The new indie thriller MR. HUSH assembles a number of old school horror veterans, including FRIGHT NIGHT’S Stephen Geoffreys, HALLOWEEN RESURRECTION’s Brad Loree and FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2’S Steve Dash. We already gave you the trailer (see item here), and now Fango has some exclusive pics and comments from MR. HUSH writer/director David Madison.

It’s in an idyllic town in Pennsylvania where Holland Price (Loree) loses both his wife and daughter in one night. A decade later, after Price thinks he has finally begun to regain a sense of peace and stability in his life, the man responsible for destroying his life returns: Mr. Hush (SEA OF DUST’s Edward X. Young). Driven by a lifetime of hatred toward the Price family, Mr. Hush torments Holland, who is then forced to fight for his life. An epic battle between good and evil takes place.

“I’m a die-hard horror movie fan, and I grew up deeply in love with such movies as FRIGHT NIGHT, NEAR DARK and THE EVIL DEAD,” says Madison. “These films were smart, scary and had more than a touch of dark humor. It was not just the shocks, but character development, performance and in-camera special effects [that] made these films stand out among the rest. It was my intention to give a deliberate nod to these great films with completely contemporary characters.

“I also kept the pacing similar to ’80s films,” the filmmaker continues. “I didn’t want the hyperkinetic style that is popular today. Sometimes, I feel the story is lost in pursuit of effect, and I didn’t want that to happen with MR. HUSH. In addition, lighting and practical special effects contribute to giving it that classic ’80s feel. Luckily, Italian composer Marco Werba got exactly what I was looking for with the score.”

Scriptwise, Madison took advantage of his familiar cast by highlighting each actor’s capabilities and refining each of their characters. “The script was written specifically to accommodate the strengths of my outstanding cast,” he says. “I spent a lot of time discussing character development with the actors, and it comes through in their performances. MR. HUSH is full of real people that you could/would meet in the world at any given time. When horrible things happen to real people, the shock is all the more real. Too many of today’s horror films forget this connection to real people; they fail to horrify because they are just special effects. I have nothing against special effects, but they don’t mean anything unless you have worked to create a real connection to the characters. Some movies prefer gore; I work with real people in terrifying situations.”

Nevertheless, the red stuff still flows in MR. HUSH. “Ten weeks prior to principal photography, I had my special effects team, lead by Chiara Fattorusso, Rob Brown and Edward X. Young, begin the process of creating MR. HUSH,” Madison says. “We spent a lot of time looking over classic Universal horror monsters. That is really the foundation of all horror movies today, whether they realize it or not. I think without guys like James Whale, Todd Browning and Rowland V. Lee, horror films as we know them would not really exist. I developed a basic idea of what I wanted to do at these meetings, and my team executed it to perfection. All of the effects were done practically, without the use of any CGI. Happily, all the horror in MR. HUSH looks all too real.”

More information on MR. HUSH can be found on the film’s official website. Keep checking this space for future announcements about the film’s release. 

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