Faces of Death: A Legacy of Shock Returns
Long before found footage became a staple of horror, Faces of Death (1978) carved out a reputation as one of the most disturbing films ever circulated. Marketed as a documentary, it presented a series of graphic deaths and autopsies, daring audiences to decide what was real and what was staged. That uncertainty, combined with raw gore and taboo imagery, made the film notorious. It was banned or heavily censored in multiple countries, traded on bootleg VHS tapes, and whispered about in playgrounds and video stores as something you were never meant to see.
Although much of the footage was later revealed to be staged, the damage (and the legacy) was already done. Faces of Death became a cultural flashpoint, questioning how far horror could go and how easily viewers could be manipulated by the suggestion of “reality”.
Now, nearly five decades later, that same question sits at the centre of a modern reimagining.
New artwork for the upcoming Faces of Death remake has been revealed along wit the trailer (red band so you’ll ahve to log into youtube watch), featuring two strikingly different faces of Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things). The image reflects the film’s central tension: truth versus performance, reality versus fabrication.
The new film updates the original’s “Is it real or not?” hook for the digital age. It follows a woman working as a content moderator for a major video platform who stumbles upon videos that appear to recreate murders from the original Faces of Death. As she digs deeper, the line between staged violence and real-time murder begins to blur, forcing her to question what she is watching — and whether she is already too late to stop it.
Set in an online world where nothing can be trusted, the story reframes the original film’s controversy through modern fears about algorithms, desensitisation, and viral brutality.
The film stars Barbie Ferreira (Euphoria), Josie Totah (Saved by the Bell), Aaron Holliday (Cocaine Bear), Jermaine Fowler (Sorry to Bother You), and pop icon Charli XCX, alongside Montgomery.
So whoes behind it all? Direction comes from Daniel Goldhaber (Cam, How to Blow Up a Pipeline), who co-wrote the script with Isa Mazzei (Cam). The project is produced by Legendary Entertainment, Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angry Films Entertainment, and Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath of Divide/Conquer. Mazzei, Derek Bishé, and Rick Benattar serve as executive producers.
Filmed in 2023 ( it looks like it’s had a few bumps getting here), Faces of Death is rated R for “strong bloody violence and gore, sexual content, nudity, language, and drug use”.
The film opens in cinemas on 10th April via Independent Film Company and Shudder, with early screenings scheduled at Beyond Fest Chicago and The Overlook Film Festival in New Orleans.
Nearly 50 years after it first traumatised audiences, Faces of Death is back, and once again asking whether what you are watching is fiction, or something far worse.
Hilly Horror
Hilly love of horror knows no bounds. As a massive fan of slasher and ghost films, she has watched all of the Wrong Turn and Paranormal Activity films. Now that’s bravery at a scale we can’t beat.
