Film Review – Faces of Death (2026)

      Faces of Death, 2026.

      Directed by Daniel Goldhaber.

      Featuring Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Charli XCX, Jermaine Fowler, Aaron Holliday, Nathaniel Woolsey, Jared Bankens, J.D. Evermore, Britton Webb, Tadasay Young, Sarah Voigt, Brandon Sutton, and Paris Peterson.

      SYNOPSIS:

      A woman working as a content moderator for a website stumbles upon a collection of violent videos reenacting death scenes from a film. Co-writer/director Daniel Goldhaber's tech-focused slasher, Faces of Death, resists easy categorization. It isn’t strictly a remake or a sequel but operates as a meta-commentary set in our reality, where the original—a non-rated mix of real and fictional fatalities narrated by a pathologist—exists as a genuine film.

      Intelligently, the film, co-written by Isa Mazzei, employs this meta-textual element not merely to engage fans but as a narrative device to delve into the current prevalence of graphic content on social media, the psychological toll of reviewing flagged content, and the capitalist motivations behind these platforms that pressure overburdened moderators—whether they recognize it or not—to scroll through some of humanity's most disturbing actions and allow certain material to remain available to satisfy viewer demand. It also touches on the age-old adage, "if you gaze into the abyss long enough, it stares back," and features a truly deranged killer portrayed by a convincingly sociopathic Dacre Montgomery, who uses the original film as his deadly muse.

      Barbie Ferreira plays Margot, who works for this fictional company, removing any images or videos that may depict real violence or sexual assault. Her carefree boss (Jermaine Fowler) sets dubious guidelines, advising her to avoid overthinking her exposure to disturbing content and to be lenient with the rules, emphasizing that the platform's profit is paramount. Consequently, materials that seem harmless (like condom application instructions) can be removed, while violent content may sometimes slip through.

      During her work routine, Margot encounters videos that appear to be either remakes or clips from the original Faces of Death—an unfamiliar film to her, though her roommate conveniently owns a VHS copy to provide her with context. Margot grows increasingly uncertain about the authenticity of the deaths portrayed, prompting her to alert her boss and colleagues (including Charli XCX in a minimal role), who either dismiss her concerns or mock her, revealing their desensitization and even amusement while navigating these grotesque corners of the Internet.

      Admittedly, this film's premise is outlandish, often straddling the line between silly and implausible, asking audiences—both familiar and unfamiliar with the original—to accept it as a cursed artifact, despite its largely negative online reception and the emergence of disliked imitators. When Margot seeks opinions on Reddit regarding the videos (where forum moderators would likely have her posts removed immediately), this aspect becomes even more implausible, and the interaction with her threads stretches credibility. Moreover, there’s an unnecessary, underdeveloped revelation regarding her character. Nevertheless, this approach to Faces of Death is inventive, offering more thematically for those who don't hold reverence for the original.

      What follows is Margot's obsessive descent into the disturbing videos increasingly appearing in her content review feed, contrasted with the aforementioned killer’s methodical targeting of victims via a work database, supplemented by a talent for hacking. He abducts and drugs them, bringing them to his lair stocked with mannequins and creepy elements, where he orchestrates unique killings to disseminate across social media in an effort to enhance his notoriety. Given the original film's infamous reputation, it's unsurprising that the killings are graphically intense.

      Faces of Death is disturbingly impactful, not just due to its violence but also for the insights it provides about engaging with deplorable online behavior and the risks associated with both being a consumer and a creator of such content. It presents a familiar narrative of an overlooked individual obsessively tracking a killer but framed through a contemporary lens that focuses on the horrors proliferating online. The film is unapologetically brutal, making it difficult to predict who among the main characters will survive or what the ultimate outcome will be.

      Both Barbie Ferreira and Dacre Montgomery shine in their performances, with Ferreira evolving into a primal force of rage and Montgomery skillfully portraying different personalities to evade real-world suspicion.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

      Robert Kojder