Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- eerie
- oppressive
- paranoid
- late night horror viewing
- stormy evening
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's eerie atmosphere, sound design, cinematography, and Sarah Paulson's performance while finding its narrative uneven and overly familiar.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Margaret's conviction about a sinister presence develops alongside sleep deprivation, paranoia, and hallucination-like experiences.
The 1930s Oklahoma dust storms repeatedly obscure the world, threaten the family, and create suffocating isolation.
Margaret's fear is organized around protecting Rose and Ollie as she interprets family danger through an increasingly anxious perspective.
Critical reception specifically highlights disturbing body horror scenes within the film's dust-filled, physically hostile world.
Films like Hold Your Breath, and why
The Babadook
shares psychological horror, maternal anxiety, and an oppressive atmosphere that blurs mental disturbance with supernatural threat
The Witch
shares slow-burn psychological dread, isolated domestic setting, and escalating uncertainty about reality
The Wind
shares historical setting, paranoid horror, and a mother confronting an apparently unseen or ambiguous menace
Saint Maud
shares atmospheric horror, family trauma, and a protagonist whose perception becomes increasingly unreliable under pressure
Movie Details
- Directors
- Will Joines, Karrie Crouse
- Release Date
- 2024-09-12
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (284)
Cast
- Sarah Paulson
- Amiah Miller
- Annaleigh Ashford
- Alona Jane Robbins
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach
- Arron Shiver
- Bill Heck
- Frances Lee McCain
- Courtney Cunningham
- James Healy Jr.
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Hulu
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Hold Your Breath about?
- During the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, a desperate mother’s struggle to protect her children turns environmental catastrophe into a suffocating psychological nightmare.
- What is Hold Your Breath like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Hold Your Breath as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Hold Your Breath violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Hold Your Breath as moderate.
- What did critics think of Hold Your Breath?
- Critics broadly praised the film's eerie atmosphere, sound design, cinematography, and Sarah Paulson's performance while finding its narrative uneven and overly familiar.
- Which films are like Hold Your Breath?
- Films with a similar feel include The Babadook, The Witch, The Wind, and Saint Maud.
- How long is Hold Your Breath?
- Hold Your Breath runs 94 minutes.
- Where can I watch Hold Your Breath?
- In United States, Hold Your Breath streams on Hulu.
