We’ve reached October, which means Spooky Season is in full effect. Nothing demonstrates that more clearly than getting three original horror films streaming on Thursday. One of those, Hold Your Breath, features a very unique set up.

The film comes from writer Karrie Crouse, who co-directed the film with William Joines. It’s set in Oklahoma during the 1930s, the height of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl that ravaged the region. It left people scrambling for enough money and food to stay alive and keep their family intact.

The focus here is on Margaret (Sarah Paulson), a mother who is doing her best to protect her daughters. She’s in a raw state as her husband had to head away to make money to provide for the family and she’s recently lost a child. That leaves her raw and on edge, and the weather and conditions aren’t improving matters.

When a traveling healer (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) arrives, at first it seems a miracle. He helps Margaret’s daughter and helps to heal the cow, whose milk is their main means of surviving. But when a letter arrives from her husband, Margaret realizes the preacher is a threat. Though he leaves the house, it’s with a warning.

As the Dust Bowl continues to ravage the area, Margaret becomes increasingly paranoid that this traveler is the mythical Gray Man. She believes he means to do her family harm. But her visions and mental duress have those in her small town skeptical. Can she keep her family safe before it’s too late—or is it all in her head?

This is a psychological thriller of a different kind. The atmosphere created by Crouse and Joines is alienating and severe. That’s intentional. It’s a cold, desolate landscape where even the air is trying to choke the life out of the people there. You feel that suffocation come through on screen, which helps aid in the set up here.

But a lot of this rests on hanging in with a tough set up and a tough location. I thought Paulson did a nice job in the role, and the conditions created in the film work well to heighten the mood, but it doesn’t always hold that tension.

This is a decent set up for a streaming horror film and it has its moments, but ultimately it didn’t totally work for me. Still, for those looking for something different, this is an interesting streaming option.

Hold Your Breath streams Thursday, October 3 on Hulu.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.