7.0

Hush
(2008)

While driving down a busy motorway late one night, Zakes (William Ash) and his girlfriend Beth witness some extremely shady goings-on in the back of a white truck.  It seems the pair have inadvertently uncovered an organised kidnapping ring, and when Beth subsequently goes missing from a roadside diner Zakes must go to increasingly desperate lengths to get her back. 

Taking its inspiration from films like Duel and Breakdown, Hush is a taut, competent and well-executed debut from writer and director Mark Tonderai.  It contains many moments of genuine nail-biting suspense, without needing to resort to the graphic violence and gimmickry favoured by so many straight-to-DVD horror/thriller releases these days.  The storyline proves plausible and compelling, and intentionally forces the viewer to consider the uncomfortable question of what they would do if confronted with the sudden abduction of a loved one.  Zakes’ misadventures also fill the plot out nicely as the unlikely hero struggles to win back his lover from her nefarious abductors, with those that do attempt to investigate his claims generally meeting a grisly end at the hands of the kidnappers or their agents, all of whom are equally intent on keeping their criminal activities under wraps.   

William Ash, heretofore best known for his roles on various British television shows, proves a wise casting decision, and is adept at conveying a sense of mounting panic and urgency as the film progresses.  Despite his lack of feature-length experience he also shows himself to be more than capable of carrying the film through numerous scenes essentially requiring him to fly solo.  The kidnappers’ motivations could have been made more explicit and a director’s commentary wouldn’t have gone astray, but compared to the current glut of straight-to-DVD fare on the market, Hush is certainly a cut above.

Special Features

Theatrical Trailer

Stills Gallery