''Hush'' is a 2016 horror

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

written and directed by Michael Lewis Foster. The film stars Rachel Barker, Luke Bedsole, Eric Casalini and

Ghadir Mounib ''The Playground'' is a 2017 thriller film directed by Edreace Purmul. The film was written by Purmul, Ramona Frye and Dean Mounir. It stars Myles Cranford, Merrick McCartha, Shane P. Allen, Christopher Salazar and Ghadir Mounib. The film won Be ...

. It screened at

San Diego International Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...

and

Catalina Film Festival The Catalina Film Festival is an annual event that takes place at the end of September on Catalina Island, situated in Los Angeles County within the city of Avalon, California. Founded by Festival Director on Truppa Catalina is known as "Hollywo ...

and won awards at

Oceanside International Film Festival The Oceanside International Film Festival (OIFF) is an annual film festival based in Oceanside, a town in North County of San Diego. It was founded in 2009 by the Oceanside Cultural Foundation. History Executive director Lou Niles curates the ...

and

Horrible Imaginings Film Festival The Horrible Imaginings Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival originally based in San Diego until 2018, when it moved to Santa Ana. It was established in 2009 by Miguel Rodriguez. History Director Miguel Rodriguez is the curator fo ...

. The film was distributed by

Seed&Spark Seed&Spark is a film-centric crowdfunding and SVOD platform launched in 2012. Business Seed&Spark is a crowdsourced film & TV studio where creators can build audiences through crowdfunding and audiences can watch movies & shows through on-dema ...

and

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. ...

Plot

Sadie is trying her best to be Caleb’s mother, but he makes life impossible to raise a child.

Cast

* Rachel Barker as Sadie * Luke Bedsole as Caleb * Eric Casalini as J.J. McQuade *

as J. Braddock

Production

The film was made in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

and directed by Michael Foster. In an interview at ''MovieMaker Magazine'', Foster claimed to have drawn inspiration for ''Hush'' from the

2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting On July 20, 2012, a mass shooting occurred inside a Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, United States, during a midnight screening of the film ''The Dark Knight Rises''. Dressed in tactical clothing, James Holmes set off tear gas g ...

Release

''Hush'' premiered at the

. It later screened as part of the New York No Limits Film Series,

, Chicago Horror Film Festival, NewFilmmakers LA, Hollywood Just 4 Shorts and was distributed by

and

. It screened virtually at

’s Ten Year Reprise in 2021 as part of the festival’s best films of 2017.

Reception

''Hush'' was featured among a panel of filmmakers at the premiere of '' Our Barrio'', an event hosted by the ''IntelleXual Podcast'' at the Museum of Photographic Arts. Foster later represented the film at a panel for

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

. The film was recommended by KPBS’ Cinema Junkie at

Critical response

Film critic Scott Marks at ''

San Diego Reader The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a ...

'' calls the film a "dark, beautifully made, and brutally honest bouncing-baby short." Timothy Rawles at ''

San Diego Gay and Lesbian News ''San Diego Gay & Lesbian News'' (''SDGLN'') is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at bi ...

'' said the “structure of the story is put together with many uncomfortable and unexpected solutions.”

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 2016 horror films 2016 films 2016 short films American horror drama films Films set in San Diego Films shot in San Diego American horror short films 2010s horror drama films Films about parenting Films about children Insomnia in film Films about mother–son relationships Films about single parent families 2010s English-language films English-language horror films Films directed by Michael Lewis Foster