“Faces of Death” was one of the first horror movies I ever owned on VHS. Purchased when a local video store was closing in the mid-90s, I remember the morbid excitement of snagging it alongside “Children of the Corn” and its sequel. It’s a film that stuck with me—likely because, much like “The Blair Witch Project,” there was a window of time where I truly believed what I was watching was real.
When I heard IFC and Shudder were reimagining the title, I was understandably skeptical. But after seeing it as the mystery movie during AMC’s Scream Unseen this past Monday, my skepticism vanished. “Faces of Death” isn’t just a solid update; it’s one of my favorite horror films of 2026 so far.
Unlike the original 1978 film—a faux-documentary narrated by the clinical Dr. Francis B. Gröss—this latest take from director and co-writer Daniel Goldhaber (“Cam”) adopts a meta-narrative set in a world where the original film exists exactly as it does in ours. The story follows Margot (Barbie Ferreira, “Euphoria”), a website content moderator who discovers a series of violent videos that appear to recreate the most infamous scenes from the 1978 original. The terrifying twist? These aren’t special effects; the violence is very real. When her employer and the authorities refuse to take the digital horrors seriously, Margot puts herself in the crosshairs of a calculating copycat killer, Arthur (Dacre Montgomery, “Stranger Things”).
What makes this approach so effective is that Goldhaber doesn’t attempt to recreate the shock-doc format. Instead, he weaponizes the underground history of the original to explore the digital age, where shocking imagery is no longer a “forbidden” VHS tape hidden under a bed, but content baked into our daily algorithms.
Barbie Ferreira is stellar as Margot. Her character carries a layer of online trauma that unfolds throughout the film, making her feel more fragile than your traditional “final girl.” However, by the final act, Ferreira taps into a raw, vulnerable energy that rivals the genre’s best, turning that emotional weight into a desperate fight for survival.
Dacre Montgomery is equally strong in his performance as the film’s antagonist, Arthur. He plays the role with a chameleonic precision—genuinely disturbing whether he’s blending into the real world to stalk his victims or hyping himself up as an unhinged creator who thrives on the dopamine hit of likes, comments, and views generated by his snuff films.
While the execution follows the structural beats of a high-tension slasher, the film stands out through its biting commentary on the current attention economy. Today, horrific content isn’t just consumed; it’s incentivized by digital platforms like the one Margot works for. Social video has desensitized us to the point where real-life tragedy is treated as entertainment. Margot’s journey serves as a perfect, painful illustration of the fact that there are real people behind the pixels.
“Faces of Death” is a clever, emotionally driven reimagining that pays homage to its roots while building something entirely new. It will leave you thinking long after the credits roll—about the state of the internet, the content you consume, and if you’re a digital creator like myself, it might even make you ask: “Am I part of the problem?”
“Faces of Death” officially lands in theaters on April 10, 2026.
