Courtney Howard // Film Critic
Rated R, 1 hour and 38 minutes
Directed by: Daniel Goldhaber
Starring: Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler, Josie Totah, Charli XCX
The original FACES OF DEATH from 1978 exists to shock and horrify audiences, later passed around secretively on VHS tapes almost exclusively by Gen Xers at the dawn of the home video era. The collection of TV material and Super 8 snuff films – presented in a documentary style – plays like a greatest hits of gnarly kills that was, at the time, all rumored to be real. Of course, the truth surrounding the graphic footage was later admitted to being fudged, but the lore of it all still looms large.
Director/ co-writer Daniel Goldhaber’s reimagining of FACES OF DEATH is an innovative spin for a TikTok-addled generation. By including thought-provoking commentary on our cultural zeitgeist’s ills, he and co-writer Isa Mazzei have retrofit the material to directly correlate with the sinister trappings of our tech-obsessed, social media-driven era, feeding a machine that’s desperate for shock-inducing engagement and thirsting for violent voyeurism. Yet it’s disappointing when the filmmakers’ sharp subtext isn’t trusted to remain as such, as their characters are tasked to spell everything out, stating what astute audiences have already deciphered for themselves.
When we first meet Margot (Barbie Ferreira), she’s taking a stab at a healthy work-life balance. It’s been years since a traumatic event involving her younger sister transpired – one that cemented her place in online infamy and left her reeling from grief. She’s sought sanctuary, rooming with an empathetic roommate (Aaron Holliday). She’s now a dedicated worker at Kino Moderation, a content farming social media app that has strict rules about what happens on its site and within its walls. For their own mental health and safety, employees are instructed to not discuss their work with others in public, nor take their job home with them in any manner, whether that be looking up digital footprints after hours or even thinking about any post’s disturbing details.
Red flags are raised for Margot one day when an unsettling clip featuring mannequins electrocuting a man to death is sent her way for site approval. Her supervising manager/ friend Josh (Jermaine Fowler) is of the mind to let the video pass, justifying it as giving the people what they want. Her colleague (Charli XCX) finds macabre humor in it. However, when a second alarming clip surfaces, Margot becomes deeply suspicious about who could be making such upsetting art and if this person could possibly be behind a recent rash of disappearances, one of which includes obnoxious popular influencer Samantha (Josie Totah). That person is a ruthless serial killer (Dacre Montgomery) out to remake the original FACES OF DEATH, only this time utilizing real people as his canvas. Margot has her work cut out for her.
Goldhaber and Mazzei have done right, not only justifying their semi-sequel/ semi-remake’s existence, but making its commentary perfectly timely and timeless. Their reframing of the original is done in an intelligent manner putting the onus on society. They properly capture our current moment dealing with the consequences of becoming desensitized to everyday brutality, the surprising flippant lack of personal accountability and the maladies of generally being “too online.” The sentiment that engagement thrives when the content is attention-grabbing and shocking is showcased as a stinging damnation, not as anything aspirational. The duo also gift us with a great, rootable heroine driving the momentum, livening the internal and external stakes. Her broken anguish is turned into a healing, resonant and poignant catharsis as she faces her fears head on. Though her final girl call to arms is accompanied by a sense of convenience, it’s ultimately forgivable due to Ferreira’s assured, endearing performance.
Bigger picture concepts aside, the filmmakers unfortunately stumble at the end of act 2 and in the 3rd act when egregiously ridiculous contrivances befall Margot. She fails to properly communicate with the authorities, from the hospital scene onward when speaking to doctors and cops, and doesn’t use a modicum of smarts in doing so (like directing them to search the killer’s house). If the point is that cops are untrustworthy and men don’t listen to women in genuine peril, the execution is bungled. Most disappointing, for as much as the film deals in thematic subtleties, they fail to trust their audience enough to grasp what they’re selling, making their characters overtly explain them through expository dialogue.
The craftsmanship on display earns top marks. From the killer’s lair where he stages his vibrantly vicious vignettes to Margot’s bland gray workspace, cinematographer Isaac Bauman and production designer Christopher Stull make the spooky spaces appear eerie and foreboding. Composer Gavin Brivik’s pieces have an alluring disquiet to them, pulling us into an embrace, but also making us feel an unease. Editor Taylor Levy lets us linger in the discomfort of the creepy constructions, whether they be the killer’s stalking sequences or his many gruesome stagings. We find it hard to look away, which makes us ironically feel like a willing participant ourselves.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5
FACES OF DEATH will be in theaters on April 10.
