The Babysitter and the 10 best horror movies to watch on Netflix on Halloween 2019

6. Hush

Released as a Netflix Original, Hush was directed by Mike Flanagan, who also brought us Oculus, Absentia, Gerald’s Game and the Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House. Flanagan’s wife Kate Siegel (who played Theo in The Haunting of Hill House) co-wrote the script, and plays the lead role of Maddie.

Maddie is a deaf and mute writer living alone in her house in the woods. That sounds like a bad idea already, doesn’t it? One night, a masked man murders Maddie’s friend right outside her door, and eventually catches on that she is deaf. Intrigued, he starts a deadly cat and mouse game. By the film’s end, Maddie is literally fighting for her life.

Hush is a suspenseful, bloody film, and I spent a good deal of time on the edge of my seat, biting my nails. Siegel makes Maddie a character you grow to love and root for, and Flanagan’s use of ambient noise to represent her hearing loss is powerful and effective.

Legendary horror writer Stephen King said that Hush was the film equal of Halloween and Wait Until Dark, and Director William Friedkin (The Exorcist) proclaimed it a “great horror film.” So, while you may have no reason to trust my judgement, surely you will take those two at their word and make it a point to watch Hush this Halloween.