Hold Your Breath

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.

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.

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]

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.

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.