HUSH

England. Zakes and Beth are a couple in crisis who are traveling at night on a highway because the guy is putting up advertising posters in the service areas. During the journey, a truck overtakes them and for a few moments a girl seems to appear from the back of the vehicle asking for help. Unsure of what they saw, the young people continue on their way despite the vision haunting them. But stopped in the next rest area, they notice in the parking lot the aforementioned truck driven by a man who kidnaps Beth. Zakes will do everything possible to recover his girlfriend. "Hush" is a film that, following in the footsteps of "Duel" and "The Hitcher", represents the road as a "battlefield" where a man kidnaps girls with his van for mysterious reasons. The film is the first directorial effort of screenwriter Mark Tonderai, ready to propose his second work "House at the end of the street" during 2013. The film, we say it right away, is a pleasant surprise. From the start, the tension is well crafted, the handheld camera well used (it is used throughout the film) and the story intrigues and captivates, making us immediately identify with the protagonist and his desperate search. Excellent also the photography, which is perfectly functional to the shooting method and which turns out to be very realistic. The tension scenes are another strong point of the film because the timing is always spot on and well orchestrated, leaving us breathless for entire minutes. The settings are also a positive point, quite intriguing and varied for a film of this genre. That said, "Hush" is certainly not a flawless film, quite the opposite. The most notable ones are mainly found in the screenplay which, although quite solid and intriguing, weakens and becomes banal as we progress, deflating the entire excellent initial part into a simple chase that follows the structure "good guy who must save the princess (the girlfriend in this case) vs. ruthless bad guy", with an ending that gives the impression of being truncated and leaves us with many unresolved doubts and a bit of bitterness in our mouth. Despite this, the script still manages to place a couple of great twists, although only intended to stretch the plot. The theme of the couple's crisis is also somewhat irrelevant, useful only to allow the mysterious kidnapper to surprise the girl alone. Nothing particular to say about the cast who here do their job in an exemplary manner without overdoing it but always being credible. Among them, we highlight William Ash in the role of the protagonist, seemingly indifferent and mean, but who hides a great insecurity and who will be willing to put his own life in danger for that of his beloved. "Hush" is a good film, even more so if we consider it as a direct-to-video release, and which, if it had been five minutes shorter and had a more polished screenplay, would have been even better. That said, recommended!