30 Home Invasion And Psychological Hostage Movies Like ‘Hush’

The premise of Hush is simple: Maddie, a writer who lost her hearing at the age of 13, is being stalked inside her own home. As she spends the evening just trying to survive, you’re left reeling as each turn of events gives Maddie another chance to show her deafness isn’t a weakness at all — and the fact that much of the movie plays out in silence only adds to the nerve-racking tension. By the time the final credits roll, your knuckles will be white from clenching the couch cushions. Yet, once your heart rate returns to near-normal, you’ll already be making a list of movies like Hush to watch next. Humans are weird, huh?

So, what is it that makes Hush such an appealing scare? Well, behind every solid scary film is a genuinely terrifying villain, and you definitely get that in Maddie’s intruder. Much like Halloween‘s Michael Myers, the mask used in Hush is stark white and almost emotionless (save for a slightly upturned, menacing mouth). Masks tend to make anything more terrifying as it adds an unsettling level of anonymity. It’s impossible to know who’s after our hero! Of course, Maddie does eventually unmask her tormentor at the most perfect moment — and still, it’s pretty fucking scary.

It’s the kind of film you didn’t expect would be as good as it is or for it to stay with you the way it does. Since that’s the best kind of horror movie, we hand-picked these movies that remind us of Hush for your viewing pleasure.

Movies Like Hush Fraught With Tension

1. Wait Until Dark (1967)

There is so much to love about this thrilling classic. We’ll start with the most surprising, though: It stars Audrey Hepburn, whom we’d never seen in a horror film before, playing a blind leading character. Her character is, at first, hoodwinked by criminals looking for something she doesn’t have but that they believe to be in her possession. Later, upon discovering who they really are, she uses her blindness to her own advantage and spends an evening outrunning one criminal in the dark.

2. A Quiet Place (2018)

This film took the world by storm, and it’s easy to see why since it’s so different from most other horror films. While you’re often used to climatic scenes beginning or ending in a scream, those trite screams just can’t happen in the world of A Quiet Place, as the unseen evil uses sound to find their prey.

3. Don’t Breathe (2016)

Don’t Breathe follows a trio of friends who break into a blind man’s house to rob him. He’s blind, so he should be an easy target, right? Nooooope! While the friends might start as the villains in this film (they are, after all, breaking into someone’s home), we soon discover that our homeowner is more messed up than them. It’s night, the house is dark, and they’re on unfamiliar ground. He has all the advantages and soon turns things on their heads.

4. The Invisible Man (2020)

Don’t let the title fool you: This is not a modern retelling of any previous version of The Invisible Man. Instead, it’s a story of a domestic abuse survivor who is being expertly stalked and tortured by her ex. At first, there’s no evidence or any other physical sign of him, so it’s easy to think she’s just losing her mind — but the truth is much more terrifying. If you’re looking for a good vindication story, this is it. As always, Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale, The West Wing, Mad Men) is strong, fierce, and a total badass.

5. Bird Box (2018)

The idea behind Bird Box is quite honestly both genius and disturbing. It’s post-apocalyptic Earth, and a strange unseen entity roams around, afflicting people with intensely tormenting feelings — to the point that laying eyes upon the villain causes a person to take their own life. Specifically, Bird Box follows one mother (played by Sandra Bullock) as she navigates this old but newly creepy world with her two children in tow, desperate to find safety and doing it all in a blindfold.

6. Gerald’s Game (2017)

There’s no way to describe Gerald’s Game that can make it sound less absurd. A married couple escapes to the woods for a romantic getaway, and sex games ensue. During one of those games, and with the wife bound to the bed, her husband dies. Yes, dies. *During sex.* Now she’s strapped to a bed with no means of escape or of alerting authorities… and Gerald’s dead body slowly rotting beside her. Are the creepy, terrifying things happening around her real, though? Or just visions exacerbated by the fact that she’s slowly starving to death? We promise it’s better than it sounds.

More Super-Suspenseful Movies Like Hush to Watch

1. Silent House (2011)
2. You’re Next (2011)
3. The Strangers (2018)
4. Panic Room (2002)
5. When A Stranger Calls (1979)
6. Vacancy (2007)
7. He’s Out There (2018)
8. Eden Lake (2008)
9. The Collection (2012)
10. Green Room (2015)
11. House of Wax (2005)
12. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)
13. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)
14. Wolves at the Door (2016)
15. Them (2006)
16. Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
17. Trespass (2011)
18. Breaking In (2018)
19. Intruders (2015)
20. Funny Games (2017)
21. Haunt (2019)