| Threat | |
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 DVD box. Designed by Robert Anthony Jr. Photos: James Dimaculangan, Jason Rose. | |
| Directed by | Matt Pizzolo |
| Written by |
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| Produced by | Katie Nisa |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Benjamin Brancato |
| Edited by | Brian Giberson |
| Music by | |
Production company |
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| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Threat (2006) is anindependent film about astraightedge "hardcore kid" and ahip hoprevolutionary whose friendship is doomed by the intolerance of their respective street tribes. It is an ensemble film of kids and young adults living in the early-to-mid-90s era of New York City's all-time highest ever murder rate, each of them suffering from a sense of doom brought on by dealing withHIV,racism,sexism,class struggle, and generalnihilism.
The intellectual issues are played out amid an aesthetic of raw ultraviolence that has earned directorMatt Pizzolo both accolades and condemnations (such as Film Threat's rave review stating "great art should assail the status quo, and that is what Pizzolo and Nisa's film has skillfully accomplished"[2] in contrast to Montreal Film Journal's scathing review saying the film "openly glorifies murderous revolt, literally telling the audience to go out and beat up random people, just because").[3][citation needed]
Unlike past urban dramas, the film does not outright condemn its characters' violent outbursts. Although it does show harsh consequences for acts of violence, numerous critics have pointed out that it is unclear whether or not the film intends to glorify violence and/orclass conflict.[1][2][3][4]
White, straight edgehardcore kid, Jim (Carlos Puga), and black, hip-hop radical, Fred (Keith Middleton), become friends living on New York'sLower East Side - both of them with the hope that their newfound brotherhood will bring solidarity to their disparate communities. Instead, the alliance triggers a violent race riot that spills into the city streets with devastatingly tragic consequences.
The film was produced byKings Mob, a team of neophyte filmmakers in their late teen and early 20s. DirectorMatt Pizzolo was the eldest member of the crew: 19 years old when he wrote the script and 21 when shooting commenced. Pizzolo met filmmaking partner Katie Nisa atNYU'sTisch School of the Arts. Both were enrolled in the school's Dramatic Writing Program. Pizzolo left the program and lived out of a backpack in Manhattan'sLower East Side while writing the first draft ofThreat.[5][6]
Still at NYU, Nisa recruited film student Benjamin Brancato to join the project ascinematographer andNYU business school student Carlos Puga to play the lead role. Pizzolo recruited fellow Long Island native Ben Knight who was still a teenager at the time and put him to work as a production designer for the film. Nisa also castKeith Middleton when she saw him walking onSt. Mark's Place. Unknown to Nisa, Middleton was on his way to perform in the popular dance showStomp.[7][8]
Kings Mob shot the film in aDIY style that sharply contrasted with other more polished independent films of the mid 90s (sometimes referred to asIndiewood). The DIY style focused less on aesthetic and more on authenticity. This style later picked up traction with various DiY-Video movements including themumblecore scene of the 2000s. Unlike most movies of the DIY-Video era to follow,Threat was shot on16mm film.
Pizzolo interned at NYC film co-op Film/Video Arts, where he cleaned up after film classes in exchange for free access to cameras and lights while not in use. Nisa waitressed atEast Village diner 7A to pay for production supplies that "couldn't be borrowed or stolen." Initially, sound recording was to be handled by one of Nisa's film student friends. When he could not make it to the first day of production, he instead gave Nisa a 15-minute lesson on how to run theNagra. She went on to be the film's sole sound recordist for the first months of production.[9]
At the start of production, the crew consisted solely of Pizzolo, Nisa, Brancato, and Knight but over the course of production it grew to include over 200 young people from 5 different countries.[10]
Although shot without permits on a shoestring budget by a team of non-professional first-time filmmakers, some critics have comparedThreat to such iconic films asThe Warriors,[11][12]Do the Right Thing,[12]American History X,[11][13]Slacker,[14]Clerks,[13]Romper Stomper,[11]Kids,[15][16][13][17][12]Doom Generation,[17] andSuburbia.[17]
Critical response ranged from "easily one of the most important films of the decade" to "there is no explanation, no logic, and no reckoning."[18][19]
Produced largely in theNew York metalcore and hardcore punk scene,Threat features guest appearances by members ofMost Precious Blood from theTrustkill Records label. Trustkill also contributed music to the film's score fromMost Precious Blood,Bleeding Through,Eighteen Visions, andTerror. Most of the film's score, however, was composed byAlec Empire and his bandAtari Teenage Riot. The score was constructed byjungle-music producer queque.
In keeping with thepunk andDiY ideologies of the movie and their production company, Pizzolo and Nisa eschewed distribution offers from Hollywood studios.[20][1]
Initially, the film was released as an underground VHS tape and toured across the US and Europe, playing at non-traditional venues such as record stores, hip hop clubs, skateparks, and music festivals.
One of the more notable non-traditional screenings took place during theSundance Film Festival at aDoc Martens shoe store across the street from Sundance's flagship Egyptian Theater. It was here thatThe Daily Telegraph documented the sold-out screenings during Sundance as a cover story in its Saturday Magazine, leading the filmmakers to be invited on a European tour with the film. When they returned home, Threat screenings were added as an attraction on theVan's Warped Tour.[21]
Years of touring culminated with an appearance at theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where music-video distributor HIQI Media signed on to distribute the film to theaters.[22]
Soon after, Pizzolo formed the punk cinema labelHalo 8 and releasedThreat on DVD through a distribution deal withSony Pictures andRED Music, who distributed the film's soundtracks.[23][24][25][26][27]
In October 2006,Threat won the Grand Prize for Best Feature at theLausanne Underground Film and Music Festival inLausanne, Switzerland. The award was presented to the filmmakers on stage byCrispin Glover.[28]
In April 2007,Threat won the "First Feature Film - Special Mention" prize at theRome Independent Film Festival inRome,Italy.[29]
Threat's soundtrack consists mainly ofdigital hardcore courtesy of Alec Empire'sDHR label, andmetalcore courtesy ofTrustkill Records. The soundtrack was released byHALO 8 Entertainment in January 2006.[30]
In addition to theThreat soundtrack, Halo8 produced and released the compilationThreat: Music That Inspired the Movie. In the tradition of soundtracks featuring collaborations/remixes, from such films asSpawn andJudgment Night, the album consists ofmashups ofhardcore punk andmetalcore withbreakcore. The album was released by HALO 8 Entertainment in January 2006.[31]