"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 this film works on every conceivable level; it holds court not only as a historical document of time and place, but also as a window into the soul of American adolescence.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 Nisa's 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. Sílike 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 itís left so open-ended and realistically without closure. A genuinely independent feeling film ñ 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 youíre not likely to hear anywhere else... Hear, see, never set foot in a multiplex ever again."
-TERRORIZER Magazine

"If the characters in THREAT don't remind you of the troubled friends of your wild youth, or show the future your crazy friends will have if they don't die first, your friends are boring. Unapologetic, gritty, not glamorizing or tsk-tsking anti-social behavior, Threat is simply a slice of life for broke, pissed-off, non-conformist youth who're slightly more eloquent than your dumb ass, without getting all preachy and statement-making. Buy it, steal it, do whatever ya gotta do to see it, then wonder why so many other movies are so timid and lame."
-Scott Hefflon, Lollipop Magazine

"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 and 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

"A defiant and confrontational movie about class war and unbridled youth violence."
-Suicide Girls

"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 Pizzolo's 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

"HARDCORE TRANSFORMED INTO BREAKCORE: The indie film THREAT is notorious for its brutal methods of sending a positive message. This is not the film soundtrack; this is a supplementary album full of further adventures in musical fusion. Breakcore mixmasters take hold of songs by the likes of Minor Threat, Terror, and Youth Of Today, and play Dr. Frankenstein to produce a monster of intense, unusual, and at times very impressive character. So there's no confusion over this breakcore style, this release is more a showcase for skilled DJs to dismember and reassemble an uncanny marriage of techno and metallic hardcore. A beast that becomes a beauty, this musical creation carries substance, maintaining continuity with the film's concept of hope - to join diametrically opposed elements in harmony. Of the 15 mixes, some are truly wonders of electronic possibility. Enduser's retooling of Terror's "Overcome" retains genuine brutality, and Killswitch Engage's "World Ablaze" is put into surreal industrial disco beats by Edgey. In touch with THREAT's message, all tracks are listed in a confrontational manner (e.g. Agnostic Front vs. Alec Empire and Bleeding Through vs. Hecate). Considering that resolution often follows revolution, the antagonistic manner is appropriate."
-Christian Cipollini, OUTBURN Magazine

"RIOT MUSIC: Alec Empire of Atari Teenage Riot is at the helm of THREAT's soundtrack, the accompaniment to the movie about social unrest in New York's Lower East Side. Empire's omnipresent influence is felt on the majority of the 18 tracks that litter the album with hardcore techno and industrial anthems. Empire's "Night Of Violence" is one of the paramount tracks with its thick guitars and blurry vocals that sets the stage for the album's volatile atmosphere. Half of Atari Teenage Riot's noteworthy contributions stem from Delete Yourself, such as "Start The Riot" and "Into The Death." Midway, Bleeding Through cuts the fog of digital music to send the album into a hardcore tailspin with "Number Seven With A Bullet." Most Precious Blood and Eighteen Visions keep the industrial riot at bay with lashings of metalcore on "The Great Red Shift" and "One Hell Of A Prize Fighter." The closing half of the album falters with Queque's two offerings and Eyes Like Knives' "Drone" - four minutes of dead air that put the breaks on the album's intensity. "The Kids Are United" closes the disc on an upbeat and positive note. Empire has crafted a score that is overcast with Atari Teenage Riot work that incites the intense, riot inspiring environment that the movie demands."
-Tracy D'Arcy, OUTBURN Magazine

"Threat was released with a soundtrack and a "Music That Inspired The Movie" CD that'll knock you flat on your ass, no matter how tough you think you are."
-Scott Hefflon, Lollipop Magazine