Threat (1999, 2006) is an independent film about a straightedge "hardcore kid" and a hip hop revolutionary 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 with HIV, racism, sexism, class struggle, and general nihilism.Kulkarni, Neil. "Threat review 9 out of 10". Terrorizer Magazine. Issue 144 2006.
The intellectual issues are played out amid an aesthetic of raw ultraviolence that has earned director Matt 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" Anderson, T.W. "Threat review 4.5 out 5". Film Threat. March 17, 2006. in contrast to Montreal Film Journal's scathing review saying the film "openly glorifies murderous revolt").Laforest, Kevin. "Threat". Montreal Film Journal. January 27, 2006.
Threat has been called a cult-classic and a "punk classic," Young, Dylan. "Itty bitty Indie ". Hour Weekly. February 2, 2006. winning multiple film festival awards, and touring punk and hip-hop venues across the U.S. and Europe, including over 100 dates on the Van's Warped Tour.Orvis, Ryan "Just a Minor Threat: New York Punks Attack Hollywood". Entertainment Today. 2005. Threat garnered a theatrical release and wide distribution after its appearance at Coachella.
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/or class conflict.Vegan Jihad (May 5, 2006). "Matt Pizzolo, director of Threat". Suicide Girls.Manley, Brendan. "Culture Clash: NY Filmmakers Tackle Race, Politics, Sex and Social Unrest With 'Threat'". Long Island Press. January 12, 2006.Handelman, Jon. "All Hell Breaks Loose On The Lower East Side ". McGill Daily. February 3, 2006.
Summary
White, straight edge hardcore kid, Jim (Carlos Puga), and black, hip-hop radical, Fred (Keith Middleton), become friends living on New York's Lower 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.
Cast Carlos Puga as Jim Keith Middleton as Fred Rebekka Takamizu as Mekky Kamouflage as Desmond Katie Nisa as Kat Neil Rubenstein as Ruby David R. Fisher as Marco Tony Dreannan as Tony Rachel Rosen as Punk Rock Girl Slug as Slug
Production The film was produced by Kings Mob, a team of neophyte filmmakers in their late teen and early 20s. Director Matt 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 at NYU's Tisch 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's Lower East Side while writing the first draft of Threat.Friedman, Andrew "Through A Suburban Lens, Darkly". The Long Island Voice. 1999.
Still at NYU, Nisa recruited film student Benjamin Brancato to join the project as cinematographer and NYU 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 cast Keith Middleton when she saw him walking on St. Mark's Place. Unknown to Nisa, Middleton was on his way to perform in the popular dance show Stomp.Campion, Chris. "Call It A Threat". Style Magazine.
Kings Mob shot the film in a DIY style that sharply contrasted with other more polished independent films of the mid 90s (sometimes referred to as Indiewood). The DIY style focused less on aesthetic and more on authenticity. This style later picked up traction with various DiY-Video movements including the mumblecore scene of the 2000s. Unlike most movies of the DIY-Video era to follow, Threat was shot on 16 mm 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 at East 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 the Nagra. She went on to be the film's sole sound recordist for the first months of production.Shafer, Marko. "Are You A Threat?". Buddyhead.
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.Sweeting, Paul. "Lights, Camera, Internet Action". Digital Revolution Magazine.
Animation was created by visual artist Killili and original score was composed by jungle music artist Queque, including the in-character original hip hop song "Am I A Threat?" performed by actor/rapper Kamouflage from the point of view of his character Desmond. A response song, the hardcore punk "I Am The Threat" produced by Sal Villanueva, was performed by actor/singer David R. Fisher from the point of view of his character Marco. Both songs were included on the Threat soundtrack."Urb Magazine News". Urb Magazine. 1999.
Although shot without permits on a shoestring budget by a team of non-professional first-time filmmakers, some critics have compared Threat to such iconic films as The Warriors,http://www.filmcritic.com/reviews/2006/threat/?OpenDocument Do the Right Thing, American History X, Slacker, Clerks, Romper Stomper, Kids,Jones, Preston. "Threat". DVD Talk. January 24, 2006. Doom Generation, Suburbia, and Fight Club.
Produced largely in the New York metalcore and hardcore punk scene, Threat features guest appearances by members of Most Precious Blood from the Trustkill Records label. Trustkill also contributed music to the film's score from Most Precious Blood, Bleeding Through, Eighteen Visions, and Terror. Most of the film's score, however, was composed by Alec Empire and his band Atari Teenage Riot. The score was constructed by Queque.
Release
In keeping with the punk and DiY ideologies of the movie and their production company, Pizzolo and Nisa eschewed distribution offers from Hollywood studios.Hefflon, Scott. "Threat". Lollipop Magazine.
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 the Sundance Film Festival at a Doc Martens shoe store across the street from Sundance's flagship Egyptian Theater. It was here that The 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 the Van's Warped Tour.Campion, Chris. "The Sundance Survivors". London Daily Telegraph Saturday Magazine. February 5, 2000.
Critical response ranged from "easily one of the most important films of the decade" to "there is no explanation, no logic, and no reckoning... yet, despite its shortcomings and limitations on equipment, cast and crew, and finances, Threat manages to entertain with reckless abandon."
Years of touring culminated with an appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where music-video distributor HIQI Media signed on to distribute the film to theaters.Mitchell, Wendy. "Threat Of A Deal. IndieWire. May 7, 2004.
Soon after, Pizzolo formed the punk cinema label Halo 8 and released Threat on DVD through a distribution deal with Sony Pictures and RED Music, who distributed the film's soundtracks.
Reception Writing in Film Threat, T.W. Anderson rated Threat 4.5 out 5, saying "This film works on every conceivable level; it holds court not only as a historical document of time and place, but also as a window into the soul of American adolescence... The film is a revelation partly because of the subject matter, partly because of the DiY ethic but most importantly because the performances ring so true. The cast of mostly non-professional actors extract remarkable performances that frighten and stir the audience throughout this epic battle of cinematic creativity... Great art should assail the status quo, and that is what Pizzolo and Nisa’s film has skillfully accomplished."
Threat attracted controversy for allegedly glorifying violence and class conflict. When Threat premiered in US theaters, SuicideGirls commented, "Matt Pizzolo shook up Hollywood with his indie movie Threat and the guerrilla tactics he used to produce and distribute it. A defiant and confrontational movie about class war and unbridled youth violence, Threat is not exactly the type of film you might expect to earn its writer-director a multi-picture deal with Sony, but that's exactly what Pizzolo managed to accomplish along with his filmmaking partner Katie Nisa and their Kings Mob multimedia militia."
Writing in DVD Talk, Preston Jones said "A raw blast of visceral anger, Threat explodes off the screen eliciting comparisons to early Martin Scorsese, Abel Ferrara and Larry Clark's nihilistic masterpiece Kids. Pretty heady company and it's to director Matt Pizzolo's credit that when Threat works, it's more than worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as those films... Undeniably compelling, Threat grabs you by the throat and holds tight for 90 minutes."
In his 9 out of 10 review for Terrorizer Magazine, Neil Kulkarni called Threat "Genuinely unsettling, thrillingly chaotic, a tale of a cross-cultural riot that takes in philosophy, polemic and politics without taking a breath… it’s a morally complex, beautifully acted, occasionally sickeningly violent portrayal of the underground."
Ray Gun called Threat "important... special and different from everything else out there,""Ray Gun". Ray Gun Magazine. 1999. The Village Voice's Long Island Voice called it a "triumph," Earcandy said "Threat is simply the voice of this generation's youth... it is easily one of the most important films of the decade," Entertainment Today called it "brutal yet fascinating," the McGill Daily said "Visionary director Matt Pizzolo takes a harsh look at what it means to be a disaffected youth, showing that the promised land of opportunity and the American dream are relics of the past," and Urb Magazine said Threat "makes Kids look like an after-school special."
Awards In October 2006, Threat won the Grand Prize for Best Feature at the Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival in Lausanne, Switzerland. The award was presented to the filmmakers on stage by Crispin Glover.
In April 2007, Threat won the "First Feature Film - Special Mention" prize at the Rome Independent Film Festival in Rome, Italy.
Soundtracks
Threat: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Threats soundtrack consists mainly of digital hardcore courtesy of Alec Empire's DHR label and metalcore courtesy of Trustkill Records, as well as original score composed by Queque. The soundtrack was released by HALO 8 Entertainment in January 2006.
Track listing "Night of Violence" – Alec Empire "Start the Riot" – Atari Teenage Riot "Into the Death" – Atari Teenage Riot "Rage" – Atari Teenage Riot feat. Tom Morello & D-Stroy "Sick to Death" – Atari Teenage Riot