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[SXSW Review] ‘Hush’ Shows How Silence Is Most Frightening Tool Of All

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SXSW Hush Review
Image via Netflix

With only about fifteen minutes of dialogue spoken throughout the entire course of the film, Hush is practically a modern day silent movie. As the plot revolves around Maddie Young, a popular fiction novelist who happens to be both deaf and mute, most of the story is told through particular body movements and sign language. Set up like a sort of siege film between the two main characters, with a handicapped female lead fighting off a predator who torments her at her home deep in the woods, Hush feels like an innovative mash-up of Straw Dogs, Funny Games, and Wait Until Dark.

Long before her masked marauder shows up on her doorstep with a bow and arrow in tow, Maddie spends the evening in her living room battling herself, as she struggles to write the ending to her newest book. The trouble isn’t her imagination, but her indecisiveness, as she bounces back and forth between the seven different possible endings playing out in her head, before ultimately throwing up her hands in defeat. However, once her attacker begins dueling out his wicked assortment of torture and horrifying games, Maddie will find that she has no choice but to begin making decisions if she wants to live through the night.

When we, the viewers, are first introduced to Maddie, we can’t help but feel somewhat sorry for her, as she struggles to communicate with her neighbor Sarah, and shies away from all human connection in her little cabin in the woods. Her sister tells her over FaceTime chat that she worries about Maddie being so isolated from the world, but says she understands why she would choose to retreat from others. Maddie quickly corrects her and explains that because of an incident that occurred when she was a teenager, she was ostracized from the world, not the other way around. It’s easier for Maddie to live peacefully in the quiet forest as opposed to the loud banging and ever-constant vibrations of the city she used to inhabit.

Not only does this introduction to the lead character put the viewer in Maddie’s shoes and shows how the deaf are forced to adjust to daily life without the sensation of sound, but it also convinces the viewer from the start that Maddie will probably lose this fight against the man who is targeting her, simply because she is already at a disadvantage. Because of this knowledge, every moment during their face off becomes that much more intense, and each little skirmish that Maddie wins that much more surprising.

Adding an even thicker coat to the already taut atmosphere is the lack of dialogue. It’s not just that Maddie can’t cry out for help, which makes her easier prey, but the fact that the viewer is almost never allowed a moments release because the tension is never exerted through any utterances. It’s only natural for humans to speak often, especially when a person is stressed or scared, and since Maddie can’t, it only adds to the nail-biting, heightened aura of the film. In a genre where shrill screams, loud chainsaws and painful sobs usually dictate the scares, Hush provides a pulse-pounding example of how silence can be the most frightening tool of all.

The only real aspect that might be worth griping about in the movie is the unnecessary pandering that happens towards the end. It’s always nice when a storyteller assumes that their audience is just as intelligent as he or she, so although the ending is a very clever analogy for tackling writer’s block and evolving as a person, it’s also pretty spelled out, just to make sure anyone that’s not caught up gets the full picture. It would’ve been a tad more interesting to see this analogy played as subtext, but it’s not so bothersome that it completely takes away much from the overarching message.

Overall, Hush is a well made film that puts a new twist on an already familiar sub-genre, and shows not only that Mike Flanagan is currently one of horror’s most talented directors (especially with Oculus already under his belt), but also provides the argument that horror should be taken more seriously by most movie-goers. Hush portrays how horror can be classy, and it can be executed in a professional manner that’s watchable for all cinephiles, even if they’re not particularly inclined to sit down to view a thriller. This little film is definitely worth seeking out when it hits Netflix — just to be sure to watch it in a dark and very quiet room.

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‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]

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Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.

Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.

Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.

And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.

While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.

Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.

Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!

Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.

Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.

Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!

More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.

So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.

If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.

Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.

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