MOVIE REVIEW: FACES OF DEATH

 

A content moderator stumbles upon a series of violent videos that appear to re-enact death scenes from the infamous 1978 film "Faces of Death." In an online world where nothing can be trusted, she must determine whether the violence is fake or unfolding in real time.

Director: Daniel Goldhaber

Cast: Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler, Charli XCX

Release Date: April 10, 2026

Genre: Horror

Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, sexual content, nudity, language and drug use.

Runtime: 1h 46m

Review:

Reviving the infamous pseudo-documentary, Faces of Death, into a feature is a tall order but this meta-approach about the current algorithm driven culture creating a serial killer is more insightful than expected.  Writer/Director Daniel Goldhaber shows a healthy amount of confidence behind the camera as he sets up the general premise and concepts which offer up plenty of intriguing about the original documentary and how the world has changed since it caused such a stir.  There are plenty of tantalizing ideas thrown about in the first half of the film especially reflecting on how horrors in our “post truth” world is little more than content with the film reflecting its gaze back at the audience for watching it all.  It’s a fascinating approach which sadly starts to lose a bit of its shine in the second half of the film as Goldhaber continually beats you over the head with the message.  That latter half does start to feel more like a traditional serial killer film which is topped off with an appropriately gory finale.  There’s plenty of inspiration pulled from films like Silence of the Lambs and Michael Mann’s Manhunter for Dacre Montgomery’s serial killer who is using the original film as inspiration for his kills.  Montgomery goes full bore into the role with impressive gusto as he proves to be the most interesting performer on screen throughout.  Barbie Ferreira is solid as the content moderator that falls down a dangerous rabbit hole as she searches for the deranged killer.  Unfortunately, both characters are thinly written, which is a missed opportunity since both performers are begging for something meatier to bite into for their characters.  It’s not a fatal flaw but you are left feeling there was something more substantial that could have been explored.  Issues aside, Faces of Death proves to a pleasant surprise considering the random source material.  

B-

MOVIE REVIEW: THE BROKEN HEARTS GALLERY

 

Dumped by her boyfriend, a New York art gallery assistant creates an exhibit for souvenirs from past relationships.

Director: Natalie Krinsky

Cast: Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Molly Gordon, Phillipa Soo, Bernadette Peters

Release Date: September 11, 2019

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Rated PG-13 for sexual content throughout and some crude references, strong language and drug references

Runtime: 1 h 48 min

Review:

The Broken Hearts Gallery doesn’t reinvent the rom-com, in fact you won’t find many surprises here, but it’s successful because of endlessly charming star.  Natalie Krinsky doesn’t miss any rom-com tropes or turns but she’s smart enough to give her film a light breezy feel that makes it easy to like.  Her biggest weapon though is Geraldine Viswanathan and she makes great uses of her. Viswanathan has incredible screen presence and comedic timing; anyone who saw her in 2018’s Blocker shouldn’t be surprised.  Here she’s given the spotlight and she nails it from start to finish, making the film pop for the majority of the film’s runtime.  Her supporting cast is equally strong with the film really perking up when she is paired with her droll roommates/best friends played by Molly Gordon and Phillipa Soo.  Still a rom-com won’t work if the two leads don’t have chemistry.  Thankfully Geraldine Viswanathan and Dacre Montgomery, who set his dreamy meter to 11, have a playful but believable chemistry.  The cast makes the film worlds better than it deserves to be.  Personally I’ve never been the biggest fan of this genre because of how predictable they are, something that holds true here, but it’s a testament to how good this cast is that it’s easy to overlook most of the genres failings on display. 

B+