Susan Granger’s review of “Hold Your Breath” (Searchlight Picturs/Hulu)
Set in 1933 in the Oklahoma Panhandle at the height of the dust storm season, “Hold Your Breath” revolves around Margaret Bellum (Sarah Paulson) and her two young daughters: 12-year-old Rose (Amiah Miller) and 7-year-old Ollie (Alona Jane Robbins) who is deaf.
Margaret’s husband has been gone for quite a while, looking for contruction work, leaving her wearied of assuming all the responsibilities of maintaining their homestead amid the constantly encroaching dust.
Along with tending the grave of her deceased daughter Ava, still-grieving Margaret must repeatedly reassure the girls that the ghostly Gray Man, a mysteriously villainous character in one of their storybooks, is mythical and will not harm them.
That’s easier said than done, particularly when a menacing stranger takes shelter in the loft of their barn. Wallace Grady (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) claims the be a Preacher/Healer and friend of their father. But Margaret remains suspicious since rumors are rampant about a homicidal drifter who murdered a nearby family.
Life gets even more complicated and challenging when Margaret’s sister Esther (Annaleigh Ashford), who lives nearby, starts behaving weirdly and the youngest of her three sons starts coughing incessantly.
Soon the boundaries between reality and fantasy blur, as fiercely protective Margaret’s paranoia turns to panic. While Sarah Paulson’s distraught performance grounds the family drama, it’s not enough to evoke the implied terror.
Scripted by Karrie Crouse, who co-directs with Will Joines, it’s heavy on psychological horror in an ominously repetitive atmosphere and light on the malevolent/quasi-supernatural plot. Zoe White’s cinematography and Tim Grimes’ production design contribute greatly to the authenticity.
Apparently, they were inspired by a Ken Burns documentary about the effects of the Dust Bowl, including famine, disease and death.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Hold Your Breath” is a frustrating, forgettable 4, streaming on Hulu.
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