Movie Review: Faces Of Death

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlSiAE5JgMA

As a child, watching the original 1978 Faces of Death was a deeply formative experience. It traumatized me, but it also left me completely fascinated. The absolute charm of that cult classic mockumentary was its marketing; it posed as a real documentary, leaving audiences fiercely divided because nobody knew what was real and what was fake. When a 2026 reboot was announced, I was genuinely excited but skeptical. What could they possibly do with it in the modern era?

When the plot was revealed, my expectations split 50/50. Director Daniel Goldhaber and writer Isa Mazzei chose to abandon the faux-documentary format entirely, turning the property into a meta-slasher film. The story follows Margot (Barbie Ferreira), a traumatized content moderator who discovers a deranged serial killer (Dacre Montgomery) recreating the infamous death scenes from the original 1978 movie to gain viral fame on social media.

Ultimately, Faces of Death (2026) ends up being just "okay." The concept of a modern killer using social media algorithms to build an attention economy around shock gore is a simple and somewhat lazy premise. While I appreciated the blood and practical effects, the execution felt weak. The movie suffers from overly staged, sterile settings that lack grit.

The film could have been vastly improved by stepping outside into actual, raw outdoor environments. It would have been far more interesting if the killer staged entirely new, brutal deaths designed to look like horrific "accidents" on social media, rebranding it organically as a true modern Faces of Death.

But hey, I’m just another moviegoer. The film isn't a total loss—my 5/10 rating goes directly to the solid gore elements and Barbie Ferreira, who does a fantastic job anchoring the film. It's a passable popcorn slasher, but it misses the raw, mysterious magic that made the original so unforgettable.