"Faces of Death" Explores Societal Appetite for Violence

The new film "Faces of Death," directed by Daniel Goldhaber and co-scripted with Isa Mazzei, is described by its creators as an exploration of desensitization to violence, complicity in viewing violent imagery, and a societal appetite for real-life carnage.

They aimed to "hold a mirror up to the toxic media ecosystem" and characterized the film as "an exploitation of an iconic exploitation film."

Background: The 1978 Original

The original "Faces of Death," released in 1978, was a "mondo horror" faux documentary. It depicted various graphic deaths, with a mix of real and fabricated footage. The film became a profitable cult classic following its VHS release, leading to multiple sequels.

Plot and Characters: A Modern Take

The contemporary "Faces of Death" centers on Margo (Barbie Ferreira), a content moderator for a video-sharing website called Kino. Margo, who has a history with internet notoriety, is responsible for evaluating objectionable video uploads. Her supervisor (Jermaine Fowler) encourages her to prioritize viewer demand.

Margo begins to suspect the authenticity of some videos when she notices their resemblance to footage from the original "Faces of Death." This leads her to discover that the videos are the work of a serial killer named Arthur (Dacre Montgomery). Arthur, who wears red contact lenses and a mask, imprisons individuals in his basement and targets Margo once he realizes she is investigating him.

Key Themes

Key themes articulated by the antagonist, Arthur, include elements of the "attention economy" and the appeal of remakes.

Cast and Production Details

The film features Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler, Charlie XCX, Kurt Yue, Ash Maeda, Sam Malone, Tiffany Colin, Tadasy Young, and Jared Bankens. The R-rated film has a running time of 1 hour and 38 minutes and was released on Friday, April 10. IFC Films provided the film with its widest release to date.