This upcoming “Faces of Death” reboot is — wisely? — courting controversy before it’s even hit theaters.
The first uncensored teaser, which popped up online last month, without any official branding, didn’t even last a day on YouTube before it was pulled for violating the platform’s rules on “violent or graphic content.”
Honestly, it’s hard to imagine a better way to get people talking about a movie, especially one that barely has any marketing costs, and which cost only $5M to produce.
And now, the film’s promotional campaign has hit yet another snag. According to DiscussingFilm, theatrical “1-sheet” posters for “Faces of Death” have officially been rejected for in-theater display. The reason? The imagery is apparently “too intense” for spaces where children might be present.
Directed by Daniel Goldhaber and co-written with Isa Mazzei—the duo behind “Cam” (2018) and “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” (2022)—this version of “Faces of Death” reimagines the infamous 1978 shock classic for a modern audience. Barbie Ferreira stars as a content moderator who stumbles across graphic videos that seem to be reenacting murders from the original. Beyond that, plot details remain tightly under wraps, though the cast also includes Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler, and even Charli XCX.
Of course, the original “Faces of Death” was notorious for blurring the line between staged and allegedly real footage, sparking decades of debate over ethics, and the very idea of snuff films. Goldhaber’s reboot seems to tap into that same tension.
I can’t help wondering if some of this “controversy” is exactly what IFC and Shudder want. With digital platforms and theaters pushing back, it almost reads like a calculated marketing strategy. Nothing gets horror fans talking like forbidden content, and the more obstacles they face, the more headlines the film gets—long before April 10, when it hits theaters wide for the first time under IFC and Shudder’s banner.
Lubezki’s participation in the film doesn’t seem so far-fetched when you realize that he was also the DP on Stiller’s “Reality Bites,” way back in 1994. They haven’t worked together since.