By Erik Piepenburg
This week features a historical possession film headlined by Sarah Paulson, along with a chef-centered supernatural thriller starring Ariana DeBose and more.
‘Hold Your Breath’
A mother faces nature and malevolence in this cluttered yet clichéd directorial debut by Karrie Crouse and Will Joines.
Sarah Paulson stars as Margaret, a devoted mom striving to protect her two daughters, Rose (Amiah Miller) and Ollie (Alona Jane Robbins), from the evil forces she fears are present around their secluded Dust Bowl residence. Included in these threats is a cryptic wanderer (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) possessing dubious healing abilities.
Crouse’s screenplay throws horror tropes at the wall — possession, survival, environmental disaster, home invasion, folk horror, body horror, and religious fanaticism — hoping something will resonate. Yet, nothing sticks, leaving behind a film solely focused on a mourning mother shielding her children from dust and wind for 94 minutes — a frightening scenario for 1930s Oklahoma, the backdrop of the movie. But not in this instance.
Instead, audiences are treated to formulaic jump scares, creaking floorboards, shadowy figures in the background, and yet another fire for Margaret to extinguish every ten minutes. It’s akin to “The Mist” but with silt, “The Babadook” lacking its titular entity, and “The Night of the Hunter” devoid of any sharpness. (Available for streaming on Hulu.)
‘V/H/S/Beyond’
After over a decade and six films in the franchise, the “V/H/S” found footage anthologies continue to deliver a mixed assortment. This latest sci-fi-themed entry is no exception, presenting just one film worth the skip ahead: Justin Martinez’s impressive, darkly humorous “Live and Let Dive.”
Co-written by Martinez and Ben Turner, the film kicks off with a group of friends boarding a plane to celebrate a friend’s birthday with a skydive. However, they encounter turbulence not from the elements but from an alien attack. Following a spaceship collision, bodies plummet through the sky, with a few survivors landing in a citrus grove, where elongated creatures hunt them down, leaving only the lead who wields the camera. Whether Martinez filmed this while in freefall remains unclear, but it certainly looks authentic — a gem of found footage.
The other shorts in this anthology showcase striking visuals yet fall short on substantive writing. They’d make great background noise at a Halloween gathering. (Available for streaming on Shudder.)
‘House of Spoils’
A unique subset of horror cinema is the restaurant film, ranging from schlock like “Blood Diner” to the dark humor of “The Menu.” This supernatural thriller from writer-directors Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy — former New York City servers — is a well-meaning but ultimately unsatisfying contribution.
Ariana DeBose portrays an aspiring chef who, together with a wealthy partner (Arian Moayed) and another chef (Barbie Ferreira), launches a high-end dining establishment she hopes will become a culinary hotspot. The twist is that the restaurant is built on ground steeped in the blood and suffering of marginalized ancestors seeking recognition.
DeBose, a captivating stage performer, appears disengaged here, a perilous state for a cinematic chef in the “Bear” era. Even her character’s nightmarish visions — of repulsive black insects spilling out from elegantly arranged meals — fail to disturb her significantly. Or prompt her departure, a persistent horror film dilemma the script does not adequately resolve.
However, for many women working in the restaurant industry, endurance may involve remaining in a toxic environment surrounded by monstrosities. (Available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.)
‘Salem’s Lot’
On November 17, 1979, CBS presented a benchmark horror event: “Salem’s Lot,” Tobe Hooper’s miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s acclaimed 1975 vampire narrative. Its spine-chilling scenes of nocturnal intrusions are masterclasses in pacing and revelation.
It’s difficult to envision any era being frightened by this formulaic adaptation penned and helmed by Gary Dauberman, featuring Lewis Pullman as a successful author returning to his Maine hometown to assist the locals in repelling a vampire invasion.
The film tonally meanders like a disoriented Dracula on Halloween, shifting from a Spielbergian family tale to Gothic theatrics to a Hallmark-style romance. Not even the strong performances from Bill Camp, John Benjamin Hickey, and Alfre Woodard can revitalize the narrative. If there’s a positive aspect, it’s Virginia Johnson’s wonderfully vintage costumes. (Available for streaming on Max.)
‘The Platform 2’
Similar to the “Human Centipede” series, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s unsettling Spanish thriller “The Platform” (2019) introduced a brutal and unique universe of desperate and grotesque realities. Set in a vertical prison where food is delivered via a descending platform, the dilemma arises when the final floor receives nothing but remnants from earlier conflicts for scraps.
Gaztelu-Urrutia’s frustrating sequel overloads the narrative with excessive new rules and characters, including a Messiah figure, unnecessarily extending the runtime. (The original film is barely summarized, resulting in viewers being baffled if they haven’t seen it.) While there’s plenty of gore, any enjoyment derived from it is undermined by repetitious dialogues on global food distribution and moral relativism — discussions as engaging as a United Nations report. (Available for streaming on Netflix.)
