‘Faces of Death’ is a gory, clever satire for horror audiences who’ve seen everything

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In the 1980s, a controversial film called “Faces of Death” became popular through grainy VHS copies. It mixed real emergency footage with convincingly faked deaths, presented by a host pretending to be an expert, Dr. Gröss (the umlaut was meant to make him seem more credible). This shocking collection of gore spread quickly, much like today’s viral videos. One particularly infamous scene involved a staged meal of monkey brains, later imitated in the movie “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” Today, audiences generally have a higher tolerance for graphic content.

This new version, directed by Daniel Goldhaber and written by Isa Mazzei, features a character named Ryan explaining the appeal of an older, obscure film to his friend, Margot. He describes it as the kind of movie a video store manager would secretly keep hidden. The point is, it feels like a relic of a different time – back when finding shocking content wasn’t as easy as scrolling through the internet.

In the new film, Rooney Ferreira plays Margot, a strong and sympathetic character who works as a content moderator for a social media platform called Kino – think TikTok, but with a more sophisticated name. Margot doesn’t remove disturbing content; instead, she approves it, essentially allowing graphic videos of injuries and attacks to stay online. She takes this emotionally draining job because a violent video once deeply affected her own life, turning her into an unwilling internet celebrity and leading her to withdraw from modern life, relying only on a basic flip phone.

By the beginning of the movie, Margot is tired of cleaning up the mess left by the film’s gruesome content. Her interest is rekindled when she discovers Arthur (Dacre Montgomery), an amateur filmmaker who’s creating his own disturbing videos, inspired by the notorious “Faces of Death” and featuring real people. You don’t need to have seen the original, terrible movie to understand what’s happening (though clips are readily available online). But rather than taking my word for it, consider Arthur’s methods – he makes his captives watch it over and over as a form of torture.

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Director Daniel Goldhaber, writer Isa Mazzei, and actress Barbie Ferreira talk about the challenges and ethical considerations of updating a classic horror film for modern audiences.

Arthur is a strange and unremarkable man, like a typical cellphone store employee, and his motives are completely unclear. He could be an attention-seeking artist, or represent a loss of feeling in people. However, the people he targets – a social media influencer, a movie director, and a news reporter – suggest he might be trying to deliver a twisted moral lesson, similar to a character like Jigsaw. The news reporter is kidnapped shortly after recording back-to-back stories about suicide and a cute puppy, which seems like a commentary on the way news often jumps between serious and lighthearted topics, a practice that’s been common for years.

We also find it hard to believe that Arthur can suddenly become a quick, ceiling-crawling killer. (And it’s even stranger that he’s supposedly afraid of blood – how does he clean up afterward?) Despite this, actor Rory Montgomery is convincingly creepy with his intense performance and unsettling costume – red contact lenses and a blank, white mask. He’s particularly frightening once the story gets moving and he starts hunting Margot. It’s genuinely scary how quickly this hacker locates her apartment. The scene where Margot is kidnapped is incredibly tense, thanks to the dynamic camera work as it races up the stairs, paired with a heart-pounding musical score.

The movie would have been frightening enough just watching the disturbing content Margot oversees. (And a lot of it is actually real.) Like many online thrillers, the scariest part isn’t what happens in the film itself, but the cold, detached comments people make while watching. (Think of movies like “Dashcam” and “Spree.”) There’s a never-ending stream of people eager to see more, and as I write this, someone just typed, “So awful. Nice find!”

Being constantly connected to the internet can be mentally draining, and many of us are affected by it to some degree. The filmmakers Goldhaber and Mazzei explored this idea brilliantly in their 2018 film, “Cam,” which featured a popular streamer whose audience became fascinated with violence. Their new film, “Faces of Death,” doesn’t offer any new insights, and that seems to be intentional. It’s simply flashy entertainment with a few clever moments, like when a character points out that the internet rewards repetition. As a satire, it’s rather subtle – the filmmakers don’t fully develop their ideas, assuming audiences already recognize the internet’s potential for harm. I found it both enjoyable and frustrating, much like a teacher dealing with a bright but unmotivated student.

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The film jumps right into showing the impact of the cancer, and immediately establishes a bleak atmosphere at the Kino offices. It’s a depressing place, dimly lit and filled with employees engaging in questionable behavior, seemingly just to feel something. Margot’s colleague, Gabby, finds the whole situation amusing. The irony is strong: during training, new employees are told Kino prioritizes user safety, while their boss, Josh, would go to extreme lengths – even harming himself – to maintain viewer engagement.

The disconnect in ‘Kino’s’ approach mirrors the strange logic of the fictional Dr. Gröss from the original film, who, after showing disturbing footage, lectured viewers about the dangers of poverty, pollution, and fascism. However, the filmmakers behind this new version aren’t entirely wrong to suggest that people want to see shocking content. To argue otherwise would be to deny a basic human impulse. And that’s precisely why the movie is so compelling – why we find ourselves rooting for Margot, the ruthless character played by Ferreira. I admit, I’m just as captivated. I’ve been eagerly anticipating this updated take on the material, drawn in by the dark vision of Goldhaber and Mazzei.

I really enjoyed the movie. Considering their talent – the same team also made “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” in 2022 – I think they’ll create even stronger films in the future, and I hope they’ll showcase their great comedic timing more. A particular highlight for me was when Arthur cleverly responded to a negative comment online.

Margot is determined to believe the people she interacts with online are real, as she desperately needs to feel understood herself. However, the characters in the story keep making incredibly silly choices, making them seem unbelievable. After a few particularly foolish actions, it’s easy to start thinking the story is intentionally ridiculous – a commentary by the writer, Mazzei, on how the internet might be making everyone, including us, a little less intelligent by encouraging us to accept such illogical behavior.

“Faces of Death” is presented so much through the lens of online viewing that the internet isn’t just being judged in the film—it’s also the one doing the judging. This makes it okay to watch this smart, engaging thriller as a detached observer. You can enjoy it, react to it, and then simply move on.

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2026-04-09 13:31