The film takes a fresh approach to the body horror genre by following a guy as he investigates the source of a persistent ringing in his ears, only to uncover something truly awful. On September 30th, the film will debut at select Alamo theatres, and on October 7th, it will be available digitally. Both dates were announced by Drafthouse Films.
When compared to other horror trailers, Masking Threshold does a better job of emphasising the film’s experimental nature. It emphasises that our hero, a data analyst, will conduct experiments in which he listens closely to the sounds that everything makes and to the ways in which the sound of an object or being is affected by everything else in its environment in order to dissect the human aural system and its perception of sound.
Until the teaser informs us that we’re getting ready to witness a body horror, watching the experiments is entertaining; then, you have to brace yourself for the inevitable sight and sound of dead animals and sharp devices piercing body parts. The plot suddenly turns completely strange, with abstract images whose significance would be revealed only upon viewing the film. Austrian director Johannes Grenzfurthner, whose films have won several awards at international horror and independent cinema festivals, helms Masking Threshold. He oversaw the production of Glossary of Broken Dreams and Traceroute, among others.
Masking Threshold, the director’s first feature, opened at Fantastic Fest in 2021 and received rave reviews from festivalgoers and reviewers alike. Grenzfurthner discussed the film’s inspiration and highlighted some unexpected places he looked to produce a horrific narrative in an interview with Film Threat. I set out to make a horror movie that adheres to both genre norms and the aesthetic of an experimental film. In order to reveal the sculptural and psychological terror, I employ the design tools of a chamber play, an unboxing video, a scientific documentary, and a do-it-yourself YouTube channel. The history of horror shows that it has been fertile ground for new ideas and experiences.
Whether it’s the expressionistic, unsettling setting of ‘Nosferatu,’ the claustrophobic fear of space in ‘Alien,’ or the nearly pornographic depiction of the human body in films like ‘Saw,’ I need just bring them to your thoughts. Over and over again, new formal and visual possibilities emerged that had not been explored or were not yet standard in the rest of the cinema industry. Conversely, hardly any other genre is so predictable on the narrative level and derives a special strength from the constant return of the same.” On September 30, Masking Threshold will have its world premiere at select Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas in major cities around the country. On October 7, the film had a wide digital distribution across the country.
Synopsis
An anxious data analyst chronicles his futile attempts to alleviate his painful tinnitus by conducting experiments in his living room, which he uses as a makeshift laboratory. But as he delves deeper into his ailment, he discovers a deadly mystery underlying his agonising disease and a potential solution more terrifying than he could have ever imagined. Inspired by Lovecraft’s strange fiction and cosmicism, experimental director Johannes Grenzfurthner creates a highly philosophical horror film that delves into the paranoia of the human mind to expose the terrible implications of the insatiable search for knowledge.