Faces Of Death Killer’s Motives & Backstory Are Hidden Throughout The Horror Reboot, Hints Director & Writer

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Be warned, this contains spoilers for the 2026 film Faces of Death! The upcoming Faces of Death features a violent new killer who takes inspiration from the original horror movie, and the filmmakers are now discussing what drives him.

This horror thriller is a follow-up to a 1978 exploitation film. Dacre Montgomery (known from Stranger Things) plays Arthur, a serial killer who’s copying murders from the original film and posting them online on a fake social media site called Kino. This catches the eye of Margot, a content moderator played by Barbie Ferreira, who starts looking into the videos and unknowingly makes herself a target.

Before the release of the movie, Grant Hermanns from ScreenRant spoke with director and co-writer Daniel Goldhaber and co-writer Isa Mazzei about Faces of Death. When discussing the character Arthur and how much of his past to reveal, Mazzei explained that they intentionally “kept things mysterious,” and also shared that a significant portion of Arthur’s backstory didn’t make it into the final film.

The co-writer urged viewers to carefully watch the scenes taking place at Arthur’s house in Faces of Death, and to pay attention to what Arthur says, as these details reveal clues about his motivations and past. She added that the character’s backstory is complex and isn’t immediately obvious, rewarding close attention to detail.

Goldhaber admitted he tends to lose interest in horror movies once the killer’s backstory is fully revealed. Because of this, he and Mazzei intentionally avoided providing a complete explanation for the killer in Faces of Death. They wanted to offer viewers subtle hints and clues about Arthur instead, letting them piece the story together themselves.

I find that explaining too much actually makes things less interesting and less frightening. We tried to subtly hint at Arthur’s background through the set design – his house is in a remote, isolating neighborhood filled with these cookie-cutter homes where people don’t really connect. There are a lot of small details hidden within the set that offer clues about who Arthur is and what he believes.

Montgomery explained that when creating the killer character for Faces of Death, he drew heavily from the case of Elliot Rodger, the well-known perpetrator from Santa Barbara. The actor, known for Dead Man’s Wire, jokingly admitted he can be difficult to work with, constantly texting people around the clock—even before and after landing a role—as part of his deep dive into understanding a character.

Regarding the horror sequel, Montgomery was based in Los Angeles during filming, and his co-star, Danny, frequently visited his home while they collaborated on the script and developed their characters together. Montgomery also shared that he likes to fully immerse himself in research and information throughout the entire process – from initial preparation to actual shooting – as part of his approach to acting.

To really understand my character, Arthur, and the story, I asked the directors, Danny and Isa, a ton of questions – probably too many! I really needed to explore every angle to make informed choices. Thankfully, they were patient and collaborative, which I really appreciated. Making a movie is a team effort, like a circus – everyone needs to work together. Their willingness to share ideas allowed us to develop Arthur in a lot of depth, and I had a fantastic experience working with them.

As Goldhaber and Mazzei noted, the latest installment of Faces of Death provides several hints about Arthur’s motivations and history. For example, scenes inside his home contain background details that suggest aspects of his personality, such as photos of a family with red X’s over their eyes – possibly indicating he murdered them previously.

The connection Montgomery made between Elliot Rodger’s influence on the killer in Faces of Death seems accurate, especially considering a room in the film featured a painting of Hitler. Many individuals identified as ‘incels’ online share beliefs similar to those found in neo-Nazi groups, which may explain how the killer chose his victims.

The filmmakers felt a lengthy explanation would have lessened the horror of the movie. Also, the new Faces of Death doesn’t really need a detailed backstory for the character of Arthur or his reasons for acting the way he does. If the film had been more like a typical slasher thriller, such as Scream or Heart Eyes, Arthur’s identity and motivations would have been a mystery for most of the runtime, instead of constantly switching between his pursuit of victims and Margot’s investigation.

Many positive reviews suggest that the creators of Faces of Death are primarily focused on the risks of harmful content spreading online and its potential negative impact. Considering they’ve hinted at a detailed backstory for the character Arthur, and the film ends with his death, it will be interesting to see if the film does well enough to warrant a prequel that further explores the life of Montgomery’s character.

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2026-04-11 20:19