Hold Your Breath Filmmakers Detail the Development of the Hulu Horror Movie

It’s been a long journey for the all-new Hulu movie Hold Your Breath to finally be unleashed on audiences. Karrie Crouse wrote the project and, just a few months into the coronavirus pandemic, the project was set to move forward. Despite Sarah Paulson taking on the lead role, it would be another two years before the supporting cast was rounded out, and the production suffered some setbacks that resembled what the characters endured in the narrative itself. Despite those delays, Crouse and co-director Will Joines will finally get to release their adventure into the wild, as Hold Your Breath hits Hulu on October 3rd.

Hold Your Breath is described, “In 1930s Oklahoma amid the region’s horrific dust storms, a woman (Sarah Paulson) is convinced that a sinister presence is threatening her family.”  Also starring in the film are Amiah Miller (My Best Friend’s Exorcism) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear). 

“It was well worth it, but it was a harrowing shoot, just being out in the elements. I would say we had a nice little bout of COVID that went around, that was really tough and put things on the brakes for a little while,” Crouse shared with ComicBook about the challenges the production faced. While dust was a major hazard for the on-screen characters, Joines noted, “We had an actual dust storm,” to which Crouse added, “That was heartbreaking because we couldn’t shoot in it.”

One of the more compelling components of the new film is Paulson’s performance, with Joines opening up about what it was like collaborating with the beloved performer.

“Really on a shot-by-shot, take-by-take, scene-by-scene, day-by-day basis, she always surprised us. She always was finding new ways to color in Margaret to add further nuance to this tearing tension within her, as Margaret is trying to keep things together,” the filmmaker expressed. “We expected her to embody her wonderfully. We expected to be moved by her strength, shocked by her horrifying scenes, but it was just all throughout the process, just finding her complete, utter commitment to being Margaret and to shading in that character in new, exciting ways. I don’t think either of us fully expected that, it was just an absolute pleasure.”

Crouse added, “I think it’s not so interesting to see someone come undone, but to see them trying not to and to try desperately to hold on to control. And that just speaks to her talent as an actress, that she can play opposing forces within herself and also just her deep love and primal connection to her daughters, I think, was so important to ground her as a character. And it just oozes out of her without her even saying much.”

Hold Your Breath lands in theaters on October 3rd.

Are you looking forward to the new movie? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!