Drafthouse Films knows that Collider can’t resist an experimental horror film, which is why they shared with us an exclusive trailer for their upcoming movie Masking Threshold. With a unique take on body horror and a different approach to the genre, the movie centers around a man who decides to personally examine a ringing in his ears and comes to a horrifying discovery. Drafthouse Films also shared with Collider the release date for the movie, which is slated for September 30 at top Alamo locations, followed by a digital release on October 7.

The trailer for Masking Threshold is different from most horror trailers you’ve seen, and it plays up the experimental nature of the project. It highlights the fact that, in his quest to break down how sound is perceived by the human ear, the protagonist and data analyst will do some experiments that involve listening up close to the sounds that everything makes, and how the sound of an object or being is affected by everything around it.

It’s fun to watch the experiments until the trailer reminds us that we’re gearing up to watch a body horror–and then you have to brace yourself for whatever images and sounds come next, from dead animals to sharp objects piercing body parts. And then it just gets flat-out surreal with abstract imagery that we’ll certainly have to watch the movie to understand how they factor into the story.

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Image via Drafthouse Features

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Masking Threshold is directed by Austrian filmmaker Johannes Grenzfurthner, who is frequently acclaimed across horror and independent film festivals across the world. He helmed titles such as Glossary of Broken Dreams and Traceroute. The director premiered Masking Threshold at 2021’s Fantastic Fest, where it was unanimously praised by critics.

In an interview with Film Threat, Grenzfurthner talked about the inspiration for the movie and revealed some surprising areas he pulled from in order to create a disturbing story:

“I wanted to create a horror film that combines the conventions of the genre with the aesthetic of an experimental film. That’s why I use design tools from chamber play, unboxing video, scientific documentary, and do-it-yourself YouTube channel to unfold the psychological and sculptural horror. If we observe the history of the horror genre, it has spawned a lot of innovation and the never-before-seen. I only have to remind you of the expressionistic, creepy world of a ‘Nosferatu’, the spatial trepidation of ‘Alien’, or the almost pornographic body horror of films like ‘Saw’. Again and again, aesthetic, visual spaces were opened up that were not possible or not yet established in the other areas of the film world. At the same time, hardly any other genre is so predictable on the narrative level and draws a peculiar power from the eternal return of the same.”

Masking Threshold opens in theaters exclusively with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas on September 30 in top Alamo locations, including New York, Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, Denver, and more. A week later, on October 7, the movie becomes available nationwide on a digital release.

You can watch the trailer below:

Check out the official synopsis here:

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 cosmicism, 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.