Hold Your Breath is an appropriate title for the new Hulu film with Emmy-winner Sarah Paulson. Not only does it apply to its period setting (Oklahoma during the 1930s Dust Bowl), but you’ll find yourself mimicking that title more and more throughout the unsettling psychological horror thriller. Directed by Karrie Crouse and William Joines, Hold Your Breath is not for the faint of heart. The downward spiral that consumes the film’s second half will undoubtedly turn off certain viewers. But the cast certainly holds their own in this small-scale production that makes thoughtful statements about climate change, disease isolation, and more.
Oklahoma Horror Story
In a world where climate change is a constant topic of discussion, especially after the flooding of North Carolina in the midst of a crucial election year, it’s interesting to approach the topic by going back in time rather than looking forward. Hold Your Breath takes us back almost 100 years, to a secluded Oklahoma society where dust storms are throwing its well-to-do inhabitants for a loop as they try to live a peaceful existence.
Eat, work, sleep, church, repeat — that’s the name of the game when they’re not throwing their doors closed against the horrific winds that whip up the dirt around them, slowly clogging their lungs. For a small film like Hold Your Breath, the immersive visuals of the storms are indeed a cinematic treat and can certainly spike your blood pressure as you follow along.
The ever-committed Paulson leads the charge of the residents as Margaret, a seemingly single mom of two — but who actually is married to a man we never see. Her hubby is away, working off-site and sending home letters stuffed with money to support his three gals to keep sane and afloat as they refuse to let the dust storms break their religiously charged spirits. Until his highly anticipated return, Margaret must keep a helicopter-mom close eye on daughter Rose (the terrific Amiah Miller) and her younger deaf sister, Ollie (Alona Jane Robbins). The family’s use of sign language cleverly plays a crucial role down the line, once trouble brews amid an increasingly hostile environment — in more ways than one.
Sarah Paulson Is Great at Losing It
If a seemingly simple premise of a Christian family combating Mother Nature in the 1930s isn’t enough for you, then rest assured that Paulson, the longtime Ratched and American Horror Story alumna, marks a return to horror with Hold Your Breath. In addition to fending off her increasingly nosy and concerned community members, such as the unstable Esther (Annaleigh Ashford), Margaret now has an unwelcome visitor on her hands in the form of a supposed preacher who calls himself Wallace Grady (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). It doesn’t help that Wallace is wearing Margaret’s husband’s coat when he shows up unsolicited on her doorstep, claiming the husband lent it to him as a friendly gesture. Hmmm…
Paulson’s character already has her troubles when we meet her, including a history of erratic behavior while asleep (check out the recent Korean thriller Sleep for a story that explores similar tropes) — so when potential danger literally comes knocking on Margaret’s door, who knows what’s to come of her embattled mental state? But maybe it’s not all bad, since Wallace is a self-proclaimed healer who lives up to the hype by quickly quelling Rose’s nose bleed upon arrival. Or was it just a coincidence?
An Excellent Cast Saves an Over-the-Top Ending
Margaret becomes increasingly hazy about what exactly is real versus figments of her imagination, all the while aggressively protective of her family. For horror fans in the right mood, watch out for unexpected moments of violence later in the story. It’s a trade-off, however, since this is where Hold Your Breath seems to lose focus on what it’s really trying to explore at the end of the day. The film reaches periods of overkill as it tries to transition from a slow-burn to an outright explosion.
The cast is reliably excellent throughout, though. Of course, Paulson is an emotional powerhouse and fittingly dominates most scenes, but her co-stars are all worthy of praise. Viewers will have fun piecing together some small-screen reunions between them, as well. There’s Paulson’s American Crime Story: Impeachment co-star Ashford, with the two finally sharing some scenes in this project — and to thrilling effect. And then there’s The Bear co-star Moss-Bachrach, since Paulson had at least a few memorable moments in FX’s Emmy-winning second season. It’s a nice change of pace seeing Moss-Bachrach sink his teeth in a wildly different and more subdued role here.
From Searchlight Pictures, Hold Your Breath will begin streaming on Hulu October 3. You can watch it then through the link below:
Watch on Hulu
