Aguanta la respiración

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]

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.

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.

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.

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.