Hold Your Breath [Movie Review]

Hold Your Breath [Movie Review] | When I learned that Sarah Paulson will be headlining the next thriller movie, Hold Your Breath, I was excited to see it. 

So, naturally, I immediately watch it once it drops.

SYNOPSIS

Hold Your Breath (2024) Trivia

• Starring: Sarah Paulson, Amiah Miller, Annaleigh Ashford, Alona Jane Robbins & Ebon Moss-Bachrach

• Director: Karrie Crouse & Will Joines
• Producer: Alix Madigan-Yorkin & Lucas Joaquin
• Production Company: Mad Dog Films & Secret Engine

• Distributed by: Searchlight Pictures

• Release date: October 3, 2024

• Running time: 94 minutes

• Rating: R (For some violence/disturbing images)

• Country: United States

• Language: English

• IMDb: 5.3 / 10

• Tomatometer: 45%
• Metascore: 47%
• This film marks Nathan Gariety's debut.
• Claire Foy was originally cast in the lead, but the following month, Sarah Paulson replaced her after Foy had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

Set in the 1930s, Margaret often found solace in memories of the chest-high weeds that once surrounded her house, but those memories were usually clouded by fear. The Dust Bowl had left the land barren, and after losing her daughter Ada to scarlet fever, she couldn’t bear to leave her grave, even when her husband Henry moved to Philadelphia for work. Determined to keep her remaining daughters, Rose and Ollie, safe, Margaret became consumed by the fear that the dust would take them away too.

Rose often read a story about “The Grey Man” to Ollie—a figure made of ash who could enter homes and cause chaos if breathed in. The tale deeply affected Ollie, who believed she saw the figure during a sandstorm. Margaret dismissed it, reassuring her daughters that it was just a story, but as the dust storms worsened and people around them got sick, Margaret’s fears became more intense. She sealed every crack in their home, swept obsessively, and lost faith in miracles, choosing instead to fight for survival.

One day, Ollie claimed The Grey Man hurt their cow, but when Margaret saw a man in the barn, she worried. The man, Wallace Grady, claimed to be a preacher sent by Henry, but Margaret was sceptical. 

However, when Wallace miraculously healed Rose’s nosebleed, she allowed him to stay. Shortly after, she received a letter from Henry warning that Wallace was a dangerous conman. Confronting him with a shotgun, Wallace revealed his manipulative nature, threatening to undo the healing he'd performed. He also mentioned The Grey Man, knowing it would unnerve Margaret.

Margaret’s mental health unravelled as she became convinced Wallace was The Grey Man, intent on destroying her family. She stopped sleeping and constantly stood guard with her shotgun. Strange occurrences began, and when tragedy struck—Margaret killed both the sheriff and her sister-in-law, Esther—she planned to end it all by overdosing with her daughters, believing they would reunite with Ada in death.

Who is terrorising their lives? Will their lives turn for the better?

MY REVIEW

What I Like:  

• Come on. It is Sarah Paulson. She is good. 
• The cast is solid.

What I Don't Like:

• It seems some scenes are not clearly depicted - some may lost in translation too. Or it is just me?
• I was expecting ghosts - but none.
• Some scenes were too dark.

Will I Watch It Again: Yes, I would.  

Overall: 4.5/ 5.0

The pictures are taken from multiple sources on the Internet. Thank you.

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