Threshold (2020) Review

Leo (Joey Millin) is a man with a multitude of problems the latest being a call from his Mom who insists he go and see his sister Virginia (Madison West). Knowing her to have a long history of drug abuse he is not surprised to find her convulsing and vomiting when he arrives at her apartment. Thinking she is overdosing he panics only to find her perfectly compos mentis seconds later.

Even stranger is his estranged sibling’s insistence that not only has she been clean for 8 months but that she has been cursed. Claiming a sinister cult performed a bonding ritual on her after saying they could help with her addiction she says the feelings she has of ecstasy, withdrawal, anger and more are actually someone else’s. The only way she can be free is by finding this person who she has no clear memory of and unbinding herself.

Cynical at first Leo joins in with what he thinks is his sisters drug fuelled paranoia and panic in a ruse to humour her and guide her back into rehab. However when she carves a message in her own arm with a knife in an attempt to contact the mystery man he sees how serious she is and when she receives a reply he starts to almost believe.

Heading out on the road the duo begin an long journey to find the man who is so strangely and strongly linked to Virginia, travelling cross country in Leo’s beaten up car all the while trying to avoid the shadowy cult whose motives and machinations are unknown to everyone involved.

With its cryptic and engaging opening and interesting concept I was instantly captivated by Threshold and I hoped to be taken along on a supernatural ride. Sadly though the films inability to honour or understand its own ideas quickly prompted only boredom and frustration making me want to get off as soon as possible.

With its extended scenes of dialogue between the quite unlikable pair going on and on about their uninteresting lives followed by more driving and then some shouting and perhaps a stop off Threshold is a meandering mess that offers little payout or excitement.

As mentioned Virginia says she is bonded to another person, experiencing what they feel both physically and emotionally. As a twist on the possession genre this horror set up could yield some amazing and chilling moments depending on how far into the surreal and supernatural the movie wanted to take it yet the only brief flash of fear we get is the aforementioned self-harm scene which although jarring and gruesome appears right at the start and is over too soon.

Equally as a story device using this link we could see the character act out or spin off in multiple directions, lying or scheming seducing or slaying again as we have done in many possession movies before. It’s true Virginia does get angry at one point blaming it on her bond but unfortunately Threshold seems more interesting in exploring the siblings relationship making it more of a dull drama than a horror movie.

Laughably it’s almost as if co-directors Powell Robinson and Patrick R Young are aware that they are letting the audience down on the scares and frights front but rather than sort out their primary story they decide to inject random idiotic events in instead. A Ouija board here an aggressive home intruder there, Virginia has psychic powers now, sure why not because at this point who cares right?

The randomness and lack of direction both on screen and behind the camera (which is unintentionally ironic seeing as this is a road movie) is amplified by the fact that the movie was improvised and shot on two iPhones over the course of a 12-day road trip meaning the actors and tiny crew probably did just literally make the whole thing up as they went along.

Considering that even the most skilled and talented actors and film makers would have difficulty creating something coherent, enchanting and entertaining under these circumstances the fact that this is Robinson and Young’s second feature really, really, really, shows.

It’s such a shame as a commitment to the original concept and some tighter plotting and scripting could have made this an amazing movie. The whole thing feels like a film school exercise and I can only conclude that the people involved in Threshold got so caught up in the freewheeling and uninhibited experience of making the movie that they lost all track of the story and audience.

Threshold is barely a horror film and doesn’t seem to really want to be one either. Like a traffic jam on a snow covered motorway full of roadworks it goes nowhere slowly and will only make you angry.

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