by Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel who talk about how this version came about, plus another new Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel. Disc 3 features both the Original Version and The Shush Cut in 1080p HD and features both the 4-min Intro and the Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel on the Shush Cut, plus the Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan, Actor & Co-Writer Kate Siegel, and Actors Samantha Sloan, John Gallagher, Jr. for the Original Version, as well as a Feature-Length Picture-In-Picture Video Commentary with Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, John Gallagher, Jr., and Michael Trucco,
Disc 4 is a Blu-ray dedicated to a brand new slate of Reverend Entertainment produced extras, starting off with the 28-min The Dance Macabre: Interview with Mike Flanagan, wherein he talks about his early attempts at making movies as a kid, remaking Stephen King's It and Brian De Palma's Untouchables, and the genesis for what became Hush, wanting to do a film that relied on sound design and the lack of dialogue. Coming up with the idea over dinner with Siegel, pitching it Blumhouse, and acting out scenes from the script in and around their house with Flanagan trying to find ways to break into the house, much to the torment of their neighbors, writing the final script at The Stanley Hotel, the hotel King stayed at when he wrote The Shining, even staying in the same room. He also gets into the design of the mask worn by the killer, the casting and character development, location scouting, and logistical issues with the house they found, audience reactions to initial screenings, and how they black and white version with the new altered sound mix came about, and we get some cool behind-the-scenes footage.
Then onto the 20-min To Stand Alone: Interview with Kate Siegel. talks about the same date at an oyster bar where they discussed what would become Hush, getting into her character's backstory, addressing her deaf/muteness, and her arc. She gets into the process of scouting locations, and how hard it was to find the right house with the right amount of windows and doors, and how they finally found the right one, and what alterations it needed. She gets into doing her own stunts and what a kind soul stunt coordinator Chuck Borden was, and how more challenging it was than she anticipated, Flanagan's collaborative process, and how weird the ADR process was, calling it "porny".
In the 5-min The Constant Reader: Interview with Samantha Sloyan talks about getting cast because she was a friend of Siegel's, she talks about how her favorite horror films is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and why, and how Hush sort of mirrored what she loved about TCM. She also gets into her character traits, on how this role lead to Midnight Mass for her, her death scene, learning to use a crossbow, his scenes with
Next, the 20-min The Shape of Silence: Interview with John Gallagher, Jr. the actor talks about being in a bit of slump when he got the script, surprised they wanted him to be the villain after usually playing good friends and dweebs, meeting with Flanagan and Siegel, liking the ambiguity of the killer's motives, working with stunt coordinator Chuck Bowden, the look of the mask and his outfit, his scenes with Michael Trucco, and the hand-stomping scene.
In the 9-min Silent Witness: Interview with Michael Trucco talks about getting the offer for a small indie role, not really knowing who Flanagan was but knowing he was someone to keep an eye on, and loving the script, thinking it was quite clever. He gets into his scenes with John Gallagher Jr., subtle things in his performance, the physicality of the scene, the special effects including the blood bladder on his neck, and his fear of the retractable blade knife used in the scene
Also, with the 8-min One Good Scare: Interview with Producer Trevor Macy. talks about being pitched the idea, loving it, and helping Flanagan develop it before it went to Blumhouse, describing Flanagan as a 360-degree filmmaker in that he has a clear vision of it all in his head, and how decisive he is. He also gets into the sound design, and the genesis of the Shush Cut, and embracing the silence of it.
Violent Strains: Interview with Composers The Newton Brothers runs about 10-min, they talk about coming onboard with Flanagan with his first film oculus, bonding with him over musical tastes, and their discussions of tone and style in regard to Hush. They get into the use of earthy sound like bells and wind chimes, and the use of synthesized sounds, and the challenge of scoring a thriller without any dialogue.
Finally, the 8-min One Terrible Night: Interview with Director of Photography James Kniest who talks about the challenges and benefits of shooting a real location in the woods, how difficult it was to light the low budget flick, his lighting style, and his preference to keep the camera moving, and how the actors doing their own stunts made his job easier.
The 4-disc 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray release arrives in an oversized black keepcase, inside 2 sets of flipper trays house the four discs, 2 4K Ultra HD, 2 Blu-ray, each disc with it's own unique artwork. We get a Reversible Wrap featuring new artwork, the reverse side featuring an appropriately black and white version of the same artwork. The a-side artwork is also featured on the Limited Edition (First Pressing Only) Slipcover.
Special Features:
Disc 1 (4K UHD, Original Version):
- NEW! 2024 4K Restoration supervised and approved by Director Mike Flanagan
- NEW! Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan, Actor & Co-Writer Kate Siegel, and Actors Samantha Sloan, John Gallagher, Jr., and Michael Trucco.
Disc 2 (4K UHD, "Shush Cut"):
- NEW! 2024 4K Restoration - B&W "SHUSH CUT" supervised and approved by Mike Flanagan
- NEW! Introduction by Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel
(3:59)
- NEW! Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel.
- NEW! 2024 "Shush Cut" Audio Mix.
Disc 3 (Blu-ray, Original Version & "Shush Cut"):
- NEW! 2024 4K Restoration supervised and approved by Mike Flanagan
- NEW! Introduction by Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel
(3:59)
- NEW! Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, John Gallagher, Jr., and Michael Trucco (Original Version).
- NEW! 2024 4K Restoration - B&W "Shush Cut" supervised and approved by Mike Flanagan.
- NEW! Audio Commentary with Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel ("Shush Cut”).
- NEW! 2024 "Shush Cut" Audio Mix.
Disc 4 (Blu-ray, Special Features):
- NEW! Feature-Length Picture-In-Picture Video Commentary with Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, John Gallagher, Jr., and Michael Trucco (Original Version).
- NEW! The Constant Reader: Interview with Samantha Sloyan. (5:16)
- NEW! To Stand Alone: Interview with Kate Siegel. (19:46)
- NEW! The Shape of Silence: Interview with John Gallagher, Jr. (18:52)
- NEW! Silent Witness: Interview with Michael Trucco. (9:12)
- NEW! The Dance Macabre: Interview with Mike Flanagan. (28:12)
- NEW! One Good Scare: Interview with Producer Trevor Macy. (7:38)
- NEW! Violent Strains: Interview with Composers The Newton Brothers. (10:14)
- NEW! One Terrible Night: Interview with Director of Photography James Kniest. (7:46)
Scream Factory Blu-ray Screenshot Comparison:
Top: Original Version
Bottom: Shush Cut (B&W)
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