FACES OF DEATH Critiques Today’s Digital Age

Who would have thought the pseudo-documentary-turned-cult-classic Faces of Death would see itself getting a modern reimagining? A film so controversial that it became an urban legend in and of itself. However, rather than being a straightforward remake of the 1978 film, this new iteration serves as a self-referential extension of the original. And while it may not strike up as much fear as the first, it’s a smartly done commentary on the digital age.

Margot (Barbie Ferreira) is an online content moderator for a social media app called Kino. She spends her days watching a ton of videos, flagging the ones that are against policy. But her day-to-day is never ever too out of the ordinary. That is, until she sees a user upload a stylized video of what appears to be the brutal execution of a man, but she assumes it’s fake.

The same user uploads more videos, showing another person dying, and then another. Disturbed by what she’s seeing, she digs deeper and learns the subjects of these videos are actual missing people. And that the methods used in the videos are ripped from an old film. Thus leading her to fear there is a serial killer copying the tape.

Faces of Death is written and directed by the filmmakers behind the 2018 psychological horror film Cam, and I love how they are able to, once again, hone in on the horrors of the internet. And especially how they create a bridge to the original film, which came out long before the smartphone era of today. It was also smart to focus on Ferreira’s character, a content moderator who’s essentially the North Star of morality in a world so filled with chaos.

As we all know, it’s become more common to see disturbing things online, and part of what the film examines is what our society is okay with consuming through our phones. Whether it’s nonsense like a wild stunt gone wrong or something heavier like protestors being executed in our streets. We’re seeing this type of content almost daily. It feels unavoidable, and that’s by design.

Something else the film critiques is what these tech companies allow on their platforms. We see Margot flagging informative videos on personal safety, like how properly to use a condom or administer NARCAN, as it’s considered “inappropriate”. But she swiftly moves past videos of violence, allowing things like school fights or crazy accidents to stay up, because that shocking footage is now entertainment.

I found this avenue for the story to be interesting, especially with how that feeds into the killer and his own obsession with the attention he’s garnering. It’s almost difficult to resist going to extreme lengths if you have an audience hungry for it. It’s why we see so many influencers do asinine things daily for the views. And Arthur is no different.

Unlike the majority of slashers, this film does not keep its villain hidden behind the mask. We get to know Arthur immediately, portrayed by Dacre Montgomery. Most will recognize him from playing Billy in Stranger Things seasons two and three, another antagonistic character. And while you hate to see someone potentially typecast, Dacre is too good at playing the bad guy not to be. He is so methodical in his performance, delivering a truly unhinged character. He’s not afraid to embody the darkness in the role, and he’s one of the best parts of the film.

While Faces of Death has many positives in terms of its deeper meaning and meta commentary, I’ll admit I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. It somewhat struggles to build its tension to lead into a thrilling final act. I also think it’s quite reserved in its gore. For a film that has been leaning into the controversy of the original, it plays itself a little safe.

However, listening to the filmmakers discuss how it came to life and the effort they put into the smallest of details made me appreciate it more. Even though they wrote it in 2019 and wrapped filming in 2023, it still feels relevant because of their intentionality. That leaves me with an overall appreciation for the film and what it was trying to do, even if I craved more frights.