Hush (1998)

Hush is a 1998 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow as a young newlywed woman named Helen who is happily married to a good looking guy called Jackson.But when she and Jackson move from their apartment in New York to stay with Jackson's mother Martha(Jessica Lange from The Vow)as Helen is expecting her and Jackson's first child together,things take a sour turn as Jackson's mother is a very crazy woman who killed her husband and lost her unborn child many years ago and blames her son (brainwashing him saying that he pushed him down the stairs as she heard that he was having an affair with another woman or was he?) and she would do all in her power to prevent her son from leaving her again and would even go to great lengths to take Helen's baby even if she has to try and deliver it earlier than planned. So will Helen escape Jackson's crazy mother once and for all and learn more secrets about Martha's past, and convince Jackson that his mother is crazy and delusional?Bottom line this happened to be on cable a few days ago and I have seen it before. To be honest I thought it was a pretty solid flick. It had me on the edge of my seat and I though Paltrow was very good in this movie. But the real star is Jessica Lange who plays the crazy delusional mother to Jackson as she does crazy things like using a thing for horses so that Helen could have her child early and deliver it at home herself(Martha)and later at the very end of the movie she even tries to kill Helen by giving her morphine.Like I said give this movie a chance and ignore the critics. This is the kind of film you would have in your films I like that no one else like's list.C+ 6/10

I agree with several other reviewers that this movie is underrated here.It keeps your interest, especially if you like horses, and the contrast between hectic, noisy, frustrating, randomly violent, dirty, inhumane city life and the clean air and soothing charms of the "simple life" in the country (which now costs much more than most of us can afford).I think both Jessica Lange and Gweneth Paltrow handled their roles with aplomb. Anyone who's seen Lange in "Blue Sky" with Tommy Lee Jones will not be a bit surprised at her ability to successfully carry off a full-on lunatic.I think people may be a little put off by the happy ending from a lower budget, non-mainstream film, but what do I know?Well, I know I liked it more than it's rated on here, and I'd recommend it to friends. A masterpiece, it isn't, but I'd consider it entertaining and worthy of your time if you like mystery/thrillers set mostly in beautiful country surroundings with good acting.

...call a movie gross, but I feel that I have to call "Hush" just that. I couldn't see that the movie had any purpose except to show the nastiest things possible. Jessica Lange and Gwyneth Paltrow must have been in dire financial straits if they chose to star in this.Now, I should say that I don't consider this a bad movie. Truth be told, Jessica Lange made a really creepy character. But seriously folks, if you've seen any other movies starring either woman, then it should be more than obvious that they've both starred in far superior movies. Could the people behind this movie have done anything to improve it? I don't know. I personally wish that they would stop making these sorts of movies.Look, just avoid this one. There's no reason to watch it.

Gwyneth Paltrow's character gets pregnant and marries into a messed-up family. When the weirdness starts to look dangerous, the audience has lots of suspects. Mom might be neurotic and even a little bit deranged, but it's not clear she's psychotic enough to be responsible; the truly nasty stuff is always done off screen. Her son behaves oddly at times, and there's so much talk about horse breeding that one can imagine a plausible conspiracy involving any combination of the peripheral characters as well. The only thing certain is that Paltrow and her baby had better watch out.It's not a bad thriller, contrary to many of the reviews I've read. Jessica Lange nicely takes us through Mom's rapid mood swings, keeping the audience uncomfortable and unsettled. The other significant characters are ambiguous enough that, while putting forward pleasant faces, they all seem to be hiding a dark side. And the visual images are superb; definitely NOT B-movie quality stuff.The main problem is the fragmented nature of the plot. Some points are developed at length, but other developments needing explanation fly by -- and if you watch the trailer, which contained lots of scenes that never appeared in the movie, the reason for the haste must be that tons of material landed on the cutting-room floor. Seems as though the director let this horse get away from him. But if you can focus on the uncertainty surrounding who is really manipulating Paltrow and why they are doing it, you can enjoy this one.