Hush

Directed by Mark Tonderai

Starring:

William Ash, Christine Bottomley, Andreas Wisniewski

Synopsis:

Tired and irritable, Zakes (Will Ash) and Beth (Christine Bottomley) drive home along the M1, a familiar journey full of harshly lit service stations and bad coffee. When a white truck narrowly avoids hitting them, its back doors open to reveal a terrified woman caged inside, screaming. Unsure if what he’s seen is real, Zakes calls the police but drives on. Beth is furious that he hasn’t done more to help and at the next petrol station, storms off. Zakes realises that she has been taken by the truck driver and is forced into a vicious game of cat and mouse with a ruthless killer who has terrifying plans for his human cargo.



Review:

Hush begins with moody opening titles that set the scene as the couple travel on a dull, rain washed M1 at night. Immediately we observe the tumultuous relationship between Zakes and Ash. The first half an hour is fairly heavy going. The two characters are quite ordinary but well written. They argue almost as much as my neighbours, so I wasn’t too interested in the ever-increasing bickering. However, it sets the scene for the sort of people that they are and this will become important in the last act. It also points to the change in moral responsibility that the characters go through. Zakes is more intent on completing the mundane job that he has been given, replacing ad posters in motorway service stations. He sees the witnessing of the captive woman as an inconvenience, hampering his plans, whereas Beth has more of an instinct to help. The irony is, of course, that had Zakes pursued the truck and seen the investigation through to fruition, neither Beth nor himself would have gone through their ordeal.

It’s the way that Zakes conducts himself as he searches for Beth in the service station that distinguishes him from your standard character in this genre. He acts on impulse, rarely thinking through the consequences of his actions. This comes across as more natural than the contrived, signposted, reactions of your standard Hollywood penned character in a similar movie. The point being that you will have seen this film a number of times before. It is reminiscent of Duel, Wolf Creek and Switchblade Romance and even Lethal Weapon 2, in one scene. So, it is important to point out that there are original flairs that make Hush a thriller to watch.

Tension pervades Hush from a number of sources. There is the threat from the truck driver, the potential threat from the driver’s security guard accomplice, the police, and the inevitability of Zakes finding out about his girlfriend’s indiscretion and how he will react to it.

The violence, when it happens, is quite strong but isn’t hardcore horror like a number of European movies doing the rounds, like Martyrs and Manhunt.

Hush is not a particularly complex film on the surface but rewards the sharper viewer with its underlying subjects of infidelity, responsibility and cause and effect. Occasionally, the mood is spoilt by asking the viewer to take huge leaps of faith and to suspend disbelief. However, I feel that the faults are easily overlooked whilst enjoying the film.

The cinematography is atmospheric and initially helps establish the mood of the characters and the blandness of the locale. The beginning is dialogue intensive before becoming sparse as the title ethic “Hush” kicks in.

The acting in Hush is very good. Both leads successfully annoy before rising to the challenge of outwitting the antagonist. There are interesting cameos from Stuart McQuarrie (28 Days Later), and Shaun Dingwall (Doctor Who’s Pete Tyler) and Robbie Gee, as the inquisitive security guard.

There is an epilogue scene embedded within the final credits that serves to show what happened to Stuart Mc Quarrie’s character, whilst showing the success of Zake’s completed book. I found this explanatory final scene as a bit of a cop out. I’d rather have had Hush end with an ambiguity, leaving it up to the viewer to guess at the fates of the characters and what it actually was that the truck driver was using the women for. Instead it is spelt out to us what the truck driver was involved in.

Summary:

Not many movies are set on a motorway and for good reason. However, Tonderai pulls it off by increasing the tension in a kind of thriller drip feed, until the last act that is very tense and very well realised if you overlook some leaps in logic. Whilst fans of the genre will feel short-changed, there are plenty of original twists and lots of tension to make the viewing worthwhile.

Tonderai is another film maker that I will be watching out for in the future. This is his first feature, after working on Radio 1 as a DJ, and acting in and writing a number of movies.

6/10 (Wayfarer)

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