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As Zakes Abbott and his girlfriend Beth make their way down the M1 motorway on a
wet, windy, dank English night, Zakes sees something he shouldn’t have. A white
truck reveals just briefly a girl caged and bloody in the back of the truck. After
reporting the sighting to the police and thinking that’s all there is to it, the couple
stop at a roadside café/service station where after an argument, Beth disappears.
From there we are drawn into a deadly cat and mouse chase as Zakes realises that Beth
has been abducted and is in the truck.
Filmed beautifully with a wet, dark, claustrophobic feel throughout, the yellow
highway lights are washed out and haunting, the service stations overly bright and
harsh, everything is sodden, wet, gloomy – you wouldn’t know this was director (and
writer) Mark Tonderai’s first movie. Except for the plot holes and stupid subplots but
otherwise you wouldn’t know. Okay, yes that was a backhanded compliment. There
is a great idea here, hell so good its been done a few times before – think Duel,
Breakdown, The Vanishing… etc etc… but Tonderai seemed to have trouble filling out a
feature film with the idea so a couple of nonsensical characters and co-incidences are
thrown in to fill the gaps. I mean, really the security guard at the service station –
what a co-incidence!! And the girl who nails Zakes hands to the floor? What the hell
was that all about? And the bad guy driving the white truck always wears a hoody, in
fact even after he gets out the shower, he puts on his hooded top so you never see his
face. That would be okay if there was a shock horror “You?!” type moment at the end
when his face was revealed but it wasn’t and there wasn’t so I’m not sure what the
point was. Maybe it was a statement about the faceless evils that the world has
created, maybe it was just ‘art’ but it was definitely silly by the end. Quibbles aside
though, this does build the tension, Tonderai has done a good job with what he has on
hand and there is a sweet sense of justice at the end. But ignore the post credit shock
ending which again, just seems pointless.
Will Ash as Zakes Abbott carries this film with a great performance as a man who is
forced to take things into his own hands, making things up as he goes along, looking
every bit the ‘everyman’ forced into a situation that constantly throws new obstacles
in the way. Everyone else is just a bit actor, including Christine Bottomley as Beth,
the girlfriend who is actually having a bit on the side and was ready to leave Zakes
before she was grabbed by our faceless bad man.
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Madman's Hush is presented in a 2.35:1 Widescreen. Washed out, dark, gloomy but it is
supposed to be that way!
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Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround - I had trouble with the sound on this, had to keep turning
it up and a lot of the time you couldn’t hear the actors properly, particularly early.
Luckily the second half is mainly grunts, groans and not a lot of talking.
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Nothing much going for extras just a stills gallery and a trailer.
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Okay so this isn’t the greatest thriller out there and yes the plot is all too familiar but
Will Ash is great, the tension builds and builds and visually it’s a stunner so hell I say
bring it on. Bottle of Port, cold winter’s night, girl by yr side, this will get her in your
arms. Can’t ask for much more can you?
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