THREAT

kings mob productions
H801 ( film / dvd )

The notorious, eagerly anticipated, DiY epic: THREAT is the product of over 200 young people in 3 countries all working together to create the kind of movie Hollywood & Indiewood are afraid to make.

The film, hatched from NYC's hardcore punk & underground hip hop scenes, tells the story of a street riot in Manhattan's Lower East Side that was inadvertently caused by a homeless punk and a hip hop revolutionary.
Created by The King's Mob Multimedia Militia, a filmmaking army made up entirely of young creators in their late teens & early twenties, THREAT is a brooding urban indie that mixes street philosophy with ultraviolence.
THREAT is unprecedented both in its militant content and renegade production style, raising the bar for counterculture filmmaking.

"Makes KIDS look like an after-school special."

-urb magazine

"Support the arts at their rawest, most street-entrenched
level."

-montreal mirror

"Unapologetically brutal and surprisingly intelligent... this film works on every conceivable level; it holds court not only as a historical document of time and place, but also as a window into the soul of American adolescence. Great art should assail the status quo, and that is what Pizzolo and Nisaís film has skillfully accomplished."

-film threat

"Genuinely unsettling, thrillingly chaotic, a tale of a cross-cultural riot that takes in philosophy, polemic and politics without taking a breath. S’like you hired private dicks to follow your kids around at night and they hired Abel Ferrara to do surveillance. Put together by an utterly untutored group of kids on 16mm cameras with discarded film stock, it’s a morally complex, beautifully acted, occasionally sickeningly violent portrayal of the underground NYC hip hop and hardcore scenes without a moment of false patronisation or sociological merit. The story skewers you precisely because it’s left so open-ended and realistically without closure. A genuinely independent feeling film – seemingly creating a new cinematic aesthetic from the noise that is its soundtrack and spur, and if nothing else it contains voices and thoughts (particularly about politics and 9/11) that you’re not likely to hear anywhere else... Hear, see, never set foot in a multiplex ever again."

-terrorizer

"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. Although it may sound akin to similar independent films (think KIDS), THREAT is unique in that violence is portrayed to a degree that would make even the most iron-stomached viewer wince."

-mcgill daily

"Like a raw blast of visceral anger, THREAT explodes off the screen in a collage of grainy color, sharp black & white and manga-influenced animation... THREAT elicits comparisons to early Martin Scorsese, Abel Ferrara and Larry Clark's nihilistic masterpiece KIDS. Pretty heady company and it's to 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."

-dvd talk

"Visceral and ferocious... a stunning piece of narrative chaos."

-rumour machine

"Fierce emotions have yielded a fervid film called THREAT. The film shows what adults portraying kids never seem to be able to portray: their complexity."

-long island voice

"Since REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE in the '50s, every generation has a powerful film that youths can identify to justify their rebellion and question the 'values' that the older generation holds dear. THREAT is simply the voice of this generation's youth. It is easily one of the most important films of the decade."

-earcandy

"THREAT is one of those movies that comes along every 10 years... a hell-blazing tale that will open your eyes and make you think twice. This is one movie we won't forget because the imagery stomps its memory into our hearts and minds."

-rockstars for hire

"All inevitable comparisons to KIDS aside, this way-low budget hardcore drama about youth gone wild takes the reckless abandon of Larry Clark's gritty, often-cited modern chestnut and does it one better."

-aol cinematical

"THREAT is a great example of how a film can explore youth culture without diluting it or exploiting it for shock value. At first glance, the film may seem inaccessible to people outside of the subcultures portrayed in the film. This is not this case, however. Though they may lead a different life than you, the characters are undeniably human and have problems and emotions that anyone will relate to."

-film fanaddict

"Nihilistic... visceral... a nightmarish vision."

-li press

"The epitome of DiY filmmaking!"

-ny-1 news

"Unflinching, THREAT isn't subtle about its politics. The film is a scathing critique of the institutional and cultural divisions the adult world imposes on kids."

-revolution magazine

"Utilizing an aggressive visual style, director Matt Pizzoloís aesthetic is completely in your face."

-entertainment insiders

"Impressive... great dialogue and an important message... strong enough to warrant multiple views."

-creature corner

"In the spirit of SUBURBIA, Penelope Spheeris' 1984 dramatization of LA's squatter punks, THREAT ignores sensationalistic commentary on youth culture with its aggressively DiY approach. THREAT is a refreshing movie, unafraid to be awkward and honest about the multicultural urban experience of intelligent young adults who are pissed about being placed at the end of the food chain."

-urb magazine

"This low-budget indie flick is sure to become a micro-cult classic if for no other reason than the way it was bootstrapped into existence. There's charm to it, for sure. And knowing that the outdoor shoots were powered by jacking into streetlamps earns THREAT a few extra nods on the street cred scale."

-hour weekly

"Despite its shortcomings and limitations on equipment, cast and crew, and finances, THREAT manages to entertain with reckless abandon. After all, if the project had unlimited resources, it most likely would have lost all its integrity... and for that, the film lives as a raw experiment with a positive edge."

-the oregon herald

"The film is the work of amateurs, but they wear their inexperience like a badge of honor, delivering a film that doesn't seem to care what you think about it."

-willamette week

"Shot at over 50 locations around NY with a cast and crew of over 200 mostly non-professionals in their teens and early 20s, THREAT is an independent movie with ambition and attitude. Unlike past acclaimed portraits of perpetually dazed and confused kids, THREAT's key characters are kids who, activated and agitated by their respective cultures, are engaged in challenging the prevailing street politic."

-style magazine

"A personal and surprisingly well-crafted debut. Its complex layers invite multiple viewings; and through a combination of its uniqueness and the cultural elements it exposes, it has the potential to achieve cult movie status in years to come."

-entertainment today