Faces of Death review
A pretty strong attempt to bring a legend back to life.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Faces of Death
Directed by Daniel Goldhaber
Written by Isa Mazzei and Daniel Goldhaber
Starring Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler and Charlie XCX
Faces of Death Review
Faces of Death was a singular thing. As this 2026 movie with the same title points out…it was like the first viral video. That’s true. 1978’s Faces of Death was also like a right of passage. In the days before the internet…that video tape represented something different than whatever other horror movie you could find. This one was real. At least, that’s what a generation of young viewers desperate to find a way to watch the movie thought. And…told each other. I’d guess that every playground standing in the 80s had at least one person telling anyone who would listen about this messed up video they watched that showed actual people being killed.
The tape itself is actually pretty boring…but that’s part of what made it feel real. Instead of overwhelming viewers with montages of bodies…Faces of Death lingered. It wanted you to see how real and authentic each segment was. Even if it wasn’t. It’s funny in a way. When the internet first started spreading across the world…you’d think that would have been the time that Faces of Death and its totally real murders spread like wildfire. The opposite happened. That’s when the generation of kids who talked about it found out it was fake. While internet users were convincing themselves that The Blair Witch Project was totally real footage of these three people who went missing…the Faces of Death bubble was bursting.
2026’s Faces of Death isn’t a remake of the original…but in its meta way that might still be the best way to describe it. It’s about someone remaking the deaths seen in the notorious film. Which is a way better idea than simply trying to sell a similar concept to the 1978 movie in a world where no one believes anything is real anymore. In fact, it’s such a good idea that I can’t believe it took this long to happen.
The new Faces of Death has more in common with an investigative horror movie…or even one of those fake true crime mockumentaries that have become so popular than it does the 1978 original. It’s the right choice. I can’t imagine how trying to recreate that film in 2026 would even work…aside from the way this movie does it. Arthur (Dacre Montgomery) is the one “remaking” Faces of Death for a modern audience. He uploads his slickly produced videos to a website moderated by Margot (Barbie Ferreira) who begins to question whether what she’s being told to approve for clicks isn’t the genuine article.
Faces of Death has a bit of fun with what the site approves and flags without weighing itself down with full blown satire. A fully clothed woman showing how to properly apply a condom on a piece of fruit…flag it for sexual content. A man beheaded by Arthur’s mannequin assistants, on the other hand? People are eating that up…let it pass. The movie handles moments like that quickly and efficiently. They aren’t the point of the story…but they are a fun and all to real commentary on what is up for censorship…and what isn’t.
No one at Margot’s company is inclined to believe or help her. Her NDA limits what she can do about it altogether. At least, it should. She quickly goes rogue to launch her own investigation into the videos. She’s compelled by a tragic incident in her past that has made her “internet famous” in her own right. If she can help these people…she’s willing to do whatever it takes. That should make for a compelling character…but it’s one of the places where Faces of Death struggles. In part because Dacre Montgomery is taking all the compelling for himself. His committed psychopath manages to steal scenes he isn’t even in.
Faces of Death splits time between the two leads. We see the work Margot puts into finding Arthur…and the work Arthur puts into producing his videos. Which one sounds more compelling? For his part…Arthur manages to figure out who Margot is and where she’s operating from much faster than vice versa. Arthur represents the remake idea in human form. And his dark, gritty, violent scenes are the highlight of Faces of Death.
What isn’t as highlight worthy is the third act of Faces of Death. For about an hour, the movie hums along with a nice tinge of believable darkness…buoyed by Montgomery’s performance and its moments of shocking violence. Then the story has to resolve itself. Despite a few more high quality horror moments and some equally fine creep factor from Montgomery…Faces of Death threatens to cannibalize itself looking for an ending. Things start to become bloated and overdone. It gets too broad for its own good. A few moments end up unintentionally funny when they should be peaking the horror aspects of the story instead.
Still, Faces of Death is an admirable job at updating that infamous movie for a new generation. Its online aspects feel far more genuine than most movies manage to pull off. The satire elements of online society work well and are used sparingly. Montgomery delivers a great performance. There are a few quality suspense and kill scenes. It all adds up to a good movie…which is how I would describe Faces of Death. Even with a handful of things that don’t quite work.
Scare Value
Don’t go into Faces of Death expecting to see a straight remake of the original. In fact, be happy that they didn’t try that. This version of Faces of Death comes by its menace a different way…namely a strong antagonist played by Dacre Montgomery. The investigative horror aspects of the story work well until they overwhelm the third act. By then you might just be happy enough with what Faces of Death has delivered to forgive it some missteps. It’s a nasty movie when it wants to be. Which is also when it’s at its best.
3/5
Faces of Death Link
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