Matt Pizzolo
Threat

There is a phrase that people often use, and when it is said, it strikes at our hopes and desires, "let's face reality". The reality that surrounds us but we fail to see... or pretend not to see.

Matt Pizzolo with this film wants to tear apart everything that is in good taste and that is "for everyone," he takes our face and moves it into cold, nocturnal streets where the asphalt witnesses horrifying violence, where the walls are stained with blood, and where windows let in cries of pain, despair, and anger. It's as if while showing us all this, Matt says, "have you seen?" and after this question, he leaves us to think about the other words with which he could have ended the sentence.

A boy sitting on the curb... sings while looking down, as two guys pour beer over his guitar case with a few coins inside, only to be insulted by the boy... insults that don't intend to hurt, but want to make you escape a bad situation. He takes the money, including a wet bill, with bitterness and sadness, runs away and looks at a statue, maybe without an apparent reason but does it, perhaps to see if there's someone who listens to him. His name is Jim, he pulls out a deck of cards and enters a station (sorry for the ignorance, it looks very much like a train station... but I'm not sure what it exactly is), he settles down and falls asleep, accepting his life despite the suffering, as is evident from his face. He talks to his black friend (Fred), they discuss how the world is going, their situations, eventually becoming great, inseparable friends while walking together, they wear the same bitter smile of those who live on the streets (great teacher). Mekky, a girl who simply isn't as she should be, sweet, polite, and reserved; she gives herself over to complete neglect as a counterbalance to her life, and when she has nothing left to distract her from reality, she becomes self-destructive (but never cries...). The two (Jim and Mekky) find themselves talking about this and that, in a small room where you have to keep your legs close together and bent to enter.

This film talks about suburban violence, the one that leaves silence, in this case, it is that between different subcultures on one side defending their ideals, fighting for rights even by using weapons (the African-American Rappers, known as Radical) and on the other side that seeks violence, always in a group where they defend each other like a pack ("hardcore kids" and Straight Edge, the latter favoring not consuming any kind of drug and renouncing casual sex), they fight over diversity, they fight over skin color, they fight over lifestyle. The street in some cases in this film is a ring, where Matt Pizzolo acts as a referee and it's as if he shouted who's in the blue corner or the red corner of the ring and about their abilities, but also as a silent, hidden spectator, who says nothing about it because he has seen similar scenes thousands of times.

A noteworthy mention also goes to the soundtrack, various hardcore metal artists (Bleeding Through, Terror, Most Precious Blood, 18 Visions, etc.) and the Atari Teenage Riot who emphasize more with their "music" the air of nihilism and decadence that surrounds this film. In this film, I find many other cinematic influences from other directors such as Larry Clark (obviously for the vision on youth and a life full of neglect), Harmony Korine (for the accurate description of the conversations between the actors and the decay of places) and Derek Jarman (perhaps the most evident similarity; indeed, Threat could be seen as a more modern interpretation of Jubilee, for the depiction of a subculture and their gang fights, and also a bit for the killings, Katie's on David being the most representative and apparent example).

PS: There is also another "soundtrack" to the film, "Music that Inspired the Movie," which is a sort of collaboration between bands, for example:

"Pandemic" - Most Precious Blood vs Alec Empire

"World At War" - Agnostic Front vs Schizoid

"Ghost In The Machine" - Inside Out vs Oktopus from Dälek