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In Faces of Death, a woman goes a little manic when she begins to believe that some videos she has seen online are actually snuff films. We all know that manic women in movies can’t be trusted, even when a serial killer is indeed out there filming his murders.
A remake/sequel of sorts of a 1970s horror film that most of us haven’t seen, Faces of Death is simultaneously an engrossing slasher flick and brutal takedown of the tech companies that keep us coming back for more.
Barbie Ferreira (Euphoria) plays a social media video moderator who takes to Reddit when her supervisors ignore her frantic pleas to further investigate a series of videos uploaded to their platform. She’s hysterical and cannot be believed, of course. But the killer (Dacre Montgomery) takes notice.
Ferreira is great in the lead role, and the whole cast delivers in spades. Montgomery is especially wicked, unleashing upon audiences a riveting and sinister performance as Arthur Spevak. Montgomery’s villainous turn will stand out among the year’s best.
A memorable villain paired with a well-executed script isn’t all that common, but with Faces of Death director and co-writer Daniel Goldhaber delivers a lean and efficient thriller that checks all the right boxes. Faces of Death isn’t outright scary but it is unsettling as hell, from the killer’s mask to his deranged mission. There’s another layer at work too: a critical examination of how social media and video companies operate to keep us glued to our devices, and in turn our consumeristic fascination with pain, embarrassment, and violence. Consumers aren’t killing the victims here, but their obsession for more feeds the algorithm.
Faces to Death is a highly effective horror-thriller that offers up a deadly combination of quality acting, bloody suspense, and a killer who should stand the test of time. And a manic protagonist who cannot be believed and certainly never trusted.
Review by Erik Samdahl. Erik is a marketing and technology executive by day, avid movie lover by night. He is a member of the Seattle Film Critics Society.