Masking Threshold

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1:51

Masking Threshold

Released Sep 30, 2022

1h 30m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

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11 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Frustrated by a constant ringing in his ears, a paranoid data analyst documents his obsessive attempts to cure his own debilitating tinnitus through a series of home experiments conducted in a make-shift lab. But as his research becomes increasingly dark and macabre, a horrifying secret behind his maddening condition is revealed with a potential cure more sinister than he could have ever imagined. A deeply philosophical horror film inspired by Lovecraftian weird fiction and cosmism, experimental filmmaker Johannes Grenzfurthner takes us on an unsettling journey into the paranoia of the human mind to reveal the disastrous consequences of the relentless pursuit of knowledge.

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Christian Valentin

Spectrum Culture

A striking chronicle told through a boldly experimental style that unsettles and accomplishes so much with so little.

Oct 5, 2022

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Inventive, in a way that may recall such vaguely similar delusional-quest films about delusional outsiders as Pi or Bug.

Oct 4, 2022

Full Review

Daniel Gorman

In Review Online

Johannes Grenzfurthner's Masking Threshold is a remarkable bit of DIY lunacy, a hand-crafted nightmare that combines elements of a diary film, a first-person, found-footage pseudo-documentary, a YouTube tutorial, and the Screenlife desktop aesthetic.

Oct 3, 2022

Full Review

Brandon Judell

Brandon Judell (Medium)

With one of the best screenplays of recent years, with the superb cinematography of Florian Hofer, and the awe-inducing editing by both Grenzfurthner and Hofer, Masking Threshold is a wry, dissective look at modern society's derangement.

Rated: 8/10

Jan 12, 2022

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

For those willing to invest heart, mind, body, and some semblance of soul this is a unique, inspired, intelligent, and impossible to forget cinematic experience.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Jan 5, 2022

Full Review

Emilie Black

Cinema Crazed

For those willing to pay attention and really watch this film, it leads to an interesting payoff and feels like a new thing, a new style, something they've not seen that many times before, if at all.

Rated: 4.5/5

Dec 11, 2021

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g j

Intensely ambitious and original, with stunning camerawork and a richly detailed story. Starts to drag a bit in the third act where the excellent premise is weakened by conventional horror tropes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/21/24

Full Review

dave d

Johannes Grenzfurthner seems hell-bent on making us all miserable. Mission Accomplished. This experimental film didn't work for me. It's repulsive which might be the goal. Is it art? Is it unique? Potentially. But it's also not engaging, or entertaining. So there's that! Final Score: 0.5/10

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/30/24

Full Review

gunner h

goddamn crazy. loved it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/09/23

Full Review

Andrew B

I hated this movie. At first. It's exhausting, grating, and severely irritating. But, it's also unlike anything I've eger seen. The main character is gross and obnoxious, and his poor hygiene and incessant neurotic rambling are unbearable to experience. But, that's the point. The pretentious dialogue and gross close ups are offputting enough, then the dude starts killing animals. I know the animal deaths aren't real, but it's still difficult to watch. I have very mixed feelings about this movie, but I appreciated it more after it ended.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/21/23

Full Review

David P

Boring, pretentious and dull. Never felt like it went anywhere until the very end and even then it was a struggle to get there. There's an intriguing idea behind sound and frequencies but you rarely ever hear them in comparison to his obnoxious ramblings for an hour and a half.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

10/06/23

Full Review

MJ 8

If a "film" could be categorized as pathological, in an objective sense, this would be it. Interesting idea about sound and language, but the flame is not worth the candle.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/11/23

Full Review

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Johannes Grenzfurthner

Director

Ethan Haslam

Protagonist

Johannes Grenzfurthner

Protagonist (Corporeal)

Jason Scott Sadofsky

Sadofsky, M.D.

Bronwynn Mertz-Penzinger

Mother

Caroline St. Clair

Mother

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Masking Threshold: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Frustrated by a constant ringing in his ears, a paranoid data analyst documents his obsessive attempts to cure his own debilitating tinnitus through a series of home experiments conducted in a make-shift lab. But as his research becomes increasingly dark and macabre, a horrifying secret behind his maddening condition is revealed with a potential cure more sinister than he could have ever imagined. A deeply philosophical horror film inspired by Lovecraftian weird fiction and cosmism, experimental filmmaker Johannes Grenzfurthner takes us on an unsettling journey into the paranoia of the human mind to reveal the disastrous consequences of the relentless pursuit of knowledge.

Director: Johannes Grenzfurthner
Producer: Günther Friesinger, Julianne Gabert, Johannes Grenzfurthner, Jasmin Hagendorfer
Screenwriter: Johannes Grenzfurthner
Distributor: Drafthouse Films
Production Co: Monochrom Propulsion Systems
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 30, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 7, 2022
Runtime: 1h 30m

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