SPEAKER_05 0:04

Remember the sound of inside the womb?

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Greetings and salutations, and welcome to Hacker Slash. If you're joining us again, welcome back. You know what? I think you're holding out on me. If this is your first time listening, welcome to the party. We are a horror movie review podcast dedicated to telling you whether a movie is a hack, a total joke, a waste of time, or a slash.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Totally killer, pun intended.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

We believe horror is for everyone, and as such, we're rating these movies with a perspective we've all gained from our varying walks of life and the flavors of fear we fancy most. My name is Chris, I'm your friendly neighborhood slasher enthusiast. This week I'm joined by the Superfly Space Kimak.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

I can come in anytime I want. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

The gore lover Alexis. Hey everyone. The cowardly creeper Ryan. Hiya. And the Scream Queen Paris.

SPEAKER_05 0:53

Welcome home, Puss.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

This week we're wrapping things up by checking out the final victor of our first ever co-host clash. But before we get down to business, we have some follow-up from another round of the co-host clash.

SPEAKER_05 1:05

The very first winner of the co-host clash was me, and it was the Neon Demon. Now, if you listen to the episode, it didn't go too well amongst the team. I was the only one who liked it. But our listeners are nothing, if not an accurate representation of the world. Because the votes were split 50-50 this time.

SPEAKER_03 1:25

It's not very surprising at all. I feel like there's no one that sits in the middle of this movie. Either hack it or slash it.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

That's that's very accurate. Even though I painted it in a positive light, I still like had to hack it.

SPEAKER_05 1:36

Yeah, we had a lot of really great discussion on our Patreon. Some of the comments include this one from Joe who said, So much can be said about this film, but Ryan hit it on the head. This is not a horror movie. It is a living, breathing, hour and fifty-seven-minute abstract painting that 90% of people will never understand the message conveyed, while the other 10% consider it brilliant. I'm not even sure you can classify this as any genre, and I feel as though that is most of the works of Nicholas Winding Reffen. Kind of like Kubrick in that sense. He is an artist that happens to use film as his canvas and actors and actresses as his paint. By the end of this movie, you are asking questions, thought-provoking questions like the ones you all talked about. I think this movie is worth a discussion, but not so much in the context of horror. I think the director is too wrapped up in his arts that to him he made a genre film. To everyone else, he made a beautifully twisted art film.

SPEAKER_06 2:23

That sounds about right. And I do love it when our patrons agree with me. It it does feel good.

SPEAKER_05 2:28

And I think we are nothing if not predictable because Darren said this. I knew one thing before I hit play on this episode. Chris and Ryan are going to hack the shit out of this movie.

SPEAKER_06 2:36

That's right.

SPEAKER_05 2:37

I wasn't sure which way Mac and Alexis would go. I could see it going either way. I was really interested in listening to Paris talk about his experiences and how he connects to this film. I'm going to re-watch with his observations in mind. I'm giving this film a slash, as it's certainly not a joke or a waste of time, in my opinion. It's a beautiful, thought-provoking, and often uncomfortable experience. Great episode, guys.

SPEAKER_06 2:54

I think that comment highlights something that was echoed through some other comments was people really appreciating Paris talking about his connection to this movie. So even though we maybe hated that, it there's value, okay? There's value in our episode, even if it was hard.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

To be fair, we didn't hate the connection, we just hated the movie.

SPEAKER_06 3:12

Sure, yeah, that's definitely what I meant. Hated the movie.

SPEAKER_03 3:14

Yeah. I clearly don't have an artistic eye, so I did not see the beauty in this movie other than the visuals per se, but the deep meeting didn't hit me too much. But I appreciate hearing it um from Paris.

SPEAKER_05 3:26

And that is totally fair. I feel like this was a win because everybody watched it and we got to talk about it on the pod. Another great win we have to celebrate is two of our newest patrons as part of our new blood drive. Welcome to the family, Luis and Marnie. Thank you so much for joining the fam. If you decide to stick around with us, we'll be sending you our fourth anniversary Halloween poster. And that is our follow-up.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Well, if you missed episode 177 or even episode 180, this October we're putting the power in our listeners' hands each week to choose the victor between two movies nominated by Mac, Ryan, and Paris. And we're calling this the Co-Host Clash. They did the Clash.

SPEAKER_04 4:03

They did the Co-Host Clash.

SPEAKER_02 4:05

The Co-Host Clash.

SPEAKER_04 4:07

It was a podcast smell. They did the clash. The Co-Host Clash. Tonight on Hack or Slash.

SPEAKER_02 4:20

Our second round pitted Ryan against a mystery contender, which made for a round of very different films to choose from. We polled all of you, dear listeners, and we forced you to make the hard choices. And you really showed up, though, because this vote was decided in a landslide victory. But plot twist. This round was actually staged between Blonde Ryan and Brunette Ryan.

SPEAKER_06 4:47

Yes, it was truly remarkable the way I advertised for people to vote for me when truly they were they were voting for both of me.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Either way, they couldn't have gone wrong. I like to think Blonde Ryan is a very different person than Brunette Ryan.

SPEAKER_03 5:00

Which one gave the option for Red Dragon? Red Dragon is Brunette Ryan. Okay. And Brunette Ryan also wants the game, right?

SPEAKER_06 5:08

No, no, no. All of Ryan wants the game. Brunette Ryan is just based on the year 2002 when Red Dragon came out. Which has nothing to do with anything, because I was only big B when that happened.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Here's what I want to know. What is Redhead Ryan gonna come up with in a couple years?

SPEAKER_06 5:24

I did a gentle red. I'm not I'm not a red girl. Um I really blend well between the blondes and the browns, but I think I just need to stick to uh who I am as a blonde these days.

SPEAKER_02 5:35

Yes, it's fitting because the winner of the final round with 70% of the vote was Blonde Ryan, and so it sounds like the people agree with you. This week, thanks to Blonde Ryan, we're talking about Hush from 2016. Now, Ryan, why did you nominate this movie?

SPEAKER_06 5:50

So Hush is a very interesting movie where it it kind of just exists in the depths of Netflix's horror section. And while you will find some people who have heard of it and seen it, and you have a very different conversation with them versus most other people who have never heard of it, don't know that it exists, couldn't ever dig through enough Netflix to find it. And so I just thought it would be an interesting thing to bring to the show. I have a particular gigantic soft spot in my heart for those with hearing loss and things like that happening in their life. I've had some people very close to me in life that I love dearly who have had these experiences. And so on almost any time that's a part of a movie, I'm totally on board. And this movie takes it to the next level. And so I was stoked to watch it the very first time, and it's one that just kind of always lingers in the back of my brain, just floating there.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

Well, let's see if it's gonna continue to linger in the back of our minds because it's now time for the co-host clash. Now, who's seen this one before?

SPEAKER_03 6:53

Ryan, it's definitely one of those movies that I feel like that has been floating on in Netflix land forever. So I have definitely seen this before. I can't recall many of the details except for some of the iconic scenes, though.

SPEAKER_05 7:07

I also have seen this movie before. I don't know if I stumbled upon it on Netflix or if it was recommended to me because it was a long time ago. Um, but when I saw that Hush was Ryan's recommendation, I did think it was the one where there's the old man in the house.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Don't breathe.

SPEAKER_05 7:22

Don't breathe, yeah. Got it confused with that.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Sight loss. Yeah. Mixing up the senses here, bud.

SPEAKER_05 7:27

I am. And also I feel like it was the same time period, which may or may not be true.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

I, like Alexis, have seen this before. I watched it on Netflix, I think probably fairly close to when it came out. That being said, it could have been 2017 or 2018 or 2019 because memory doesn't even exist. It's all just made up or whatever. But I know at some point uh I watched it, it you know, the the machines decided I might want to see it, and it popped up, and I said, Oh, this looks interesting, and and just watched it, and it was a quick watch and it stuck with me, even though it's a quick watch. So when you suggested it, just the title alone, I remembered it was like boom, like the entire movie played in my mind.

SPEAKER_06 8:03

Yeah, I feel like this movie came around during like the beginning of Netflix's effort in horror, because before that really was not their shtick. And around 2016, I feel like is when really things started getting interesting. Because let me tell you, there are some horrible things in the depths of the Netflix horror section. And so this is one that like I feel like they this is when things were getting better, and it wasn't just like uh random animal psycho killers in the woods all the time in your Netflix horror movies. So it was a it was like I don't know, it stood out to me, I think.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

Yeah. I've also seen this one before. We actually have covered this on Hackerslash way back in the day on episode 16, and fittingly enough, that was the very last episode we did before we put a pause on the show and took like a three-month hiatus to figure things out back in the early days. So I was really hoping to get this covered eventually in like a rewind episode for our patrons because I feel like this movie didn't get a fair shake the first time around with our past cast, and I'm glad it got snuck into Ryan's picks. But what was going to be interesting going into it this time around was watching it with the added lens of understanding Mike Flanagan and his work so much better. I don't believe this is the first thing I ever saw from Mike Flanagan by any means, but it was certainly one of the earliest things, and I think watching this movie now, after Midnight Mass is actually released, this movie hits different in a few different ways. So I went into it with an open mind to feel differently than I did the first time around. I really enjoyed it back in 2017, but I found myself still wrapped up in the atmosphere, still wrapped up in the suspense and finding new things to discover every step of the way.

SPEAKER_03 9:44

It's really interesting because going into this movie for a second time, I expected to be bored because I knew the premise of this movie, but I was really surprised that I was still on the edge of my seat. I was watching this with my boyfriend, and if you know me, and it's a movie that's on the edge of my seat, I'm talking the entire time, usually with Ryan. So this is a Ryan and Alexis talking movie for sure.

SPEAKER_06 10:09

Yeah, I actually agree. Kind of like what Max said earlier. I, you know, when I started thinking about what I wanted to pick, I was like, oh God, I'd know every single bit of this movie. And then when you're in it, it's not that way. Like this movie is stressful. And you would think knowing everything that you know, it's not gonna be, but it is.

SPEAKER_05 10:26

Yeah, I had the beauty of amnesia on my side because I didn't remember very much of this. I just remembered like the general gist, like the the premise, and then a little bit of the climax. But everything in between felt like it was brand new, and there were actually a couple moments where I was shocked and surprised all over again.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

I I went into this expecting to have an easy watch, like something I already have seen, something I mostly remember. It's gonna be one that I don't have to pay super close attention to, but while I'm watching it, I'm realizing that a lot of the scenes you really need to pay attention and watch what's happening and watch what's being said, especially because there's such little spoken dialogue that you like have to keep your eyeballs on the screen. I didn't even remember that because I'm expecting like I'll dive in and it's only an hour 20. I can just kind of watch this easily, maybe look at the internet at the same time. But no, I mean I I really had to like sit in the chair, glue my eyes to the screen so I could catch all the small details. And you do feel that tension, even if you've seen it before, if it's been a couple years, you're gonna feel it all over again.

SPEAKER_02 11:24

I think the ability to feel that all over again was one of the biggest surprises to me because this, you know, Mac, you mentioned it earlier. You heard the name and immediately the whole movie played in your mind, right? The same thing happened to me. I remember feeling like, all right, this is exactly how things go. These are the big moments that kind of make your heart fall into your stomach the first time you watch this. And being able to feel that suspense and to see how well executed it was, see how these things still hold up was such a huge surprise. I was honestly really surprised at how much I missed not knowing the relationship that my clanigan has with the elite actress. I completely missed out on just having that added value, and now seeing the levels that they have worked together as a couple, you know, throughout time, there's a lot of discourse right now about the fact that Rob Zombie keeps casting Cherry Moon in everything, including the monsters. And I think people may take umbrage with that because his stuff is so polarizing, and also I've heard that she's not a very good actress. I've seen her in very little. But to see them work together and to see how people receive them versus to see how people receive Mike Flanagan and Kate, I think those are two very, very different things. And I think taking a moment to look back in time to look at this film and see how things kind of started, it was a really, really unique experience.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

I could see how that would be surprising, Chris. I can also see how that relationship would change how you watch the movie. I think the thing that surprised me though was really the the treatment of the antagonist in this film. Now, obviously the way that the protagonist is treated is so different. The protagonist is such an interesting character, and I love the way that we get to see them on screen. But the the antagonist is treated quite differently. If you've seen the trailer, if you've seen the stills, if you haven't watched it yet, you know, you're gonna see this person with a mask on and maybe with a weapon or something like that in your hand. And you're thinking home intruder, like we've we've seen in a bazillion movies, but uh they change things in a way and humanize them just enough. I mean, they're still evil, of course, because they're a murderer or whatever, but uh, I think it's it's weird. There's something that happens early on in the movie, and you're like, oh, this isn't a movie like other movies because of the way that they treat the antagonist.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

Interesting, Mac, because what surprised me about this movie was that we have an antagonist where you don't get a lot of information about him, and you're presented with what is just on screen and what our protagonist sees, and it has a different feel to it.

SPEAKER_02 13:57

Yeah. Like the strangers.

SPEAKER_03 13:59

Yes, I don't like someone where I don't know a lot about him. I guess, you know, you like you said, it dehumanizes him a little bit, sort of.

SPEAKER_06 14:06

Yeah, it does end up being one of the things that I think makes this movie interesting. And just to go back, Chris, what you're saying about their relationship, I don't know anything about that. So I've never even considered that. I th I just am so intrigued by this character in this movie that I too would fall in love and continue to make movies with her. 100%. My biggest surprise really is how much I thought I knew and didn't know re-watching this several years later. But there's a lot more that comes to play in this movie, and those are the things that make this stand out to the point where we all have significant memories of it. And in my experience, everybody that's seen it kind of feels like us, where it feels like it's like right on the tip of your tongue all the time.

SPEAKER_05 14:49

I will say there were a couple scenes that I didn't remember being as long as they were or as kind of dumb as they were. But Mac, in addition to what you were saying earlier about how the way this movie treats its killer kind of sets it apart, I feel like the first kill we get in this movie sets a tone that's like this isn't the kind of movie you think it is, and it's also gonna be different from anything you've seen before in this genre. And I think that was really interesting.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

That's a fair point because you know, we talk about how the killer is treated differently, and there's a very key thing that makes that feel very, very different. But ultimately, this movie is what if you take Man in the Mask, Killer in the Woods, and pit him against someone, and the thing that's unique about it isn't just the fact that the person has an accessibility need. The biggest choice that they make that has like the ultimate consequence, right, is to not take the central character of the story that you're supposed to be rooting for and make them a superhero. They don't do that. They also don't take the antagonists and make them an unstoppable force, they don't make them like Michael Myers, they don't make them like Jason, they don't make them like Freddie. This is just a person with wicked intent. Their ability to do that is what helps make the more tense moments of this movie feel the most successful. Because I don't know about you, but I actually thought about this movie in the summer when I was staying out in the woods in North Carolina, and it was just like one house isolated on property with woods surrounding it, and I'm like, if if I needed any help, who would come? How long would it take for police to get here? If one random stranger decided to show up, how badly could this go? So while the movie itself isn't the most scary to me, it certainly builds up these moments that are like, ooh, I don't like this.

SPEAKER_05 16:35

Remind me not to go on vacation with you, Chris.

SPEAKER_02 16:38

Why?

SPEAKER_05 16:38

You're gonna be thinking about that. How badly could this go if one stranger should decide to come kill us in this cabin?

SPEAKER_06 16:45

You gotta have people around you that think like that.

SPEAKER_03 16:47

Yeah, you need to be prepared, Paris. Yes, it's movies like this that make me scared to be in remote places. And when you have an antagonist that is sort of your everyday Joe, like in creep. And I think that's why creep to me is so effective is you have this person that you don't think would be a villain, a killer, villainous intent, anything like that, and you're smacked with reality.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

I I think the thing that sets this movie apart from you from other like home invasion kind of situations, because a lot of them there are remote or they're alone or whatever, but the way that this film shows technology and how we take it for granted and how it can be turned against us, I thought was really cool at the time when it came out. Because I hadn't seen another movie do that. Because when you take those things for granted, my Wi-Fi, my phone, my computer, whatever it is, like that can easily be either switched off or turned against you.

SPEAKER_06 17:45

You know what this movie reminded me of? My love for my Apple Watch, because I would have been calling 911 so fast, it would have been such a short movie. Everybody would have left the theater because I'd have been with the cops chilling safe.

SPEAKER_05 17:58

So as far as Fright Factor goes, I was surprisingly scared during this movie, even though I'd already seen it. I was like, you know what? I remember this movie being like about sounds and noise, so let me put in my headphones, turn on the noise cancellation. And when I tell you there were two moments where spatial audio got me good like a little bitch, I ducked and covered twice in this, and I was like, Jesus, oh shit. And that was fairly fun, and that's an experience I've not had in a while.

SPEAKER_06 18:25

Paris, I'm so glad you said that because I'll be honest, I was truly my namesake while re-watching this movie. I was a little cowardly creeper, Ryan. I was not in the right mind space to be scared of a movie when I watched this. I needed to take a break at a point because it was just a lot of tension and a lot of fear. For me, this is a scary movie. And I know it's not for everyone. Obviously, someone like Mac not gonna feel anything. I think it just depends how much you invest into this movie, because if you're just kind of casually watching it, it's not gonna be scary because there is a very particular way that they approach sound in this movie. But if you're paying attention and watching it, something like having in headphones, I had a device right in front of me, so not like a TV kind of far, no distractions. It's intense and scary to me. And I'm I'm okay with that. I'm alright with being afraid. Like Paris said, you don't get that experience that much anymore.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

And it's a unique experience, I think. I I think we've set this up as being similar to other films where you have the idea of a home invader. We've mentioned other movies that it's like, but it it just didn't play out the same as other movies. It has a unique feel, it feels original in a way, the way that it treats its protagonist and its antagonist, the way that it builds tension, the way that it deals with sound. Um the the scale of the movie though is I think what really makes it feel different from everything else. Like the number of human bodies in here doesn't have to be very high. Like you can have a few actors, you can have like a pretty close set, and you can still achieve something that's like damn admirable. And so I think it's pretty darn original how it's able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 20:00

Oh, absolutely. And you point out something interesting there because you talk about how you don't need a particularly high body count, you just need a few actors, but that's where percentages are your friend, because the percentage of destruction in this movie still feels pretty high, which is one of the things that sets it apart in terms of the movies that you would compare this to. Because I think what's really interesting about this is it takes a familiar premise, sure, it does a couple other things differently, but the best thing that I think this movie does is it dives you into the mind of the character that you're rooting for, right? So you get to see why decisions are made, you get to feel, you know, how things naturally progress to where people are making reasonable decisions, people are making some terrible decisions, but you understand what those decisions are and why they are happening every step of the way, which I think is a really different approach that we don't get often enough in horror.

SPEAKER_05 20:56

I think one of the reasons we all remembered this movie is because of its originality. It basically took something we're super familiar with and gave it a really distinct twist that changed everything. Um, I will also say that it sort of reminded me of something Stephen King would do. And at one point you can see a Stephen King novel on our character's bookshelf, and I was like, okay, reference, that's cute.

SPEAKER_06 21:17

I'm kind of 50-50 in regards to originality here. I think there's definitely some value to what they did that is original, but it's kind of like we've said many times before same ingredients, different meal that comes out in the end, right?

SPEAKER_05 21:31

But with one new ingredient that no one saw coming.

SPEAKER_00 21:34

It's saffron. There's saffron in your eggs. Ew.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

Well, Ryan, I think one of the other reasons we remember this movie is for the ending. I think the third act is pretty intense, and you know, I I think it could have gone a number of ambitious ways. And I will admit there are some challenges for pacing for me in the movie pretty early on, but once that third act came, and once we get the resolution to The story, I was deeply satisfied.

SPEAKER_06 22:02

Yeah, I I gotta be honest here. I fully forgot how this ending went. I thought there was something that ends up with a bathtub, and there's not. Um, it it just I don't know. One of the things that's discussed in the ending is what I thought actually happened. And so I was like along for the ride. And uh I I think it does what you need it to do.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

Yeah, it's it's an effective ending. And I think, like you mentioned, Chris, there are some pacing concerns, but when you make it to the point where all the action starts to happen, because it's like slow, right? There's like little bits of action here, little bits of threat here, a little bit of tension here. When you get to the end, it's one of those ends you can like look forward to. Not because the movie's going to be over, but because you know it's going to get really wild for like a condensed period of time. It's gonna be just like one thing after the other.

SPEAKER_03 22:47

So, Chris, it was interesting that you said for the protagonist, she's not glorified. It's kind of like you get a final girl, but it's really realistic. I don't think so. I think somehow when she comes out in this third act and in the final act, I get a lot of your next vibes and ready or not, and I love that.

SPEAKER_05 23:09

Yeah, Alexis, in specifically one of the final shots, I thought of you and I thought of ready or not because it's a similar vibe. Um, I think the ending of this movie is pretty solid. I'm not too mad about it. There's one element of it though, like the climax, that I remembered being interesting and cool, and this time around I was like, oh, that's kind of silly, actually, maybe not. But otherwise, I have no real complaints.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

Well, let's see if you still manage to sneak in some complaints in our ratings. But before we get there, Alexis, how many people died in this film? We had a solid three bodies in this movie. Or 75% of the cast. Exactly. Bored about the animal report.

SPEAKER_06 23:47

You know, they really tried it, and I thought that our animal report was not clear going in, but fortunately, it is better than I remembered. We're good to go.

SPEAKER_02 23:56

Well, with that good news, let's go ahead and get into our ratings now. Hush, from 2016, winner of the third round of our co-host clash in 2021. Was it a hack or a slash?

SPEAKER_06 24:06

Well, I think obviously these choices were me versus me. So I was probably gonna be excited either way, but I'll be honest, I haven't seen Red Dragon. That being said, and Max stressed face about my existence here. I'm so excited that we get to talk about Hush. And obviously, it's a slash for me. I think this movie is one that I can recommend to a ton of people. If someone's like, oh, I need to watch like what's a horror movie that I should like watch, because when people find out you do a podcast about horror movies, they very often ask that question. Hush is one that I can always turn to. Most people are gonna find something they enjoy from it. If you're, you know, a little bit distracted while you're watching it, you may not have the same appreciation that I have, but there's something really special that happens in this movie. The way that they handle the characters and handle the activities are very interesting. And I just, I just really love it. I I don't know if it's just because my heart is soft for people or because this is actually a really good movie, but I love it. It's a slash.

SPEAKER_05 25:07

Ryan, I don't think your personal connection to this movie is the reason you like it. I think it's a pretty good movie. It's palatable, it's inoffensive, and it's effective in what it does. I think it's original, it's enjoyable, it's entertaining, and it's like even in my notes, I have like three red notes, which are like things I didn't care for, and the rest is just all green because this movie's good. It's a solid pick, it's a great choice for a co-host clash, and I'm glad that it won because I don't know that I like Red Dragon as much as I enjoyed this movie, and it's definitely a slash.

SPEAKER_03 25:43

So I love how this movie is realistic, you know, it doesn't go to great lengths and the kills and the gore and the special effects, but focuses on the struggle between the protagonist and antagonist, but also with the protagonist and her struggle to navigate the situation she's in. And I think for a movie to do that well, and I've seen this movie before, and I still enjoyed it, I think that that deserves a slash in my book.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

I am loving this ride we're on so far. Uh, and I'm happy to be the one that does not derail it because this movie is indeed a slash. It's it's just a good movie, like you said, Paris. It's just good. It's entertaining, it's the perfect runtime, it's got the right amount of characters in it. The characters that it does have are great. It's got really interesting characters. You don't need to know a ton about them. We don't have to go into their entire life story for you to enjoy them and appreciate them and empathize with them. It's just like the right amount of stuff. It reminded me of when you pick up a book finally after years of not reading, and you're like, wow, that was just like a really fun read, and you recommend it to somebody, you know, and they're just kind of like, okay, whatever. That's what happens with this movie. You're like, that was just like a really enjoyable movie. You should watch it. And people are just like, yeah, sure, like when I get around to it. And you're like, no, literally, it's an hour and 20 minutes. Go watch it tonight. It's like one episode of a TV show. And I feel like we've all talked about it before that we've seen this because I think we've we've mentioned it previously, but it's one of those that's easy to evangelize because it is quick, and the the the time that you're watching it, that that hour and 20 minutes, it's enjoyable pretty much the whole way through. But I think we all fell in love with our protagonist because the protagonist is amazing. And I think the antagonist is interesting because they're not super evil. They're obviously evil, right? But they're not this demon from another world. They're just a human being that's horrible.

SPEAKER_02 27:30

They're not supernaturally evil.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

Exactly. They don't have to be like next level, they don't have to be bursting out of someone's chest or anything crazy like that. You know, they just have to be a really crappy human being that wants to do bad stuff to people. And I think you get to see that and you get to see a protagonist who does what it takes to survive, but they don't have like special forces training or anything crazy like that. They're just a human being trying to get through a situation. So I just love that they're able to show all of this stuff in a really short amount of time. So total slash.

SPEAKER_02 27:59

Well, back when we originally covered this movie on the podcast, I was the only person on team of three who slashed this. But I was really pleased to see that this movie still holds up even now. When you look at our lineup for October, we have a lot of drama, right? We have Lori Strode versus Michael Myers, the whole town of Haddonfield versus Michael Myers. We got some weird shit in the neon demon. Later on this month, we have a supernatural person in the bayou, right? In in New Orleans, hacking up people with a hatchet. We have a lot going on, and rarely do we get solid examples of just regular people doing regular things. And this movie is an example of regular people doing regular things, and one of those people happens to be super fucking evil, but not super naturally evil, as Max said, but the darker side of humanity that just does things because they can for some reason. It gives me that same feeling I had when I watched The Strangers, where people can just show up in your home and do shit because you're home. This movie manages to take that terrifying feeling, not burden you with a backstory, not burden you with an explanation, but rather just have you focus on the here and now and the consequences of this moment with a protagonist that you get to know so well in just a few moments. This is such an excellent example of great character development without having to spend three hours talking about a character and how they develop. This is a really efficient example of how you can have someone grow from beginning to end with the circumstances they're in and the little details of their life that you see but aren't necessarily told. So this movie got a slash in early 2018, and it's still getting a slash from me in 2021. What a time.

SPEAKER_05 29:44

This feels correct for this movie.

SPEAKER_02 29:46

Yeah, feels so much better than my last pick. So something to consider, right? The first two co-hosts clash were scored on a four to one ratio on inverse, right? So Parachie got four hacks, one slash, Mac got four slashes, one hack. But here today, hush from 2016, Ryan's pick for the co-host clash is a universal slash. Because I'm here for the balance.

SPEAKER_03 30:08

Thank you for giving us a movie you actually enjoy too.

SPEAKER_02 30:11

The strategy from this one, honestly. But there's clearly so much left to say, folks, and we have a whole lot of stuff to dive into in the second half. Now you can find this movie streaming on Netflix still. Please pause the episode here, go check it out, then join us in the second half so we can dig through Hush together.

SPEAKER_05 30:26

Check it out with headphones.

SPEAKER_02 30:27

See you in a bit.

SPEAKER_00 30:36

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SPEAKER_02 31:50

Now we have a lot to unpack here, but before we get into the specifics of our ratings, we have the matter of gore to attend to. I do, actually. And it's not one of the three. It's Maddie's first death. Oh, good one. Her first imaginary death. When she gets out to the woods and he stops her and he's crushing her head with a rock. And we see the camera looking in at her and she's talking. Because you realize that she's running through the scenarios in her mind. That was A, such a great moment, just cinematically, but B, the gore in that, the blood flicking up with the rock, intense.

SPEAKER_03 32:56

Yeah, they did a lot of that blood flicking.

SPEAKER_06 32:58

Yeah. That scene was also insane because especially as you're re-watching it, you you know that's not what happens. But it do feel like that's what happens. Like for a second, I was like, wait, what?

SPEAKER_00 33:10

Same. I love though, in that moment I realized there are other people who think like I think, who run through scenarios in their brain, like fully think them through, and then come back and think through another iteration, and then like decide based on like your own imaginations of like what could happen depending on decisions.

SPEAKER_06 33:28

Yeah, it it's definitely interesting to see it played out on camera. As far as kills go, I I guess mine's just literally one bit of a kill, which is what feels like a really off the cuff, it almost feels like it's just like a quick paper cut and it is a freaking knife into John's neck. But the way it's done on camera is just like it is very smooth. I have to say that. Yeah, and just so fast, and just like the sharpness of the knives in this movie are really could not be over overstated because everything just like slices through and just just our necks that soft?

SPEAKER_02 34:06

You just throw a little knife up there and realistically, this month, especially with Halloween and looking back at Halloween kills, we got a lot of neck stabbing this month. Yeah. And this was a solid neck stab, great technique.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

It made me think of that movie because we have that fluorescent light kill that goes straight into the neck with no force, and it's just that same amount of force required. And yeah, I mean, flesh is pretty darn soft, so if you have something sharp, it just slides right in there like nothing. And every time a movie shows that happening in that speed, it's so impressive because you're like, you thought about what you wanted it to look like, and you wanted it to seem like you know, not overly dramatic. And I think you know, when you were talking about the kills and the gore earlier, Alexis, that's kind of where you were going. It they didn't jump the shark, right? So they didn't have like somebody getting decapitated by a tree branch or anything like that. It was just like these are some realistic feeling kills.

SPEAKER_03 34:57

Especially Sarah's, you know, I wasn't expecting that so soon, but just her stabbing and the sound, and it w it was traumatic for that scene, but it all in all, they did dial back down. There wasn't too much like unrealistic kills.

SPEAKER_05 35:13

Yeah, I also really liked Sarah's kill because that was the first one, and as it's happening, she's like fully being slammed into that door, but Maddie is none the wiser because she's focusing on something else, and that's when you first realize, like, oh, this is like a home invasion slasher, but the rules are different. How is this gonna play out? And I think that really set a great tone for the rest of the movie. But also, how are we talking about necks stabs and not talking about the corkscrew necks stab? I was waiting for that to come up. Very much a white woman's best friend, wine saves the day.

SPEAKER_06 35:46

Also, the worst type of wine opener ever that requires all force and no leverage.

SPEAKER_03 35:51

Yeah, as a fellow wine lover, I do love that kill. But you know what I really like about that is right before that, and it's one of my favorite scenes visually, is you have these flashing lights, and you have our man, our antagonist, choking Maddie. And at one point, I was so scared for her that she was going to die, and there's just this conflict going between the two, but the flashing lights from the alarm were really like captivating. And seeing him and seeing, I don't know, when someone's choking someone in movies, I feel like it seems too easy. But with him, you could actually like almost feel him choking her per se. And then you go into she's grabbing the wine, and then that happens, and blood splurting with all this going on, it makes for a great visual, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_06 36:44

He also just looked like horrific, like he was clearly like going through it, you know. The the red eyes were so interesting in that moment, and the scenes like cutting back and forth between their two faces. It was very, very interesting to look at.

SPEAKER_00 36:59

So I think the visuals of the movie are really interesting, and and yes, the kills are crazy, but I think the damage that's done that's non-lethal to me was so much more interesting to look at. So, one, the mangled hand.

SPEAKER_03 37:13

Yeah, I don't know how we forgot to talk about that. That was crazy.

SPEAKER_00 37:17

It looked so painful, but then I'm fairly certain earlier in the film that she hit him with the hammer, right? Yeah, in the arm. I for because for a second after I saw it, I was like, oh, but was it the knife? Because it was so quick. But what I love though is when they're doing this stuff, like they showed the force that she she used. Like she reaches, like it's a long reach, grabs a hammer, and then just swings her arm. She doesn't like you know retract it and then hit him with him, but she swings the whole arm claw-side into his arm. So the whole hammer is just like boom, right into his arm, and you could just tell that thing hurt. And every time somebody gets hurt like that, even with the arrow, you can tell it hurts. So I love the way that they dealt with those type of non-lethal like damages throughout because it didn't feel like, oh, I've been hit, I have to keep going because I'm gonna bleed out or anything. It was like that dude just got hit in the arm with the claw of a hammer and he's feeling it, or she just got shot with an arrow and she's feeling it, or he just mangled her fingers and she can't even scream and let it out in any way. And it was just it was visceral. And I think that was my favorite part to look at. Not even not even the kills, you don't have to do that.

SPEAKER_03 38:19

Yeah, I like the continuation too. You know, a lot of times in movies you get a kill and something extreme happens to some sort of body part, but then there's no focus on it later. And not that they put intentional focus on that, but in the bathroom scene at the end, you can see that hand, and I like how they just kept those details throughout the movie.

SPEAKER_06 38:40

Yes, we do love some continuity, that's for sure. I'm gonna have to go rogue here for a moment, and I'm gonna have to go with a favorite audio element.

SPEAKER_05 38:49

Wait, that's what I was gonna do, Ryan.

SPEAKER_06 38:51

Oh no, well, you were too slow.

SPEAKER_05 38:53

But at least you're paving the way, so it's okay when I do it next.

SPEAKER_06 38:56

Yes, yes. I'm very happy to. I mean, this movie is really nice to look at, but I think the entire point is built around the audio and things that they do with it. And I I feel like it's done so well that it isn't overdone. It isn't a movie that's like silent and you just hear noises. But for me, the the element that changes the experience of this movie is those moments of isolation where we hear what she may be hearing, which is usually about nothing. It's just claustrophobic in the way that you experience your life and how different it feels when all of a sudden you can't hear anything. And this movie does audio in a way that I don't think I've ever seen done. I've maybe seen it attempted, maybe seen it done one other time as well as this, but this movie that that's part of what stands out for me is the treatment of the audio and how it's done tastefully, not overdone, and not so dramatic that it takes you out the movie.

SPEAKER_05 39:53

Ryan, I was gonna say the same damn thing. Because I listened to this with headphones, I got like a really good earful of it. And I was expecting them to do what they did in a quiet place where they completely drop to silence, and then you're kind of like left with that, but they never drop to full silence. They left you with like like this sound, like you know when you're falling asleep and like your ears against the pillow and you can like hear your blood.

SPEAKER_02 40:16

Yes. Yeah, it's usually the ultrasound machines.

SPEAKER_05 40:19

Yeah, it okay. Thank you, Chris, because I literally wrote like remember the sound of inside the womb.

SPEAKER_03 40:24

Yeah, yeah. For sure. We all remember that.

SPEAKER_05 40:27

They have toys for babies that like emulate that sound, and that was similar to the sound that they were playing um in the times that it like honed in on her experience, and I thought it was really well done.

SPEAKER_02 40:36

I love that. I mean, the obviously the audio adds so much to how this movie is experienced, and it actually plays a huge part into my favorite scene. But even a step before that, looking at the visuals of this movie and looking at how you experience it, not only with that added element of audio or lack thereof, but really looking at how this movie plays with the foreground and the background. It doesn't just play with every corner of the frame and its composition, but really using the depth to accentuate that hearing, right? Or the lack of hearing and pointing out, you know, there are moments when a door is opening in the background and she doesn't hear it. We cannot hear it as the audience, absolutely chilling, or even looking at the final moment in the bathroom where she he is breaking in, she's fading in and out of consciousness, you see the glass breaking, and you see his fr his body dropping down, but you can't really hear it. Absolutely stunning. But I think my favorite scene overall is actually the earliest scene that we get in the film, which is her in the kitchen cooking, and you hear all the sizzles, you hear the chops, you hear the cutting of the vegetables, you hear truly everything. Then there's a moment where the camera pushes in on her, and as it pushes in on her, the sound fades away, kind of drops out. And then you go right back through it. You go back through the cuts, the sizzles, you know, the sounds of pots and pans clanging, and you don't hear any of it. And it just is a really beautiful way to drop you into her world and say, Okay, so this is what you experience, this is what she experiences. Now let's move on with the rest of the movie. And it reminded me of a really cool moment on Dancing with the Stars. I think I've talked about on the show. Niel DeMarco, who is deaf, was a contestant on the show, and he had to dance by the feel of the vibrations in the floor, and there's a moment where he dances and the music just drops out for everybody, so everybody could in the audience and his partner could experience what he experiences with having to just memorize the movements and go by the vibrations. This movie just really took that scene and set like a really high emotional stakes right in the beginning. Ooh, Chris, I love that.

SPEAKER_06 43:00

And I think you're exactly right. The way it's done here is like Chef's Kiss perfectly drops you into her world. You don't have to say, hey, this is a person that can't hear, just so y'all know, like, here's like every person in their life and their whole entire story, and yada yada. It's just like, hey, this is your experience, now let's just slide you into someone else's. And it's so cool. My favorite scene is somewhat related. It comes just after that. And I'm concerned that this may be one of the scenes that you guys are referencing when you're talking about pacing, which I just want to go on record and say, I don't think there's pacing issues in this movie at all. But it's the conversation she has with her neighbor and the way that it's one-sided. And if you're not paying attention to the movie, all of a sudden you're lost because you're only hearing one side of the conversation. And it's so interesting to me, it's so intriguing. And it's one of those things if you are not really caring about what you're watching, you'll just kind of like zone out and it nothing else will matter. You don't get invested. If you do care, you care more and more and more. Through this, and it in my opinion ties you into the movie and like just puts a grip on you because it's just like, oh, I'm I'm in this now, and like this is a very different life from what I live. I I just want to pay attention and find out what the rest of this is like.

SPEAKER_05 44:14

I don't think that scene gave me any qualms about the pacing of this movie, right? I also enjoyed that scene as well. But my favorite scene has to be when Maddie is trying to escape on the roof and she starts climbing down that trellis because I had my headphones in, and then all of a sudden I'm holding my hands over my head, my abs contracted, and I said, Oh shit, what the fuck was that? Because you could not tell me that there was not a fast-moving projectile flying from behind me to the left to in front of me to the right. The way that hit my headphones, I was like, What the fuck was that? And I was like, Oh shit, that was the movie. Oh my god. And I was like, okay, that was really good they got me. I don't think that's ever gonna happen again. And then when she shoots him with the crossbow, it happened again, except in the opposite direction. And I was like, oh shit. And I did the same thing, and I was like, I'm I'm basically getting whiplash over here, trying not to get hit by these crossbow arrows. And it was just like such a fun, interactive, immersive moment in the movie that I won't ever forget.

SPEAKER_06 45:13

Those arrows were real intense and very scary in this movie.

SPEAKER_03 45:17

Yes, the amount of detail that they pay attention to. I wish I had also listened with headphones in, but I did not, unfortunately. My favorite scene is when Maddie has her inner dialogue. Because I feel like that's me in a lot of times at work in my personal life from sitting here going through scenarios and seeing her go actually through them in her head, and then realizing she has to make a decision, and none of these she's comfortable with, and then you know, focuses on the one that eventually I have to kill him. I love that. I I just love where that journey took her.

SPEAKER_00 45:54

And I think they do such a good job of really humanizing her then because the rest of us, yeah, we we sit here watching the movie thinking, like, oh, take this dude out. But in reality, we would be trying to survive, trying to escape, trying to hide, whatever it is, just like she did. And then when you burn out all of those options, that is really the only option, which is to take them down before they take you down. But she doesn't do it in like a really weak way. She's not this damsel in distress or anything. She's doing the normal human things, and then realizes eventually, like, I have to be really proactive about this. And I I love that moment too. I I think another moment that's similar is when they're going, they're like, they've got this back and forth, this whole cat and mouse thing. But eventually she makes her way back into the house, and she's got the door shut, and he's right at the door, and you know, he's being his jerk-off self, and she's just like, just do it then. Just do it. Like, come on in and get me. Because at that point, like, what does she have to lose? She's ready to go out fighting. And I I love the fact that she reaches this point by the end of the movie where she is like, just bring it on because I'm gonna do everything I can to take you down.

SPEAKER_02 46:58

But can we talk about how she writes his description in a last letter to her family on her MacBook as he's trying to get into the house? Gut-wrenching stuff. And I think all these moments, right, really just raise the stakes because of how invested you get in her, in her journey, and knowing these details about her life that you get through other scenes in the movie beforehand, like the ever-relatable, I'm gonna slam the laptop shut as soon as my ex tries to FaceTime me back, right? Or the I'm gonna delete this text real quick. Or Ryan, you were even talking about the isolation earlier, and she had a separate quote, not related to her hearing loss, but she talked about just her life and the circumstances that she's currently in, and we don't know everything that led to it, but she said isolation happened to me. I didn't pick that. She's living in a world where she's had to adapt, right? And this movie is another evolution of her ability to adapt, but I think the notes that we get about her as a character, from the details of the books she wrote to the relationship she has with her neighbors, to the FaceTime call she has with her sister, it all just really does so well to build up someone that you can actually root for and are not just ready to die one way or the other.

SPEAKER_03 48:13

I completely agree, Chris. And to me, she's extremely relatable. I mean, just her little nuances that she's doing and her actions. I mean, I cook with my computer every day. Usually I have some sort of uh at this point, it's Halloween movies with Michael Myers, not just in general Halloween movies. You know, she's doing all these things, and it reminds me when I meal prep, you know, she's deleting texts from her ex and you know, just and then, you know, talking to her sister. It just reminded me of like a Sunday night right before the podcast, honestly, you know, and she has a Stephen King book out, you know, she's going through this in her monologue, and it's just just it's very wholesome and she's just so relatable. And I feel like we say that in movies, but it's not to the core that I think Maddie is in this.

SPEAKER_06 49:01

Yeah. Do you know how many times I've been writing a paper and just literally write blah blah blah or la la la. I'm gonna die here. This paper's never gonna get written. Why am I still typing words? Because I mean, you do you reach that point, and I've never written a book, so I know I'd reached that point there. I think we can all pretty confidently agree she is an amazing character in this movie, an incredibly relatable character. Even if you don't relate to her, maybe fall in love with her. Like she is the piece de resistance in this movie.

SPEAKER_00 49:32

But I love how they anchor her with some really good neighbors, right? Because they're not jerks, they're also fairly smart, and they're pretty supportive. When we get to that interaction with John and this psycho killer, like he realizes pretty quickly what's going on and then tries to kind of push him out, string him out, but he's just not quick enough. You know, yeah, it's like it's right down there. Go ahead and get that key. Unfortunately, her actions lead to him being stabbed in the neck, and that kind of sucks. But even then, he doesn't give up. He keeps fighting, even with a hole in his neck, spurting blood. But I it's interesting to see him go back and forth where he just immediately buys into this guy in a hoodie with a flashlight, like telling him to get down, and he's just like, oh, he's just caught off guard, like, oh my god, don't know what's going on. But then you see his eyes, and it's like it's great. They don't work it into the dialogue, they just show his eyes darting while he's talking to him, and you can tell that he's realized pretty early on what's going on doesn't match what this guy is telling him.

SPEAKER_06 50:34

Yeah, I think when you're watching, you might want to be like, oh, he should have noticed sooner. But if you think about what you feel like in a situation like that where that is the furthest thing from your mind, it feels so realistic. Just like the rest of this movie. It just feels like something that can happen.

SPEAKER_00 50:51

Reminds me of a friend who was driving one night and it's pretty late at night and it's dark out and gets pulled over, like flashing lights on the car. So pulls the car over. The car is, I think, still running at that point, and it's an unmarked car. And the person who gets out is not in a uniform and starts running towards his car. And he just like was like, nope, put it back and drive, and just kept going. Because he wasn't sure like where this person came from, who they are, why they're pulling him over. There's no other, you know, police officer or anything like that nearby. But it is that moment where we would all assume the right thing. We'd all think like somebody's telling me what seem like law enforcement commands. They have a flashlight in my face, like, you know, obviously you're gonna be freaked out, you're gonna be scared, but then when he realizes in conversation with the dude, like what's going on, he can't immediately he can't immediately say, like, dude, you're not a cop. Because what if he is?

SPEAKER_06 51:40

Yeah, you don't want to be a crazy person.

SPEAKER_00 51:42

Right. So he's like, he like weighs that out in his mind and like has to like go back and forth about what to do about it.

SPEAKER_05 51:46

Mac, you really gave John so much depth there, whereas I just thought he was a lovable himbo.

SPEAKER_06 51:51

Uh just because he was attractive. I mean, he didn't make the worst decisions and he wasn't completely useless.

SPEAKER_02 51:57

He even played Possum for a second there just so he can get a good tackle in. Shout out to linebacker John.

SPEAKER_05 52:02

I don't know, I didn't really see that rock plan going very well, even had he not been stabbed in the neck first.

SPEAKER_02 52:08

Well, I mean, the the antagonist in this movie even points out, ooh, if we had to fight, I would have gotten my ass kicked, right? Like, I feel like the rock plan would have been just fine.

SPEAKER_06 52:18

Speaking of that guy, our killer here, he's a very interesting part of this movie. I think you guys are maybe gonna give him a little bit more credit than I do, although he is a very realistic type of crazy and definitely the scariest type, right? Like someone that's just like angry and on a rampage is so much less scary to me because I feel like they're like kind of misdirected, and a lot of times I feel like you could get away or something like that. Whereas someone like this who's just, you know, all right, you want to be locked in your house? I'll just like chill out here until I figure out what I want to do next. But here's a dead person, so I'm just gonna like use them to knock on your door, like so scary, so creepy, and and unfortunately realistic. But I think he does exactly what he has to do to balance out such a lovable main character.

SPEAKER_02 53:06

And the mask that he wears and then decides to take off. Okay, the mask is chilling, so scary. Hate the mask, love the mask, so good, so effective. It's very the rise of Leslie Vernon meets the expressionless pale face of Michael Myers that you can just project things onto and project your fears onto. But that moment where she writes, won't tell anyone, didn't see your face, and then he decides, Oh, let me just let you in on this little secret I have that I'm gonna kill you because I'm gonna show you my face anyway. It doesn't matter to me. Wild and chilling.

SPEAKER_05 53:43

Did anybody else think that with the mask on he looked just like Mark Zuckerberg?

SPEAKER_02 53:47

That's a great observation, and I do not think that is incorrect.

SPEAKER_05 53:51

Only with the mask on, though. Once he took it off, I was like, oh, that's definitely not Mark Zuckerberg. But until then it really could have been.

SPEAKER_03 53:56

I don't know. That mask is so freaking creepy to me. You guys are giving him way more credit than I did. He was actually the worst part for me. If I had to pick a worse part. You guys know I like a movie that has a lot of explanation, and he doesn't have any explanation. I wouldn't have liked a tidbit of maybe when he was killing her, or maybe he was killing another character, said something about his childhood or something. What? What? I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 54:26

So you you basically wanted the version of Halloween that Chris hates.

SPEAKER_02 54:30

Yes. Yeah, she wanted to see Rob Zombie Remake Hush, but with this guy having a real big heart, real good relationship with his mom, but a real shitty childhood overall. So he becomes a killer in the woods.

SPEAKER_06 54:45

Okay, but also he doesn't intend to show up at this house at all. He's just chasing a different victim, and that's how he gets here. That's all the backstory I think we needed.

SPEAKER_02 54:54

Yeah. Plus, you know that he's done it before because of all the hatch marks on his crossbow. Yeah, he's just a crazy dude.

SPEAKER_03 55:00

Yes, and I think that left me starving for more because I really like that little tidbit. I don't know, but Mr. Mercedes that Stephen King does has the same no backstory, backstory, which is not my favorite.

SPEAKER_02 55:16

Okay. So here's a question, though. A real honest question. Does piquing your curiosity and making you want to know more necessarily equate to it being bad?

SPEAKER_03 55:27

No, that's why I said if I had to pick something, it would be that.

SPEAKER_06 55:31

Yeah, I'm not on board with what you're saying, but I am on board with the idea of it's very hard to find a worst part of this movie. I think there are a couple of scenes that in the moment I know I think, ooh, this is this has been a minute too long for me, but as it stands now, I can't remember a single one of those, which lets me know that it really wasn't too long and that Tight 120 did its job.

SPEAKER_02 55:54

I have one worst part of this movie, and it does relate to the killer as much shit as I was giving you, Alexis. But it's one specific moment. So he takes off the mask and he lets his mouth hang open, and he's like barely moving his lips.

SPEAKER_05 56:08

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 56:09

And he says, Can you read my lips?

SPEAKER_06 56:11

But doesn't move his lips.

SPEAKER_02 56:12

But then he his mouth just fucking hangs open, and I hate that so much. I hate when people just like mumble, right? Obviously, uh I do have my hearing, but I have lost a significant amount of my hearing, and people can s uh people assume that I can read their lips, and I absolutely cannot. I will probably need to figure out how to do that at some point, but I can't do that. So when people mumble and when they're not fucking opening their mouth all the way to make words in a way that makes sense, it is the most infuriating thing.

SPEAKER_06 56:42

Very true. It was so dumb.

SPEAKER_05 56:43

Ryan, you said you couldn't remember any of those scenes that took too long, and I'll remind you the crossbow, struggling to reload the crossbow. At what point do we give up and say, this isn't working? My little arms can't do this. I think there's a tool that you're supposed to use to do this. Move on to something else.

SPEAKER_06 57:00

Have you ever tried to reload a crossbow, dude?

SPEAKER_05 57:02

Yeah, not 15 times in a row after failing every time. Not even switching up the approach. I was like, try something different, try to load it in a different way. I don't know, because what you're doing is not working, and it's like cutting up your hands, probably.

SPEAKER_06 57:13

Okay, I agree with you. But it was clearly used as this is what she's distracted with while something else is going on outside because otherwise she would have been paying attention. However, I also think when you're stuck in a house and have nothing else to do, no weapons, and that is like the thing you have, and you're like freaking out because someone is trying to kill you. I think you try ten too many times. But maybe also find something else to use besides your poor little fingers.

SPEAKER_05 57:39

Even like grab a towel and try to do it with that. Because like I just know her hands were getting cut up.

SPEAKER_06 57:44

Yes, agreed. I was thinking, dang, good thing she doesn't have her nails done.

SPEAKER_05 57:48

And isn't there like actually like a thing you use to load a crossbow? Isn't there like another piece?

SPEAKER_03 57:53

When you're weak? I believe so. My dad goes hunting and uses a bow. And I mean, he's a strong guy, but I'm pretty sure with that wire that you have to use a tool. But also, does he use a compound bow or a crossbow?

SPEAKER_00 58:08

I don't know anything about crossbows or compound bows. And I also know there's not much to dislike in this movie, but the one thing I think that just kind of was slightly out of character for our killer was having him hold the dead friends or neighbors like hands up and like knock with them. Like it just didn't really match with the rest of the film for his vibe. Now I'm glad they didn't have him doing weird cackling or laughing a lot, like he didn't play like a Jared Leto Joker or anything. Like, good choice there. But that was like one part where he seemed to be having like a little bit of fun, but he didn't laugh. It was just it just seemed strange like that he was playing with the dead body like that. I know that he was trying to scare her or get her attention, but I wish he had just like shown her the body and then made eye contact and you know, stared at her for a while.

SPEAKER_05 58:52

And how long would he have been doing that before he realized she wasn't in that room at that window?

SPEAKER_02 58:57

I think he only does it when he knows she's in there. Probably did a lap, saw she wasn't in any other room, said, Alright, I got her. It's interesting you say that though, because I felt like that matched his character so well. And he seemed, you know, especially in the beginning when he talks about, you know, I'll wait for the right moment, I'll wait until you wish you were dead, that's when I'll come inside. So I saw him as being this like torturous, I'm gonna have fun with you, but it's my kind of fun, not your kind of fun, and I'm gonna traumatize you. And I'm gonna push this until the absolute edge before I finally do what I want to do. But I think, you know, having watched this again for the first time since 2018, this felt like a really good experience. I probably won't watch it anytime soon, but I will be open to watching it in a couple years just to see if my feelings change on some things.

SPEAKER_00 59:52

I think everything we've said tonight definitely speaks to its rewatch value, though. Because if it's a movie you haven't seen, I think we all think you should watch it. And if it's a movie you've seen a couple years ago, I think we we are all evidence that this is worth rewatching. I don't know about a third or fourth time. Like maybe we have to give it a couple years or watch it with somebody else. But I think if it's only been one time, you can still get enjoyment from it.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:15

Yeah, I agree. I think it's not very often that we all have seen a movie and review it and give it a universal slash. So that's just enough about it. I think I'll just keep evangelizing it in the world and see when eventually I'll watch it again. Definitely not opposed to it, but some time in between is really nice because you think you know, but you don't.

SPEAKER_05 1:00:34

I'm not mad about the idea of re-watching this movie at all.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:38

Mac, you're correct. Probably a third watch might be a bit much unless I watched it in a few years with someone who hadn't seen this, so that's my take.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:48

Well, let's see if Mac gives us anything to chew on that'll make us want to watch it even sooner in fact or fiction.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:54

Number one. Maddie is a deaf mute in the film because a deaf friend of the director challenged them to make a film with a deaf protagonist.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:02

God, I hope that's true. Fiction.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:04

I'll say fact, why not? This is fiction. So Mike Flanagan wanted to make a film without dialogue. A purely silent film was considered but discarded because tension and you know audience attention. It needed a little audio, it needed a little bit extra for it.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:19

Thank God. No completely silent film, but also how dare you just want to make a silent film, and that's how we get here. I needed a deaf inspiration.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:29

Number two, Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel came up with the idea for Hush while they were on a date before they were married.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:34

Gonna go fiction?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:36

I'm gonna say fact.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:37

Fact? She's so far out of his league.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:39

Well, you never know because you don't know him as a person, but nope. This one's a fact. So this was back in 2014, I believe, and they did not get married until 2016. Number three, Maddie and her sister are named after the director's feline fur babies.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:54

Fiction? Hmm. I wanna say fiction.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:57

It feels a little goofy.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:58

I'm gonna say fiction. Maddie is a bad name for an animal.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:01

It's funny, because my girlfriend's name is Maddie and her brother's name is Max.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:05

Wait, are they the niece and nephew of Kate Siegel? Because that is who they were actually named after. So this one was a fiction.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:11

Ooh. No relation.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:13

And number four, the director of The Exorcist slammed Hush and complained that it was 20 minutes of content stretched out for over an hour.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:20

Isn't The Exorcist like famously long?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:22

I don't know, but it's long enough.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:24

That's what she said. I'm gonna go with fact. I'm gonna say fiction.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:27

I'm gonna say fiction. I bet the director of The Exorcist loved this movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:31

Paris, you got this. This one's a fiction. The director of The Exorcist actually loved Hush and evangelized it. And that's been Fact or Fiction.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:38

Well, there you have it, folks. Hush from 2016, winner of the final round with co-host Clash in 2021, has earned a Universal Slash. Way to take us out on a good note, Ryan. I did my best. I really had to redeem myself somehow. Now we certainly had a lot to talk about here, but the conversation doesn't end here by any means. We want to know what you think, so keep in mind there are a number of ways you can reach out to us, starting with our website, hackerslash.live, and on our social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:06

If you're like me and find yourself running around telling people they need to watch Hush on Netflix, please let us know. I would love to hear your take on things. You can reach out to our Hackerslash Hotline and leave us a voicemail at 757-606-0128, or visit hackerslash.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:23

And if you, like us, have a crush on Hush, you can send us an email to feedback at hackerslash.com.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:28

If you've enjoyed listening to this episode, there is still time to join the new blood drive and become one of our patrons like Luis and Marnie. You can visit patreon.com slash hacker slash to earn cool perks for as low as $1 a month. But don't forget, if you decide to join our $3 or $5 tier during the month of October, you'll receive our fourth anniversary Halloween poster.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:46

We'll see you next time, folks, and remember, if you hit the red spot, you can make anyone scream. Bye.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:59

Alright, Freesiders, we got one more for you. This one comes from Alex. Alex asks, What horror films do you all feel are underrated and deserve to be known and watched more? I'll start with one you may or may not have seen. It's called Night Breed because I'm a huge Clive Barker fan. I feel like most Clive Barker things from the 80s are just really enjoyable and have really cool effects because CGI sucks and I love practical 80s effects for some reason. And I don't know, there's just like monsters and like transformation stuff and gruesomeness, and it's just a fun story, too.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:34

That sounds interesting. You know, I'm here for some practical effects. You are definitely the uh I hate CGI guy.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:40

That's your that's your jam for sure. Talk about a movie that doesn't have any CGI. My pick is definitely gonna have to be creep. I don't think it gets enough credit at all. It's such a great psychological thriller, and it just balances out with the humor in it that I just think everyone should be watching it.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:00

Gosh, that is a movie that we reviewed so long ago, and it evokes a visceral hate response from my heart. So I have a few options, and none of them are gonna be strangers to us or likely to our listeners, but I'm just thinking about this from a perspective of like you go talk to some random people out in the world in 2021. What movies, horror adjacent, horror-related, are gonna be underrated? And so I have a few old ones. One, I think misery has really lost its hold on society and it needs to bring it back. Paris, shut your mouth. You're wrong.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:35

I didn't say anything.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:38

You made a face. The second one is the faculty. I never heard of the faculty. I've never heard anyone else ever talk about it.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:44

It's because you're young. If you grew up when Chris and I and Mac even did this is a classic.

SPEAKER_06 1:05:51

Yeah, I'm totally on board. I just want these classics to continue their hold. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:56

I'm sorry. Am I an old oak tree?

SPEAKER_06 1:05:58

Right. And my Second two are gonna be, of course, his house. Y'all know how hard I go for that movie. And then lastly, hush.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:07

I am going through my database of hacks and slashes, and I will rifle off a few of these slashes that I think are underrated. Sleepaway Camp 2, Unhappy Campers. Final Destination 2. Ooh, the sequels really are slept on. The House of the Devil, remember that one?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:24

Yes. How could I forget that?

SPEAKER_05 1:06:26

Where that girl's like babysitting and she has like a 15-minute walkman montage. Silence of the Lambs is definitely not underrated. Ooh, Black Christmas 2006.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:34

Get out of here.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:35

Not well regarded, but I think fun. Oculus for sure. People still haven't seen that movie and they are missing out. True. Just to name a few.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:43

Did you make this list? These are things that we've covered and he slashed. Oh, okay. I was confused for a second. Okay. I was like, Silence of the Lambs.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:52

I'm going through the archives.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:54

Yeah. Silence of the Lambs. Yeah. Definitely not overrated.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:58

Definitely is not overrated nor underrated. It is acknowledged appropriately for how good it is.

SPEAKER_06 1:07:04

I think Parrish just literally went through the list of his own slashes and is like, these are underrated.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:10

Just the underrated ones.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:12

Basically. So I have a few here. And breaking this down into a movie that is underrated, for sure, I think people still aren't ready to talk about this movie in the way that it that it deserves, and that's the 2019 Black Christmas. I will die on this hill very happily. We're gonna get there uh a little bit later on this year. But in terms of movies that I think a lot of people don't necessarily know and should know, uh a couple 80 slashers. One of them is He Knows You're Alone. Has anyone here seen this before?

SPEAKER_05 1:07:41

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:41

I have not.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:42

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:43

Okay, well, it's one of Tom Hanks' first movies.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:46

Is he a killer?

SPEAKER_02 1:07:47

He's not. He plays a nice little side character, um, but it's a solid slasher that follows like a man hunting down brides to be. Love this movie. Lots of great nostalgia there. A female Ludcast pair, so you might appreciate that. Although you tend to dislike actually, no, there are a couple characters in there I think you would think are a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:06

Did you hate those characters?

SPEAKER_02 1:08:07

No, actually, I didn't hate any of the characters in there except for except for the boyfriend Marvin.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:11

I mean, any Marvin is easy to hate.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:13

And then the last one is actually a 1984 slasher called The Initiation, starring Daphne Zaniga. It is one of those movies that follows all the slasher tropes and then gets you with an ending that it depends on who you are. I recommended this to a few people who have gotten got by the twist, but yeah, everybody in my family going into expected the twist, so I think in your mileage may vary, but it's a really great example of a lesser-known slasher that takes place in a really interesting setting with an interesting dynamic behind it that is a lot more than just a man in a mask hunting down people.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:53

I like the year and I like the title, so I I'm down.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:56

I feel like we have a good collection of movies here that eventually need to make it onto the podcast. Actually, I think a lot of these have been on the podcast. Only like half of us.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:05

I mean the tactic here, I think uh Harris did some that uh that we did, Alexis did a couple that we did, you did a couple that we did, I did one that we did, two that we did. And Mac, I think, was the only one contributing something that we haven't done yet. We haven't done the initiation yet, at least. It is available for free online. Or the Tom Hanks one. We did in the past. It would be a rewind episode. Oh, sure, sure.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:29

Okay, just to come up with some that we haven't done yet. Mother, that one is we can say controversial.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:38

Trash, but okay. Is it underrated then? It's not underrated, it's overrated.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:43

By the people that think it's bad, I think it's underrated. It's not even horror.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:47

It's overrated.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:48

Um, it's very much horror, Mac. Is it horror? Because it's just a statement. It's giving like home invasion and also like there's elements of horror. Well, I don't want to spoil anything. It's a psychological movie.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:59

It's mostly horror in the sense of how people leave your home when they visit.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:04

That's true, though.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:05

It's horror if you have an issue with people breaking things.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:09

If horror as a genre was a representation of the disrespect in this household, it'd be mother. That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:15

Actually, the horror of mother was how they marketed it. Because they marketed it in such a way that you're like, oh my gosh, this is like a classical horror movie, like through and through. I I kind of know what to expect. And then you watch it and you're like, why do humans exist? I don't understand what the earth is anymore, and like what is existence?

SPEAKER_06 1:10:31

That's true. They really screwed us over with that one. Paris, don't do it.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:37

I actually love the name Marnie, and I don't know where it's from. Oh, never mind. It's from Girls.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:42

Stardew Valley.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:44

Stardew Valley. Are you a Stardew Valley girl, Ryan? Oh my god. I had no I mean, I guess it's Animal Crossing adjacent.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:50

It's better.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:54

Now just auto-tune me and Alexis together.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:57

Y'all stay giving me shit to cut out.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:01

In my experience, everybody that's seen it kind of feels like us, where it feels like it's like right on the tip of your tongue all the time.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:07

Which is so funny because the first time this movie got reviewed, two out of the three of us felt like it was so boring and so brutal to get through. Enough for me to cancel the show for three months after it.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:18

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:21

Ryan's column on movies that could be solved with an Apple Watch.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:24

Get an Apple Watch, especially if you're a woman, especially if you're a woman that lives in the woods by yourself. Get the cellular service.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:30

You got 911 on your wrist all the time. Whatever you do, don't get a outdated Mac like our character Maddie has, or like myself. To be fair, that was just the Wi-Fi's fault. Her computer was chilling.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:40

Yeah. Her computer was very of the time.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:43

Yes, not like mine is currently.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:45

No, your computer is still that same computer, but it's 2021 and that's what the problem is, Alexis. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:54

One time I stole Saffron from a grocery store because it was like $25 for some little leaves.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:59

It is the most expensive item you can purchase in a grocery store, like for weight. Never pay for saffron. No, don't say that.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:06

We here at Hackerslash do not condone theft.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:11

What a redemption arc I'm on coming from 13 ghosts to this. Honestly, this is like a victory tour for you. It's great. I'm really enjoying it.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:20

I wasn't on that episode, but it 13 Ghosts is also a slash for me, so.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:24

Oh, I don't know when was the last time you watched it, because it's really not.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:27

I also feel like it's shocking that Ryan and I managed to slash this without commenting on how this is the perfect example of a tight 120.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:34

It's a tight 120.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:35

And also to clarify, whenever we say tight 120, we are referring to one hour and 20 minutes. Not 120 minutes. That is not tight.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:43

I always thought you were talking about 120 minutes, and I just it never made sense to me.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:46

No, it's definitely an hour and 20 minutes. Yeah, this all started with Alexis complaining about anything over an hour and a half minutes. Exactly. But also, does he use a compound bow or a crossbow?

SPEAKER_05 1:12:59

Okay, clearly I need to be. I wish we had Alexis's face recorded. She went.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:03

Oh, hold on, hold on. This is Brunette Ryan showing. Not true.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:09

Clearly, I need to be asking the bow arrow over here to my left.

SPEAKER_06 1:13:14

It is it a does he hold it sideways, like a gun, like the one in this movie, or vertical, like a cool kid. Oh, uh vertical for sure.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:22

Compound bow.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:23

Katniss Everton.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:26

And lastly, hush. Interesting. Okay. Interesting, seeing as we're gonna talk about it later. Or have already talked about it, possibly in the way that this is gonna be edited. Yep.