Review: FACES OF DEATH – A Horror Remake With A Difference
If you’re going to dust-off an old movie and give it the remake treatment, then it’s always good to try and do something a little different with the material. Slavishly following the original invites comparisons and it makes it so much easier to throw out the question, ‘what was the point of that?’. Well, director Daniel Goldhaber and co-writer Isa Mazzei have definitely gone down the ‘do something a little different’ route with their update of the 1978 horror, Faces Of Death.
Barbie Ferreira plays Margot, a content moderator at a TikTok-style social media platform. She repeatedly sees online videos which purport to show a series of staged deaths – set to the voiceover soundtrack from the original 1978 film (which exists in the realm of this version). The detail in the videos leads Margot to believe that they might be real killings, and when her manager dismisses her claims, she decides to go into full Don’t F**K With Cats mode and investigate on her own. She discovers that the deaths are in fact real and being carried out by a psychotic phone shop worker named Arthur (Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery). Through his own online investigations, Arthur discovers that Margot is on his trail and he turns the tables on her – turning the hunter into the hunted.
An enjoyable no-thrills horror-thriller, Faces Of Death delivers on its promise. It’s a smart updating of the original source material – now, I haven’t seen that film – but from what I’ve read, this new version plays with the concept and gives it a nice modern day spin. Ferreira and Montgomery are both very good here and there’s some good nuance to their performances. The film also features pop star Charli XCX in a brief cameo as one of Margot’s co-workers. I feel obligated to say that, well… ’cause.
There are a few nods to Michael Mann’s iconic Manhunter here – specifically in how Arthur uses his work place to find his victims and the look of his mask a times (sometimes its the small details that matter). Goldhaber builds plenty of tension in the lead-up the murders and there’s a nice bit of cat and mouse at play. To be a little critical of Faces Of Death, it’s a touch too simplistic in its plotting – a few deviations or a couple of red herrings here or there might have added to the complexity and ultimately up the enjoyment factor. Having said that, the through-line is well done and you have a nice, solid no thrills genre movie that really entertains.
It might not be a classic, but Faces Of Death has enough to keep you hooked for 90 minutes or so – and you could even be tempted to go back and watch it again at a later date. And frankly, in a world or remakes and reboots, it’s nice to see filmmakers take the initiative and play around with existing IP.
