A revival of one of the most debated horror films in cinematic history nearly remained unseen.
The reimagined version of “Faces of Death,” echoing its 1978 predecessor, finally made its way to cinemas this week after being shelved for two years.
The original film, notorious for its shocking content, masqueraded as a genuine documentary. However, it was later unveiled that most of the portrayed fatalities were orchestrated scenes.
Despite its fictional nature, “Faces of Death” faced bans in countries like the UK, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. Marketing campaigns sensationalized this further by claiming it was prohibited in 46 nations.
As the remake garners positive critiques from audiences and reviewers, the film’s writer and director, Daniel Goldhaber, had to navigate through censorship hurdles to ensure its release.
Featuring Barbie Ferreira from “Euphoria” and Dacre Montgomery, known for his role as a villain in “Stranger Things,” the updated film, rated R, centers around a social media content moderator (played by Ferreira). She becomes suspicious that someone is imitating the deaths from the original “Faces of Death” and sharing them online.
The new Faces of Death remake starring Barbie Ferreira was shelved for two years and almost didn’t make it past censors for release
Shooting wrapped back in 2023 and the film was supposed to premiere at SXSW in 2024, but was mysteriously pulled from the festival without explanation.
It then spent the next two years in limbo before finally getting released this week.
‘There’s only so much I can get into,’ Goldhaber told Interview magazine.
‘We had to fight very hard. I would say it was a problem of censorship and of corporate interference. I’ll leave it at that.’
The first teaser for the film was finally released in early February, but was instantly banned from YouTube.
Goldhaber confirmed that the ban wasn’t a ‘marketing’ stunt like many horror fans had assumed.
‘We had our own censorship battles with the MPAA too. But the point is that we’ve had trouble marketing the movie, and our materials have gotten banned and taken down,’ he said.
While Faces of Death is incredibly violent, Goldhaber says that a few seconds had to be removed from one particularly gruesome scene involving a man’s head being hammered and mutilated.
The original 1978 Faces of Death was a compilation of violent deaths that was passed off as a real documentary, despite largely being fake
In the remake, a twisted serial killer starts recreating the deaths from the original film and posting them on social media
Charli XCX has a small role in the R-rated horror film, which is earning rave reviews from critics
‘They forced us to cut a section where you see the scalp get peeled back and flopped out from the moderation sequence,’ he said.
Certain posters for the movie were also banned, which is ironic given that one of the main themes in the Faces of Death remake is censorship.
Despite the many setbacks, the hard work to get the film into theaters seems to be paying off so far.
According to Deadline, distributor IFC is reporting $450,000 in Thursday sales – its second highest Thursday ever after Clown In A Cornfield, which was a box office hit.
Critics have also praised the film, with many singing out its social commentary and meta aspects.
‘Faces of Death is fantastic. The type of clever, self-aware, and deeply unsettling “how we live now” horror movie that should — but sadly won’t — embarrass the Scream franchise out of existence,’ wrote IndieWire.
‘Faces of Death is a gory, clever satire for horror audiences who’ve seen everything,’ gushed the Los Angeles Times.
Ferreira and co-star Dacre Montgomery are pictured at the Faces of Death premiere in Los Angeles earlier this week
The film is also garnering attention thanks to a small role from pop star Charli XCX.
While fans have already seen Charli in The Moment, Faces of Death is technically her first acting role given that it was shot way back in 2023.
The original Faces of Death follows a pathologist who presents the viewer with various footage of people dying in gruesome ways.
It is depicted as a real documentary and features some authentic deaths that were caught on tape, but most of the film was staged.
Some of the more unsettling scenes from the original film include an African tribe butchering a cow and footage of war atrocities, including the Holocaust.
Although it was released theatrically in 1978, the movie became a word-of-mouth sensation in the ’80s as people passed VHS copies around, seemingly unaware that many of the deaths were fake.
It eventually earned millions off the back of VHS sales and rentals and spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs.
