Faces of Death
Faces of Death
Starring Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday
Directed by Daniel Goldhaber
After a tragic accident that claimed the life of her sister that was also a viral sensation, Margot (Barbie Gerreira) works as a content moderator for Kino, scouring the web for possibly inappropriate videos. She hasn't fully recovered from the incident and everyone knows who she is, so she stays isolated in her apartment with her roommate Ryan (Aaron Holliday). One day she comes across a video of a man getting his head bashed in, and feels that it could be real, but flags it as appropriate. Then she finds another video showing a man getting electrocuted, and believes that the death was real - but her boss doesn't believe her, and she goes down the rabbit hole to find out the source of the videos.
Arthur (Dacre Montgomery) is obsessed with the movie "Faces of Death" and decided to re-create the killings he saw in the film and post them online to gain a multi-million fanbase, most of whom don't think the videos are real. Yet as Margot gets closer to the truth, he begins stalking her, wanting to make her the grand opus of his master plan.
The Good:
The first half of the film is intriguing and well-built, offering an intriguing mystery akin to "The Silence of the Lambs" for the tech age. Margot investigates the videos like Clarice studied Buffalo Bill, and the movie moved at a decent pace. There wasn't really a boring moment as the stakes amped up and the mystery unfolded.
Dacre Montgomery is best known for his role of Billy Hargrove on "Stranger Things" as well as the Red Ranger in the remake of the "Power Rangers," both roles that saw him as a hero (or, in Billy's case, a sort of anti-hero). He has a charm about him that permeates the screen, and seeing him flip the script and playing an unrepentant, vile villain was fascinating to see. He rivals Buffalo Bill in his insanity, and can turn into a chameleon at a drop of a hat - he arrives at a victim's house acting like a meek, mousy man who suffered a cut one moment and then he's donning a plain white mask with eerie red eyes the next. He's easily the best part of the movie, giving his all into the performance.
The story is fascinating in how timely it is, especially considering the "source material" was a movie before computers were even a thing, let alone cell phones. It focuses more on what "Scream 7" wanted to do, with showing how someone can go completely insane and copy their favorite movie but make it real. It also centers on Internet fame, and the lengths people go to be "TikTok famous." Margot herself had this dream once with her sister before it ended in tragedy, and we see how it's affected her life. Arthur, on the other hand, relishes in the fame he's receiving from really killing people, and it serves as a cautionary tale as to how much stock we put into being famous for all the wrong reasons.
The camerawork is commendable, most notably a few scenes where see Margot looking at her computer and it transitioning to Arthur looking at his, along with an effect split screen segment. Then there's one particular long-take of Arthur stalking a victim and going into their apartment, breaking in, and assaulting the tenants inside.
The Bad:
While Dacre Montgomery gave a spellbinding performance, the same can't be said for the film's protagonist, Barbie Ferreira. While the fault is 50/50 with the actress and the writing, the character of Margot is one of the most annoying in recent horror cinematic history. She's only defined by one thing: the event that led to her sister's death. There's nothing else to her, and it doesn't lead to her being any sort of relatable for anyone watching. She clearly needs help that she's not getting, and instead isolates herself and coming off as a bit annoying because of it. When she realizes that the videos are real, she turns into a screeching banshee that harps on the fact that no one believes her, but given what we know about her, we can understand why no one would. She spends most of the movie whining about it and coming off as a Temu version of Nancy Drew, and you really don't care about her character at all.
While the first half was intriguing, the second half dragged. The consistency of the movie was as jolting as getting rear-ended in your car, moving at a decent pace before slamming the breaks. At 98 minutes, the movie feels almost twice as long, when Margot and Arthur finally meet it should've been exciting, but it was moreso yawn-inducing. The simplicity of Margot's escape was laughable. Yet it's the events that happens afterward that's truly awful, with Margot making some of the worst decisions any heroine has made in horror movies, and then the movie itself taking a strange turn that doesn't make sense, other than to pad the runtime.
While the original "Faces of Death" was praised for its gore, this movie won't be praised for such effects. Oddly, it seems more neutered than the original, despite the advancements in technology that could've made for a more gory adventure. As it is, it's surprisingly tame for any horror fan, one that would be easily forgotten if not for its maddening second half.
The Verdict:
While the beginning offered promise, "Faces of Death" failed to deliver any of the real shocks and thrills that the original did, and the second half is muddied with horror cliches, lack of real gore, and an incredibly stupid main character.
The Score: D+
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