By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
From slasher horror to suspense thriller, this is a film that scratches the familiar surfaces of genre tropes without ever carving its own path. Inspired by the controversial 1978 film of the same name, “Faces of Death” never quite finds its own footing or pushes boundaries far enough to make it memorable, but it does successfully capture the internet obsessed culture that exists today. Using ordinary genre conventions, the story follows a straightforward and predictable course that feels somewhat hollow.
Working as a website content moderator, Margot (Barbie Ferreira) sees her fair share of disturbing videos, but these violent videos from one individual have shaken her to her core. Arthur (Dacre Montgomery) is the serial killer responsible for these snuff videos thought to be deep fakes. Ignored by her company and the police, Margot launches her own investigation to unmask this murderer, but a face-to-face meeting may be a face-to-face with death itself.
Like a child unsure of how far to push the boundaries, writer/director Daniel Goldhaber plays at the fringes of slasher horror and psychological suspense thriller without ever committing to either one. That’s not to say he doesn’t know how to generate suspense. In fact, the cat and mouse sequences when the killer is on the hunt are quite intense using traditional techniques like slow camera panning and background reveals that provides the hint of danger lying in wait directly behind the intended victims. Despite the sound buildup of tension, Daniel seems inept when it comes to landing the punch, aka genuine jump scares. The scenes are edited in the wrong places, and he uses distant rather than tighter shots that flatten the burst of violence, minimizing the heart palpitations to a dull thud with audiences blowing out a disheartened sigh instead of a shocked scream.
With so much online content available with the press of a finger, Daniel does well to play on those modern fears of what is actually real, making that the foundation of the film. He accurately conveys the endless stream of online videos, each trying to be more outlandish than the next in the quest for going viral as viewers become more and more desensitized to graphic violence. This lends a measure of credibility to the story while striking a chord of caution with the direction of modern society. Unfortunately, in Daniel’s rush for a predictable climax, he inserts pure B-movie stupidity that completely undermines the scary authenticity. Severe police incompetence, searching for evidence in a life-or-death situation, and hiding in plain sight behind a transparent curtain are just some of the head-shaking examples that become almost laughable.
After an impressive performance in the lead role of 2024’s “Bob Trevino Likes It,” Barbie Ferreira finds another starring role opportunity, this time in the horror genre. The young actress once again rises to the challenge, providing a multi-layered performance with an interesting backstory of past trauma that yields a certain mental instability, raising doubts of sanity in the minds of other characters. While her depth and intensity are very much her strengths, it is ultimately the script that lets her down as it steers her down the path of dumb actions and even dumber responses. At one point, she simply turns it into a screaming match with the antagonist that begins to annoy viewers after the second or third time.
Australian actor Dacre Montgomery, who achieved stardom from his bad boy persona on “Stranger Things,” dazzles as the psychotic serial killer in this film. Even though his character was not given much of a backstory like the protagonist was given, he still finds a way to make the role his own. He provides subtle insights into his character’s motivations while also cleverly masking his evil through practiced human responses. When he does reveal his naturally evil disposition, it is truly and convincingly chilling. Sadly, it is amateur hour for the rest of the cast, giving it a college film fest type of vibe.
Formulaic recycling in an overpopulated genre dismisses this horror flick into the forgetful abyss despite the thoughtful conceptualization. “Faces of Death” is certainly timely, but the significant plot holes and lack of a killer instinct prove to be its undoing. Even so, there are enough positive attributes to make it a decent late night horror selection from the comfort of home.
This movie earns:
