Rating: 8/10
When I first heard there was a new Faces of Death movie coming out, my initial reaction was, “why?” Long gone are the days of shocking films and barf bags. Was this going to be another installment in the franchise? Was this going to be a straight up remake of the original? If you’re going to make a Faces of Death movie in 2026, there’s going to be expectations from fans expecting another Mondo film filled with exploitative death scenes, so how do you bring the concept of Faces of Death to the modern age? Well, director Daniel Goldhaber gives us the answers to these questions with his meta, thought-provoking, and yes, gory reimagining of the infamous film. The film follows a content moderator for a TikTok-esque social media platform who discovers a series of viral videos featuring murders heavily influenced by scenes from the original Faces of Death movie, and she makes it her mission to identify the serial killer behind these videos. Interesting premise, but is the movie worth a watch? Hell yes. Daniel Goldhaber has cleverly brought the morbid curiosity and Real vs. Fake debate that surrounded the original film to the modern age. The film is an effective commentary on the current state of internet addiction and everyone’s yearning for viral popularity. Damn near everyone in this film is chronically online and constantly searches for that dopamine hit from a “like” on their posts, but this movie is in no way preachy. It has a fun 80’s Slasher element featuring some gnarly practical effects, a killer synth-heavy score, and some damn good suspense, and unlike most movies in the realm of the Slasher and Pseudo Snuff films, the violence actually serves a purpose and rarely comes across as gratuitous. The acting is also very solid and believable. Barbie Ferreira perfectly conveys a range of emotions, and Dacre Montgomery really sinks his teeth into his role as the killer, and looks like he’s having the time of his life playing it. Now, I’m willing to bet most fans of the original Faces of Death will be letdown by this movie. This movie isn’t for the real life gore-seeking fans who probably frequented rotten.com in the 2000’s, but honestly, would it really be necessary to make a film like the 1978 Faces of Death? The original was a product of its time. It was a movie that catered to people looking for something taboo to watch, and in the current world we live in where most of us are desensitized to violent content thanks to the accessibility of the internet, a movie like the original wouldn’t serve a purpose, because we’re all exposed to gory and violent content online anyway. A movie like the original probably wouldn’t even be green-lit. However, if you’re looking for a movie rich in thought-provoking themes, suspense, and of course violent kills, then give this one a shot.
Written By: Steven Sandoval
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