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Hush (2008)

By Amanda By Night on November 3rd, 2008

Directed by: Harvey Kahn
Written by: Julie Ferber Frank, Steven Fran
Starring: Tori Spelling, Tahmoh Penikett, Victoria Pratt
Lifetime Movie Network
 
Tori Spelling is one of the reigning queens of made-for-television thrillers. She may have got some street cred on the indie circuit with House of Yes and Trick, but she definitely found a niche for herself on the small screen in such fare as Co-ed Call Girl (i.e. the best movie title ever) & Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? (i.e. the second best movie title ever)...

Thing about Tori is she's great in these films. She's got a lot of charisma and even with a dad worth millions of dollars, there's something utterly relatable about her. Maybe it's because she comes across as a bit of an outsider. Not typically good looking, she's had to endure the wrath of millions who demand physical perfection in their actresses. Tori's got flaws, but she owns those flaws (granted she bought some of them too!), which just adds to her charms. And of course, her dad was king of the small screen, even producing several exceptional thrillers in the 70s himself (Home for the Holidays, anyone?). I guess it just runs in the family.

In Hush Tori is Nina, a woman desperate to have a child with her husband, Dr. Noah Hamilton (Tahmoh Penikett). Nothing seems to work and they turn to in vitro fertilization and even that isn’t taking. Noah moves Nina back to his small childhood home town to start a practice and she meets a waitress named Calllie (Victoria Pratt in a great performance). Turns out Callie and Noah have a long history together, including playing hide the sausage in the old abandoned tower. They attempt to keep this a secret from Nina, but Callie is also harboring some really heavy feelings for the good looking doctor and her obsession becomes disturbing when she dresses up like Nina and gets herself fertilized at their clinic – with their eggs and sperm! Of course, this time it works and now Callie is carrying the Hamilton’s baby, unbeknownst to them. But Nina is no dope and she quickly realizes that Callie is one bad news bear. However, Nina’s plan of attack ain’t so hot, and Callie eventually ends up moving in with the couple, causing more damage before everything comes to a head.


Callie

Hush is good stuff. Besides the cast who are excellent (with a special nod going to Pratt who brings in just enough sympathy to counter the menace), the obsession/revenge angle really works and makes total sense. I won't give anything away, I’ll just say after all is revealed there was a part of me saying "Yeah, I'd do that too." Well, getting fertilized with someone else's egg just to prove a point might be bit much, but I do see where this chick is coming from.


Tori and her hunky husband, Tahmoh

Hush has a great location and the winter setting really sets the tone. You can feel the bitter chill in the air and it only adds to the slow burn. There's something about the tranquility of the town interspersed with Callie’s simmering fixation on vengeance that really pushes things along. Plus you get to see Tori in some awesome sweaters! So you’ve got your drama, you’ve got revenge and you’ve also got good fashion sense. Now, how can you lose?

 

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