Hush - Christine Bottomley

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka 'Hush')

Directed by Mark Tonderai
UK 2009

Young couple Zakes and Beth (rising UK talent William Ash of Doctor Who and Christine Bottomley of Torchwood and Hope Springs) are fighting constantly while they travel down the desolate M1 highway. After they spot or think they spot an hysterical woman chained in the back of a truck that almost runs them over, Zakes calls the cops and considers his work done. Beth wants to track the truck down and is so angry when Zakes refuses that she storms off at the next pit stop. When Beth doesn t return, Zakes realizes she too has been captured and plunges into a terrifying high-speed cat and mouse game on the highway. Can Zakes cut off the ruthless trucker or will the mysterious maniac manage to deliver his human cargo to its final, terrifying destination? Take one part Steven Spielberg's classic road rage movie Duel, one part of 80s cult favorite The Hitcher, throw in a sparring couple and you ve got the wildly clever Hush, a British thriller that marks the ascendance of writer-director Mark Tonderai.

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Theatrical Release: February 1st, 2009 - Gérardmer Film Festival

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DVD Review: MPI - Region 1,8 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	MPI Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:31:24
Video	2.35:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.18 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles	English (SDH), Spanish, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: MPI Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Edition Details: • 22 mini-Making of Featurettes • Trailer DVD Release Date: October 26th, 2010 Transparent Keep Case Chapters: 16

Comments:

There is a UK, puny (14 Gig), region 'B' Blu-ray of Hush available HERE from Optimum but, despite kind of enjoying it, I don't think we will compare it as the film techniques utilized don't seem to gravitate towards benefitting extensively from a higher resolution. The camera is very kinetic and gives the impression of often being hand-held exporting a jittery image. Much of the car and road scenes are bathed in a golden-yellow hue.

The MPI DVD transfer is anamorphic, dual-layered and progressive. It looks to be a faithful replication of the original film without digital manipulations. Grain is visible - and noise - compression for the format seems acceptable. The appearance suits the film and it is consistent. I had no complaints or disruptive issues with my presentation.

Audio is decent, if fairly unremarkable in a less noticeable 5.1 track. There is plenty of rain and extraneous sounds that play into the storyline. There are optional English - SDH and Spanish subtitles in the region 1, NTSC standard disc.

There is a trailer and 22 short (1-2 minute long) 'featurettes' as a kind of Making of with a variety of topics. Why divided like that? I suspect it was a contractual thing and they might have to pay some of the participants if it was a longer length. Anyway - it's not bad at all with the director and others giving input. If you have some curiosities about the film production these little snippets may answer them.

Yes, Hush had some definite Duel in it and I kept thinking of Eden Lake - perhaps because of the British couple protagonists 'on the run' but also because of the contrived circumstances moving from absurd plot point to absurd plot point. It's not anywhere near as disgusting as I found James Watkins film. There is a lot I liked about Hush - enough to recommend it - but only if you are willing to buy into it to some degree.

Gary W. Tooze

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