Diary entries forFaces of Death
Faces of Death
Dacre Montgomery is such a delightfully sick fuck in this and that was an even bigger shock to me than "this is the best S*ream film of the year" (like that was hard) and "this validates my Town That Dreaded Sundown-born thoughts that remakes can surpass originals while providing fascinating commentary reflecting on us" Was very torn on 4 or the full 5 for this one, because I do think this felt a tad long/drawn-out. But fuck it, I love a bold swing, especially one that sticks the landing. And it's hard to think of a bolder one than doing a modern takedown of us while doing a takedown-with-respect of the most controversial film ever and getting a big theater release out of it with the same name attached nth reminder that Goldhaber's the real deal; 10000th reminder that yall need to watch Cam!
Faces of Death
I’m very surprised of how much I ended up liking this!! I didn’t bother watching the original and I would have 100% but animal deaths aren’t my thing especially if it’s gore (I’ll get around to it one day). I only watched the trailer once and looked at bts stuff that’s all. And I of course knew a lot about the original just only from those ‘disturbing horror movies’ iceberg videos I watched and the infamous monkey scene before. I thought that this movie was going to maybe be as gross as the og (like maybe Terrifier type gore) which I probably would have liked since it is someone re-enacting kills from that movie but I was pretty satisfied of the final result and I think many people who didn’t like of how excessive the original was would enjoy this as well. It’s very much one of those films that someone can watch if they want to get into disturbing horror. People like Arthur who hurt people whether it would be physical or emotional for content would get a turn on by the attention they get that makes them want to do more sorta Luka Magnotta with the whole ‘don’t fuck with cats’ thing that Margot did which i loved btw. Even though Arthur made fun of Sam complaining about being ‘too famous’ that news report scene was enough for me to know he definitely loves the attention. And that ending I loved very much because Arthur laughing meant that he knew that he won and loved it. No matter what there will be people still on his side whether it would be fake or not which is terrifying because there are people like that online that I’ve seen many many times and it’s so upsetting. And it being mainly ‘TikTok’ is tooo realistic because for some odd reason they love that type of shit on there. I would 100% want to rewatch this again soon there’s so much more I want to say but I think I’ll wait until it hits digital.
Faces of Death
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Faces of Death
The cast wasn’t very good and i’m really puzzled as to why they cast Charli XCX for two minor scenes but Dacre Montgomery KILLED it and carried the film on his back. Cast aside, the story was awesome and I loved the meta commentary they had — I wish there was a little more gore but overall I really enjoyed it! 7.5/10
Faces of Death
Daniel Goldhaber really is that dude. Loved this. While I certainly would’ve enjoyed (and expected) a bit more gore, it’s hard to deny that the film is effective. Mean spirited and tense, just the way you want. Barbie Ferreira plays on the edge of a wire, while Dacre Montgomery puts in what will surely be one of theehorror performances of the year. 2026 Ranked (https://boxd.it/RN1V4)
Faces of Death
John Alan Schwartz’s original mondo-style documentary Faces of Death—released under the pseudonym Conan Le Cilaire—has lived in infamy since its release. A precursor to the internet era we now inhabit, it forced viewers to confront deeply uncomfortable footage of life being extinguished. Much of the “death” turned out to be staged, but it made its point loud and clear. Daniel Goldhaber and screenwriter Isa Mazzei take the original’s mission statement and co-opt it into something new and equally twisted. Rather than dwelling on death itself, the film interrogates the morbid spectacle of violence in a world where it is so easily accessible, drawing a distinction between desensitization and normalization. The real threat, both argue, is not feeling nothing—but getting used to feeling bad all the time. In retrospect, it’s fascinating to see how provocative Schwartz’s Faces of Death was upon release, given how much worse is now so readily available. On that note, the film has some entirely valid criticisms to make about online moderation—mainly that it fucking sucks. I’m not speaking only to the ineptitude of social media platform’s attempts at making it “safer” (they aren’t), though that’s certainly a large part of it, but also to the downright pathetic efforts at moderating explicit sites like Pornhub—platforms that have become outlets for rape, sexual assault, child abuse, revenge porn, and hidden camera footage. Faces of Death is pointedly focused on the violence, but the wider context is worth raising regardless. Like the film says: give the people what they want. Online algorithms prey on your morbid curiosity, engineered to keep you scrolling for hours on end, cycling through fear, anger, and confusion. Goldhaber leans into that reality right through to the end—a downbeat victory lap that makes willing accomplices of us all. Fucked up. ᐅ 2026 Releases — Ranked (https://boxd.it/RnJfa)
Faces of Death
A high 3.5 to 4. I really really enjoyed this in an early screening. It really kept me on the edge of my seat most of the movie. Dont expect a cinematic and visiual masterpiece. I respect it for not being a remake of the original. I havent seen the original, I know its a documentary. This is not a documentary. I believe every person in this did great. Overall, this was a really fun, unexpected at times, movie. I dont think its as gory as they make it seem, but really great effects when it gets some gory.
