Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Threshold; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 0.75
Direction: 0.75
Pace: 0.75
Acting: 1.25
Enjoyment: 0.75
TOTAL: 4.25 out of 10.00.
I love a good indie film as much as the next guy, and the horror field holds plenty. It would appear the art-house crowd selected horror over the other genres. I never understood why. Do they think it's an easy genre to master? Well, as many prove, like Threshold, it isn't. And, like the preponderance of modern horror flicks, I found it wanting.
I loved the premise of the story. An estranged brother and sister are reunited when brother Leo gets a call from his mom asking him to go and pick up his sister. He's reluctant to help because he knows she has problems. The last time he saw her, she was doing drugs. Is that who she still is? Unsure of what he'll find, he sets off across America in his old, stickered-up, clunker. What he encounters is strange indeed. His sister Virginia is adamant that she was attacked and bonded to a strange man via a black-magic ritual. Of course, Leo disbelieves everything she says. He believes she's smacked out of her skull. But what is the truth? Lamentably, like so many before, and more than likely, so many after, writer Patrick Robert Young fails to fill out the story. The narrative required more research and depth to add to its credibility. And because this is predominantly a two-person flick where very little happens, Young should've developed the brother and sister roles and relationship. However, there were no moments when I considered that the pair were-or could be related. And that is the major setback and letdown of the tale. Even though Young fails with the occult sections of the story, it could've still been a decent tale had the characterisations been more robust.
And the direction is similar - Good ideas, mediocre usage, and laziness in execution. The sequence in which Leo fetches his car out of storage showed promise. There are a couple of nicely composed shots. But then we get the horrid filming of the karaoke where the abominable shakey camera rears its unappealing head. But the worst thing about the movie is the lack of atmosphere. Threshold is a slow-burn horror film, so it needed to crawl under your skin and scratch at your soul. But that dread and eerieness are missing. Instead, the slow pace makes the whole film dull and dreary. If this flick chills you, then stay away from the Exorcist; that'll give you a pea-soup heart attack.
The performers are okay. Nobody will be winning an Oscar, but I have watched worse. For me, the stand-out performance came from the house invader, Jed, played by John Terrell. In the few minutes he's on screen, he employs a plethora of characterisations. He's initially angry and on the offensive when he finds Leo and Virginia in his sister's house. After they explain that they've rented the property for the night, he becomes friendly and jokes with them. But when Virginia has an attack, he thinks she's on drugs, so he becomes sinister and domineering because he wants her stash. Jed's segment is the best in the film. Sadly six minutes isn't enough.
Threshold could've been an original and potent horror movie if the writer and the director had more skill and had taken more time on the project. Sadly, it's less than mediocre, and as such, I can't recommend it to anyone. There are so many better horror flicks out there. Come on, people. Pull those socks up.
What do you mean, you're bonded to a bloke you don't know? Take that syringe out of your arm and check out my IMDb list - Absolute Horror, to see where I ranked Threshold.
Take Care & Stay Well.
