Hush (1998)

13% of critics liked it
(39 reviews)
42% of users liked it
(7,774 ratings)

Jonathan Darby made his directorial debut with this thriller, set in Kentucky (but filmed in Orange County, VA). Jackson Baring (Johnathon Schaech) wants his girlfriend, Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow), to meet his mother, Martha (Jessica Lange), so he brings her home for Christmas to Kilronan, their… More Jonathan Darby made his directorial debut with this thriller, set in Kentucky (but filmed in Orange County, VA). Jackson Baring (Johnathon Schaech) wants his girlfriend, Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow), to meet his mother, Martha (Jessica Lange), so he brings her home for Christmas to Kilronan, their sumptuous Kentucky estate and horse farm. Later, after Helen gets pregnant, they marry and return to Kilronan to have the baby, but Martha aggressively intrudes and manipulates, telling obstetrician Dr. Hill (Hal Holbrook) how to deal with the birth and forbidding Helen from seeing Jackson's invalid granny, Alice (Nina Foch). After learning some of Martha's past history from Alice, Helen soon decides she must make an escape from her demented mother-in-law. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: Jonathan Darby
Written By: Jonathan Darby, Jane Rusconi
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Mar 6, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Aug 7, 2001
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Todd McCarthy, Variety
Hush is gussied up by its classy distaff cast members, but remains trashy all the same.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Jessica Lange establishes a spark of interest in this psychological thriller with her giggly demonic performance. But the film never adds up to anything more than an elaborate tease.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
Hush has three very simple problems: it's incredibly dumb, it's incredibly boring, and it's incredibly predictable (at least up to the stupefying ending).
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle
Lange seems at a loss to know how to convey Martha's malevolence -- and writer-director Jonathan Darby offers almost no guidance.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Hush is the kind of movie where you walk in, watch the first 10 minutes, know exactly where it's going, and hope devoutly that you're wrong.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
The film is so awful it doesn't even qualify as a B-movie.
, Film4
The screenplay, by director Jonathan Darby and Jane Rusconi, might have prompted Lange to fly way over the top. Thankfully, she reins in her performance sufficiently to save the melodrama from becoming just another Whatever Happended To Baby Jane? lampoon.
Jon Popick, rec.arts.movies.reviews
The only way that a story this insipid could be any good would be if it was a very campy black comedy.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
[A] trashy, overwrought thriller.
Robin Clifford, Reeling Reviews
The screenplay borders on the hilarious, at times, with a couple eliciting guffaws.
Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Absolutely awful.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
If only TriStar had hushed writer-director Jonathan Darby when he made the pitch for this insulting thriller.
Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World
A lot of talent wasted in a forgettable potboiler
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)
Hush will always find a place at sadists' film festivals.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
Popcorn pleasing fan...Lange is a scream
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
Cast opposite Oscar-winner Jessica Lange, Paltrow makes abundantly clear her ability to compete with one of the best actresses in the business.
Gerry Shamray, Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
Disappointing thriller.
Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks
Given how terrible Hush is, it should be more fun to watch.
Margaret A. McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer
A mystery without surprises, a thriller without thrills. It's too bad, really, because the movie has a few strong points.
Luisa F. Ribeiro, Boxoffice Magazine
Only Nina Foch, as the wheelchair bound granny hidden away among nuns, shows any flair for taking this into the campy domain in which it might have flourished.

Read all 20 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

silly mess of a movie
Michael G

(wretching... continued wretching...)
Ilyaas H

Engaging in the most minimal way and ending on the most ludicrous note, Hush is one film that both the actors and the audiences are more than willing to forget.
Naughtia N

I thought this movie was great. Helen goes with her husband to visit her mother in law who she hasn't met before. When they reveal to the mother-in-law that they're pregnant she shows a very unfriendly side only to Helen. Jessica Lange does an awesome job playing the… More
I thought this movie was great. Helen goes with her husband to visit her mother in law who she hasn't met before. When they reveal to the mother-in-law that they're pregnant she shows a very unfriendly side only to Helen. Jessica Lange does an awesome job playing the psychotic mother-in-law.
Dimitris S

A brainless film to say the least.Lange cannot save this superficial "family drama" and as the events proceed on a thriller jurisdiction,the prosecutor of the critics cries out loud "Enough of your liturgies and vengeful plots!Please,stop recycling movies!".
Audrey L

Jessica Lange-need I say more? Gweneth Paltrow is amazing.
Leo L

A great film!