Faces of Death

I'm not sure how many people are actually familiar with the original Faces of Death, but Daniel Goldhaber's new film acts less like an actual remake, and more like a meta commentary on remakes in general. Which is to say that you don't need to be familiar with the original movie in order to enjoy this new one.

In this film, a woman named Margot works as a content moderator for a major video platform. While there, she comes across a series of violent videos that seem to be reproducing death scenes from an old film. But, in a world where nothing online can be trusted, she must determine whether the videos are more than just simple recreations.

The movie that Margot thinks is being recreated? Why, the original Faces of Death, of course. Yes, the original 1978 film is a movie that exists within this remake. I told you this movie is meta. And, since I found the meta narrative to be fun and entertaining, I have to admit that I really enjoy this film!

The movie will probably be too grotesque for anyone who isn't already a horror fan, but underneath all of the gruesome and gory violence, there's a message about how social media is having a negative effect on all of us. You know, since it is constantly bombarding us with terrible and questionable content. But that theme doesn't feel as preachy or as heavy-handed as you might think.

Instead of yelling at the audience to get off their damn phones - like Gore Verbinski's Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die does - Faces of Death simply reminds us to be more critical of the content we consume. That we can, in fact, take an active approach in how we consume our digital media. And I personally agree with that sentiment. Though I probably relate to Margot's story more than most people do.

I mean, I've never been in a viral video or tried to solve a mystery before, but I know what it's like to screen content all day. Not for a social media platform, but for a major TV broadcasting network! And I can confirm that watching questionable content all day can be an exhausting experience. So, being able to fundamentally connect to what Margot does for living, did help me enjoy the movie far more than I was expecting to.

Plus, I really like Barbie Ferreira's portrayal of Margot. She's absolutely fantastic here. And she does an excellent job of bouncing off Dacre Montgomery's unhinged performance as the villain. So, while I may not be familiar with Ferreira's past work, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing whatever she may star in next.

Also, Charli XCX is here for some reason. And, while she doesn't get enough screen time to really stand out in any meaningful way, her presence here is still a little distracting. I'm sure she's a fine actress, but I don't really understand why she's in this cast. Hopefully she'll get the chance to show off her acting chops in future projects, though.

Regardless, I think Faces of Death is a pretty decent horror flick. One that is definitely way better than I was expecting. I don't know if I would ever watch the original film, but I certainly wouldn't mind revisiting this remake in the future.

And it's for that exact reason that Faces of Death would get a recommendation from me.