Masking Threshold is a 2021 English-language Austrian horror film directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner, and produced by art group monochrom.
Sound plays an essential role in the film. Grenzfurthner says that Masking Threshold forms a trilogy with Razzennest and Solvent.
Premise An IT worker tries to cure his harrowing hearing impairment by conducting a series of experiments in his makeshift home lab. Cast Ethan Haslam as the protagonist (voice) Johannes Grenzfurthner as the protagonist (corporeal) Katharina Rose as Dana
All other cast members are but images on the protagonist's cellphone or on photographs and printouts.
Production The film was shot in the fall of 2019 on a microbudget of 25,000 euros in Grenzfurthner’s apartment in Vienna.
Release Masking Threshold premiered at Fantastic Fest 2021 in Austin, Texas."Fantastic Fest 2021 Final Final Wave" in: Collider, 9 September 2021.
Other festivals, including Molins Horror (2021), A Night of Horror (2021), Nightmares (2021),Nightmarish Conjurings, "Nightmares Film Festival unveils full 2021 program"; 27 September 2021 Feratum (2021), South African Horrorfest (2021), Cucalorus,"Cucalorus Film Festival Fosters Beautiful, Diverse Community of Art Lovers through Four Days of Movies, Music, & Dance"; in: CVNC, 14 November 2021 Saskatoon, Slick 'n' Wrong, Shockfest, Sicilia Queer Film Fest Masking Threshold, Film Maudit 2.0, Central Florida, Unnamed Footage in San Francisco, Offscreen in Brussels, Diagonale 2022 in Graz, Panic Fest 2022, and Fantaspoa 2022 screened the film.
Reception Critical response Critical response has been positive. The film holds a 100% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with a weighted average of 8.2/10. Jen Yamato of the Los Angeles Times writes: "Utilizing macro photography and ASMR-esque sound design, the immersive, experimental horror Masking Threshold pulls you down a rabbit hole where Reddit theorizing meets Lovecraftian fixation, paranoia bubbling over into a disturbing sensory experience." Erik Piepenburg of The New York Times says: "2022 was a stellar year for experimental horror. I'm adding Johannes Grenzfurthner's brazen and deeply disturbing film to the year's best formbusters."
Awards Best Feature Film at the British Horror Film Festival 2021
See also Art horror Horror-of-personality Social thriller Cosmicism
References
External links
Interview with Grenzfurthner in Film Threat Interview with Grenzfurthner in Zebrabutter (German) Interview with Grenzfurthner in PopHorror