Last year FILMSTARTS featured the cult shocker “Faces Of Death”, also known as “Faces of Death” in this country. Because the 1978 film, once banned in many countries, was taken off the index—and now it is fully available unabridged*. But what we least expected: that the film would really get a new edition after 45 years!
Legendary is currently working on a Faces Of Death remake that will breathe new life into another horror movie classic, after the launch of the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, which was released exclusively on Netflix in 2022. And in the new edition of the semi-documentary, high-profile mondo horror classic, prominent faces are placed in front of the camera:
Of Barbie Ferreira And Dacre Montgomery the first cast members of the film have now been revealed, which already suggests who the target audience of the new “Faces Of Death” could be: Ferreira, who also recently appeared in Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror film “Nope”, celebrated her big break with the nine-time Emmy-winning teen hit series “Euphoria”. “. Montgomery, on the other hand, was involved in “Power Rangers” and “Elvis” among others, but is probably known to most as Billy Hargrove in the Netflix mega hit “Stranger Things”.
Last but not least, both “Euphoria” and “Stranger Things” also inspire young audiences. To what extent this will also flow into the concept of the “Faces of Death” remake remains to be seen. If anything, the past original was mainly aimed at movie fans who, far from the mainstream, like to dive into off-the-beaten-track cinema in search of borderline experiences.
With Isa Mazzei and Daniel Goldhaber, there is at least a duo behind the project, who have already gained experience with the Netflix-released horror thriller “Cam”, which could also come in handy for a mockumentary like “Faces Of Death”. … .
This is Faces Of Death
The independent film by director John Alan Schwartz even got a theatrical release in 1978, but it didn’t become a real phenomenon until the 1980s. The shock factor of “Faces Of Death”, where at the time no one knew exactly whether the deaths shown in the film were real or just staged, gave the film an absolutely exceptional hype – making it a mega hit in the home theater. The film is said to have grossed more than $35 million. To put this in context, the movie isn’t far behind the box office of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi masterpiece “Blade Runner”!
But what is “Faces Of Death” actually about? Well, we actually just revealed that. Than basically the film consists of a series of shots of people and animals whose deaths are filmed, fused together by a frame story. Today it is well known: while isolated recordings are not actually staged, the majority of Schwartz has been staged.
It remains to be seen to what extent Mazzei and Goldhaber can add something new to the whole in 2023. While it will hardly be possible to fool the viewers into believing that these are “real” deaths, a horror subgenre has emerged from documentary horror films such as “Blair Witch Project” and co. showed some signs of use in recent years. However, Mazzei and Goldhaber want to take the opportunity Starting with the controversial classic, to explore “the cycle of violence and how it is perpetuated online”.