Mike Flanagan’s 2016 thriller Hush is set to hit US theaters for the first time after being removed from Netflix, where it premiered following its debut at SXSW. The film is making a comeback with a theatrical release with its first-ever 4K remastered version of the original film and a new black-and-white “Shush Cut,” featuring remixed audio. The special edition premiered at Beyond Fest on 27th September and is now available to stream on Shudder.
Hush was co-written by Flanagan and his wife, Katie Siegel, who also stars as a deaf writer isolated in the woods, only to find herself hunted by a masked intruder. The film’s gripping tension comes from its masterful sound design, alternating between the eerie silence experienced by Siegel’s character and the unsettling sounds made by her attacker. This innovative soundscape evokes comparisons to the 1967 classic Wait Until Dark, where Audrey Hepburn portrayed a blind woman fending off a home invasion.
The film’s popularity has led to remakes, including the 2019 Hindi film Khamoshi and the Tamil-language Kolaiyuthir Kaalam. Now, the 4K restoration of Hush, produced by Shout! Studios alongside Intrepid Pictures and Blumhouse Productions, brings the film back to life. The US theatrical release kicks off on 16th October with a special screening at Vidiots in Los Angeles. The premiere will feature a live Q&A with Flanagan and Siegel, streamed to select theaters nationwide.
The film also stars John Gallagher Jr., Samantha Sloyan, and Michael Trucco. Flanagan’s recent adaptation of Stephen King’s The Life of Chuck took home the coveted People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Meanwhile, Siegel’s directorial debut, Stowaway, featured in V/H/S Beyond, is now streaming on Shudder.
Reflecting on Stowaway, Siegel said, “Like Kafka’s Metamorphosis, it’s that human experience of waking up in a body you don’t recognize and asking, ‘Are we our bodies, or are we our minds?’ It’s a very esoteric and fertile ground, and I think it speaks to the female experience in the way that perhaps the linear, running away from the slow-moving monster speaks more to the male experience.”
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