I was looking over my physical media stockpile hoping to find something new to watch. Nothing really jumped out at me, so I went online and checked out my VOD options. That is when I came across a movie called Masking Threshold; Having never heard of it before, I watched the trailer (something I try not to do generally), and it was the perfect combination of psychosis and creepiness. After watching the trailer, I couldn’t click on the rent button quick enough.
The basic synopsis, a nameless IT technician, after getting no satisfaction from the medical community, decides to try and cure his tinnitus on his own in his makeshift lab. Now, that sounds kind of boring to most horror fans, but what starts out as a quest for a cure, turns into obsession and madness.
I would not call Masking Threshold a found footage movie, but it is in the same neighborhood. You never see the actor’s face; the movie is either a shot from behind or in a close up of what he is doing. As the movie progresses, our IT guy’s sanity starts slipping. The way it was shot and written, the movie makes you feel like you are losing your mind, along with him. No spoilers, but, my God, the ending of this movie is so disturbing, I was blown away!
Directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner, Masking Threshold is totally unique and, on certain levels, thought provoking. During an interview, Johannes said that he wanted to know what it would be like if a nerd like himself had a psychotic break. I have always found the idea of losing ones mind an interesting subject matter whether we are talking real life or a movie fiction.
Masking Threshold was truly amazing! The script in any other director’s hands might not have worked, but since Grenzfurthner wrote, directed, and acted (partly) in the movie, he knew what he was looking for in the final film. While Johannes was responsible for the main character’s actions, actor Ethan Haslam gives our protagonist his voice. Ethan emotes with so much emotion that it makes you believe that he is really losing his mind. I can’t imagine how thick this script must have been because our IT guy, while rambling about his life throughout, manages to skirt that fine line between annoying and interesting. If you watch it a few times like myself, you can actually feel the tension ramping up even though not much physically is happening. I have to give the sound design a shout out as well; absolutely top notch all the way.
Needless to say I LOVED this movie. Masking Threshold is available on VOD and is well worth the 4 bucks. GRADE: A+
