“Faces of Death” (2026) is a meta reboot of the “Faces of Death” franchise for the social media age. Margot Romero (Barbie Ferreira), a zealous Kino (a fictionalized Tik Tok) moderator has personal reasons for flagging inappropriate content. Initially when she comes across content that is stylized to imitate “Faces of Death” (1978), she lets it fly, but as it grows more popular and the creator posts more material, she gets triggered and is willing to risk it all to uncover the truth and stop the killer if it is real. Unfortunately, she catches the eye of Arthur Spevak (Dacre Montgomery), the killer. Ferreira may be my latest favorite final girl, but either Montgomery and/or director and cowriter Daniel Goldhaber and cowriter Isa Mazzei overdid the killer in a way that seemed ridiculous, not chilling inexplicable evil.
“Faces of Death” is mostly Margot’s movie, but it does alternate between her and Spevak. Her story felt more grounded and interesting than the killer’s, which is unusual because everyone loves a villain. Ferreira conveys how the character is an intense true believer, wounded and traumatized long before Margot’s backstory is revealed. Once Margot decides to fully commit to investigating, she becomes the kind of person that the world needs: using her past trauma as fuel to advocate for strangers while offering practical steps that others could take.
Margot’s relationships with others felt authentic and relatable. Of course, her roommate, Ryan (Aaron Holliday), is a horror fan and has the original movie in his VHS collection. It was a nice touch for these two to be casually queer, i.e. it was just a demographic fact mentioned in the context of their social life. Josh (Jermaine Fowler), Margot’s boss, is the kind of guy that does his job without stressing or a care in the world. He is just young and carefree with not a thought about the kind of world that he is creating. The horror starts before the killing because Margot sees everyone as monsters, including coworker, Gabby (Charli XCX, who is everywhere), for not realizing that there are real people suffering, and they are just viewing it as entertainment.
“Faces of Death” does a great job of capturing the inherent problem of the Internet, and the scariest part of the story is the lack of feasible solutions except for a reference to “Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer” (2019). Side note: I’m never watching it. Law enforcement brushes people off even if there is a problem. The platform has no incentive to be responsible and can use the law to punish people for acting morally. This film is a story about a woman trying to resist the gravity of the internet and slowly gets sucked in until she is part of the machine. She starts off trying to make it better while personally living a computer and social media free life. Eventually she uses those tools with the same rationale: doing good and saving people. It keeps escalating until she becomes content.
This progression attracts the attention of the killer, Spevak. He chooses his victims based on their online presence or at least level of fame and accessibility. Usually, it is better if a movie does not spell out everything about a killer, but Spevak just seems like a collection of showy ticks such as beating himself like a baboon to get psyched, the way that he holds a tripod, etc. Montgomery’s work is usually good: “Went Up the Hill” (2024) and “Dead Man’s Wire” (2025). Here he overdoes it. There is chewing the scenery then compiling the most annoying habits of various villains. He does not seem like a person, including and especially a killer. If the aim was to make him annoying so the audience would root against him, then they succeeded, but serial killers should be chilling, not irritating. At least Montgomery’s hair and body looked on point in his tight, flesh colored leotard that goes with the killer’s interior design aesthetic. Still, it was too much. His sections of “Faces of Death” were a snoozefest and were interchangeable with a killer sequence in most movies except ineffective and loud, especially the heavy-handed closing monologue. The killer’s targets were more intriguing.
“Faces of Death” did nail portraying the victims even if they had zero lines and were just a face in a photograph like filmmaker Justin Podd (Walker Babington). A handful of scenes with anchorman Neal Meyer (Kurt Yue) and his son, Drew (Ash Maeda), created an immediate full impression of what they were like individually, the family dynamic, etc. Even Samantha Gravinsky (Josie Totah) who starts off as insufferable becomes an engaging presence as she fights for survival. Each actor delivered a performance that conveyed the humanity behind the suffering with natural reactions. It is scarier than the plethora of jump scares, which only work theoretically.
When violence befalls Margot, it is when all the people from the last act fighting for their lives shines, and the impact of violence is truly felt. Earlier in “Faces of Death,” there were hints of how Margot could fight the killer but seeing her in action was a thrill and stressful. Even if you thought she was a pill before, her resourcefulness, expertise and determination all come into play. Even though she is scared and at a disadvantage, she is the kind of final girl that is enjoyable to root for, and the denouement is satisfying even if Margot does not emerge unscathed, which is as it should be.
There is a storyline that challenges suspension of disbelief involving law enforcement because on one hand, it is completely believable. On the other hand, Arthur is wearing the serial killer framed glasses, and his shirt or jacket is completely buttoned in Jacksonville, Florida. There is also a frustrating moment in a hospital where a clue of admission falls from heaven and never gets raised. It should not be a surprise, but “Faces of Death” also features a lot of disturbing content unrelated to the main storyline similar to found footage, but in a channel-surfing way. It results in a monotonous and only vaguely shocking effect. It was what drew viewers to the original movie, but now it barely raises an eyebrow. It is just noise.
“Faces of Death” is at its best if you are looking for a final girl with an incredible story arc often punctuated with cinematic contrivances. If you are into killers, Montgomery’s performance will depend on your taste, but it is a rare misfire for an actor who has done some outstanding work. The filmmakers were their own worst enemy with their inconsistent storytelling though their love of horror is appreciated. It is a step in the wrong direction for the team that brought “How to Blow Up a Pipeline“ (2022) to theaters.
