User reviews

I have just finished watching this movie on Disney+ and came away with a few points of view in this movie.

1) if your looking for a fast paced horror film then your watching the ring movie, this was more like a psychological thriller.

2) the acting from all involved was top notch but Sarah Paulson stole the show, I have yet to see a horrible performance from her.

3) it had a nice small twist near the end, now it wasn't one of these wow I didn't see it coming jump out your seat shock but it made the movie a lot better.

Now this movie will not be everyone's cup of tea but do your in the mood for a slow moving movie with a slight twist towards the end, this film is for you but if your looking a fast paced. Bloody movie then this one is not for you.

I thought it was well worth a watch and did enjoy it.

It's 1933 Oklahoma. Margaret Bellum (Sarah Paulson) is struggling to survive the dust bowl with her two daughters after her husband left to find work. Her youngest is deaf and fears a demonic dust man. Instead, preacher Wallace Grady (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) shows up promising miracles.

I know that this wants to be a poetic horror fantasy family drama thriller. It doesn't actually deliver on any one of those things although it delivers something from each one of them. I want this to go harder on the horror or thrills or the family drama. Pick one. This could be a cool horror. I can see the dust storm as something unique. Wallace could be a scarier presence or maybe someone less obvious. No matter what, I would like this to pick one lane and go harder in that lane.

I just finished watching Hold Your Breath (2024) and man this movie was a very dull and boring experience.

Positives for Hold Your Breath (2024): Sarah Paulson gives a great performance as the main protagonist in this movie and she is the reason why I watched this movie in the first place. There was some intrigue to be had with this gothic old folk horror movie set in the country side during the 1930s. And finally, there is some great camerawork and sound design throughout the runtime.

Negative for Hold Your Breath (2024): Aside from Sarah Paulson, none of the characters are interesting and they are very bland. The movie also doesn't do anything with its premise or the main villain. And finally, the movie is very predictable by the time you reach the climax.

Overall, Hold Your Breath (2024) is a interesting horror movie with its premise, but it ends up being very generic with its execution.

Plot

In 1930s Oklahoma amid the region's horrific dust storms, a woman is convinced that a sinister presence is threatening her family.

Cast

Outside of Paulson I wasn't really all that familiar with anybody involved. Paulson did a great job here, but essentially the same role as she played in Run (2020), thought that's not entirely a bad thing.

Verdict

Hold Your Breath was the missus's pick for movie night, based on the cover art and the fact it's advertised as such I think she believed this was to be a supernatural horror but let me assure you that's not at all what this is.

With an interesting setting it got my attention early, it's bleak, it's dark, it's fascinating and Paulson is a great actress and I've been a fan of hers ever since she played Merlyn Temple in American Gothic (1995-1998). The trouble is it lost my interest at a remarkable rate, why? It's so incredibly dull. Dust is a focal point, yes dust. Then we have the supposed supernatural element which is kept amiguous, then you have very confusing plot devices and it all slowburns to a predictable cliched finale that left me entirely unsatisfied.

The setting is great, Paulson is great, everything else is a bona fide insomnia cure and as engaging as the dust particles it insists on showing us.

Rants

I'm starting to think about 50% of Hollywood horrors are just part of the mental health sub-genre which quite frankly I despise. I get it, more than you realize but I just don't think it makes for very entertaining viewing not to mention that it usually invalidates the whole film by hitting you with "It was all in their head" tropes which I find rather insulting to the viewer. Each to his/her own but for me this is the weakest horror sub-genre and needs shelving for a while for its own good.

The Good

Sarah Paulson Great setting Intriguing opening

The Bad

Gets dull real fast Very weird writing Slow burns to nothing.

I don't get the low ratings & bad reviews of this at all. I was engaged and on the edge of my seat the entire time. Sarah Paulson is a great actress, she really shines in the horror genre, and this is no exception. It wasn't revolutionary in any way, but I thought it was solid. The visuals & cinematography are really effective, they really evoke the terror and tension of the moment. I also appreciated the run time, and the story was nicely paced. I also haven't seen a horror movie in this setting before, (depression era dust bowl) and the poverty and trauma of living in those conditions wove into the story and horror effectively. I really felt the panic. Great casting too! Worth your time!

Despite a really interesting concept and some really good camerawork, Hold Your Breath is once again an horror movie that doesn't really do a good job on being creative with it's interesting concept and ends up feeling basic, dull, and predictable in it's way.

Gothic and old folk country side horror is interesting and there are some good camerawork and sound designs throughout. Unfortunately, it's awful color presentation, bland writing and uninteresting characters doesn't really do a service to it's creative setting. The performances are solid and Sarah Paulson continues to be great with her personality and emotional depth acting.

For a first time directing, I can see the filmmaker having some talents and passion within this movie. But there is a lot of work to be done.

Loved the setting. Dust bowl era seems a great choice for a folk-horror film, and I hope we see more. The desolation and isolation are a perfect setting for stories of paranoia. Paulson - as always - is fantastic. The supporting cast was quite good, but I wish Ebon Moss-Bacharach had a bigger role. It's a slow burn, more creepy than scary, which will certainly put many horror fans off. The story takes its time and I thought delivered on its premise. Not sure what others reviewers didn't understand about "what was really going on". The backstory and resolution are pretty clear if you pay even the slightest attention. It won't blow you away, but if you like a moody, creep alow-burn story very well told, this one is worth your time.

The premise for "Hold Your Breath" seemed promising and the fact that the movie has an R rating and Sarah Paulson as the lead character made me curious. Sadly there is not too much going on in this Psychological Thriller. Apart from the setting and the performance of Paulsen, there's not much to be seen here. You are introduced to the same tropes that we see over and over again in this genre. The characters aren't interesting enough to make me really care about what happens which is not the fault of the actors by the way because the overall acting was pretty solid. However the movie definitely has a pacing problem and even the end was not able to redeem the viewer. The movie isn't terrible but I was really hoping for more and not this clichee-filled and rather forgettable movie. [4,9/10]

Sadly I wasn't able to make it past the 40 minute mark before I realized there wasn't going to be any horror in this movie and the whole premise for watching this movie was destroyed the moment any chance of the supernatural coming into play evaporated much like any depth to the story.

Sarah is a great actress, I've seen plenty of her in AHS and I really hoped that if there was just a modicum, one iota of something interesting in this movie it would be worth the time (a few stars maybe) however by the 40 minute mark all hope had been lost. I skipped ahead numerous times only to be presented with the same scene I was just looking at. And again, and again. The whole reason I am rating this movie at all is so I never watch it again. It is the definitive complete-waste-of-your-time movie.

This is an excellent movie. Some may be looking for special effects with a ghoul floating around, but is a psychological horror. Its right on par with most other great psychological horrors and thrillers. I cannot believe the low scores... people..open your minds, horror and drama and thriller are not just about you jumping off your couch at every moment.

Sarah Paulson is as always excellent, not just for her acting but also for her input in producing this movie. Its fresh, albeit a bit slow, but thats where you as a viewer need to understand and feel the story and experience the movements of a movie. For the nay sayers, who give this a low score because they didnt see a ghoul floating outside in the sand, I say get your popcorn and watch the big bad wolf...the cartoon version.

This is a beautifully shot film with solid performances from Sarah Paulson and the supporting cast. The main issue is that the arc of the story is not smoothly formed, so what starts off as an intriguing slow burn takes some quick turns that seem to come out of nowhere and the entire movie falls apart. The suspense and thrills are minimum here, so it is more of a drama than anything that could approach the horror or thriller genre. I suspect Paulson took this role because it seemed like a good opportunity to exercise her acting chops, but without a well crafted character arc, her performance ends up feeling real in each scene but unsatisfying as a whole.

Feel free to ignore this poor rating on imdb, the movie only has it because most people won't watch anything horror-labeled that isn't greenscreen slop and/or cheap jump-scare galore.

In other words, this film has such a low rating because it is advertised as horror, and it is not, or at least not in the classic sense, but rather a depressing-disturbing psycho-thriller/drama, with hints of horror.

Apart from that misleading classification, I have nothing to complain about, it's beautifully filmed and fantastically acted - Sarah Paulson knocked it out of the park, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (the goofy brother from The Bear) is not far behind. The direction and the script are generally good, there are some small kinks here and there, but really nothing terrible.

The setting - a dust storm in the backwoods of 1920s Oklahoma - is really something I haven't seen very often (outside of Courage the Cowardly Dog), and it gives the film a special atmosphere of hopelessness.

The movie is not light popcorn fun, in fact, it's really messed up and depressing, but it's also great, something I'd recommend to serious movie buffs as well.

Oh my where do I start with this boring horror of the third kind?

If you found sand storms boring to watch then this movie is not for you!

I am not going to give any spoliers away as there isn't much to the story in general to spoil.

Sarah Paulson I haven't seen much of her work as I don't watch American horror so I can only comment that she did perform well as an actress in this movie.

The story is like the Richard Carpenters the Fog where the storm comes in bringing evil to the town. Dont get too excited because the Fog is a classic this movie is not.

I was bored all the way through and couldn't careless about the characters at the end of the movie if they lived or died.

One of the worst boring horror movies I have seen this year in 2024.

Not to demean opinions of lower rated reviews, it just occurs to me in reading them that life experiences really do contribute to relating to how good a movie can be. If you know you know. If you don't - then perhaps its just a movie.

For me, the acting/chemistry spot on. If anything left me wanting more, maybe that is part of the appeal. A few holes in the story but then I'm thinking it's over my head. Symbolism all over the place that I'd have to sit and think on.

I wouldn't own this in my library - is that even a thing anymore? I would definitely recommend it though, perfect for a day of binge movie watching.

I probably liked this taught movie more than most because it brought back memories of my mother & grandmother describing the plight of dust bowl wives trying to survive while their husbands tried to find work & send money home. The constant fight to keep a home clean, trying to feed children & keep them healthy was a daily battle. And many did sink into a world of madness. Sara Paulson's performance as Margaret was sublime & eerie. This is a prairie gothic tale with excellent performances by all. The cinematography shows the swirling darkness of the wind & dust. Yes, it's slow paced but the tense or unexpected moments drive the story forward at a quick pace. Life during the dust bowl years was tedious, straining the senses, rattling nerves, with the thought of death always sitting on the shoulder. One either left, lost their mind, died, or demonstrated the utmost in survival skills & lived. This movie portrayed all of those possibilities.

I just got done watching this movie and honestly I was on the edge of my seat and scared almost the entire time! What kills it though is feeling like it doesn't know what story it's trying to tell really. You don't get a definitive answer of what's going on here but that's fine if executed well but not here unfortunately. The idea was there the atmosphere and scares were there but not necessarily a story to follow I was hoping maybe towards the end stuff would maybe start clicking but it doesn't. Overall I'd still recommend it if you have free time and Hulu access good scares and great performances all around really. If you'd like to see a story similar to this but better I recommend Storm of the Century!

I was always a fan of her work. Her and Rebecca Hall have this elegant actress horror substance to them that I absolutely fall in love with every time I watch them. I cling on to their every words almost moving my lips and mimicking their facial expressions as I watch them act. That's how deeply involved I can get to the horror and drama they bring to the table of the genre but.... With that being said what in the actual F are they attempting to do here. I was pretty cringed out and even second hand embarrassed to watch her take this role. I know you can't win them all but have enough respect for this woman to not subject her to playing a weird mom. She's got so much more potential than this. So they need to put some respect on her name and do better...