Upstanding family man Holland Price (a solid and likable performance by Brad Loree) has both his wife and daughter taken away from him by mysterious psychotic stranger Mr. Hush (deliciously played with lip-smacking evil relish by Edward X. Young). In the wake of this tragedy Holland decides to move to another town to star a new life for himself. However, Mr. Hush shows up again to further torment Holland. Writer/director David Lee Madison relates the engrossing story at a steady pace, takes time to develop the credible true-to-life characters, grounds the fantastic premise in a believable sleepy small town reality, neatly captures a fun'n'festive Halloweenish ooga-booga atmosphere, and tops everything off with a wickedly funny sense of campy pitch-black humor. Moreover, Lee Madison warrants extra praise for downplaying special effects in favor of focusing instead on the plot and characters. Stephen Geoffreys delivers a delightfully manic turn as Mr. Hush's pathetic cackling lackey Stark. In addition, there are sturdy thespic contributions from Jessica Cameron as Holland's sweet wife Julie, Connie Giordano as the perky Debbie, Alexis Lauren as spunky teenager Kat, Tim Dougherty as Holland's loyal pal Donald, and Thomas J. Churchill as the earnest Sheriff Churchill. Brian O'Halloran of "Clerks" fame has an amusing small part at the very end. Cinematographer Jack Schaefer's expert use of a hand-held camera provides an extra kinetic buzz. Marco Werba's elegant shivery score does the spine-tingling trick. A cool little fright flick.
Review of Mr. Hush
