Reviewed by Justin Bateman
Stars Will Ash, Christine Bottomley, Claire Keelan, Andreas Wisniewski, Stuart McQuarrie, Robbie Gee, Peter Wyatt, Sheila Reid, Shaun Dingwall, Rupert Procter, Carol Allen
Written by Mark Tonderai
Certification UK 15
Runtime 91 minutes
Directed by Mark Tonderai
It’s pouring with rain and Zakes (Ash) and his girlfriend Beth (Bottomley) are driving up the M1 so he can do his job of putting up posters in service station toilets. They bicker, their relationship on the brink of collapse. Then, Zakes sees the back door of the lorry in front open briefly to reveal a naked woman in a cage. Or does he?
When they stop at the next services, Beth decides she’s had enough, of Zakes and the night and tells him she’ll make her own way home. Zakes, unable to reason with her, and preoccupied by what he saw in the lorry, is about to drive away before deciding against it. He goes back to where he left her but Beth has disappeared. He finds her necklace and sees the lorry driving away. Assuming the worst, he gives chase and so begins a desperate race to find her and save her life.
Hush is precisely the sort of horror film that Hollywood is always threatening to deliver but rarely does. It feels low on budget but is dizzyingly high on tension. By concentrating on building and maintaining the suspense without resorting to endless, cheap jumpy moments, debut writer/director Tonderai yanks the viewer in and refuses to let go until the grisly end. From the shaky camerawork to the loud synth heartbeat soundtrack and heavy breathing of a terrified Zakes, all of the elements are brought together to create a truly nerve-wracking experience. His journey is ours and only occasionally do we know more than him, and when we do, it merely adds to the tension.
While the concept isn’t entirely original (although what is nowadays?), it is superbly executed, and as realistic as the genre will allow. It’s also refreshingly light on gore, although one scene involving six-inch nails will have the even the most hardened viewer cringing in sympathy. Helped by a tight script, Ash carries the film more than adequately, eliciting a welter of emotions as his night from hell progresses. Part Duel, part slasher movie without the slashing, this is a rollicking good ride. If there’s a better horror suspense thriller this year, we’ll be very lucky indeed.