10 Great Horror Movies With An Incredibly Simple Premise
3. Hush
Murderous masked madmen are a staple of horror cinema. What isn't so common is their targets having sensory impairments and being unable to even hear their would-be killers approaching.
Kate Siegel's Maddie is a deaf-mute horror author who finds herself the target of a masked home invader. Given her inability to call the police or detect her intruder’s footsteps, this cat-and-mouse game piles on the tension with ease.
It all kicks off when Maddie’s pal Sarah is dealt a horrifically bad hand courtesy of a crossbow-wielding maniac after a visit. Her brutal death goes completely unnoticed by Maddie who quickly becomes the new target of the sadistic fiend.
It’s a surprisingly bloodthirsty affair as poor Maddie endures more than one grim injury at the hands of the antagonist. The pacing is rock solid here, only really reaching its peak near the end where it's needed most. Both Siegel and antagonist actor John Gallagher Jr. do great work here in one of modern horror cinema's more well-executed entries.
While similar home invasion chillers have been the norm for years, this one stands out thanks to a simple but debilitating sensory tweak for its protagonist.