I still remember the wild controversy surrounding John Alan Schwartz’s mondo horror film “Faces of Death”. The movie first released in theaters in late 1978, and due to its intensely graphic content, the movie was censored or outright banned in multiple countries. Yet it was a success at the box office where it gained a notable cult following. But for many, the disturbingly gruesome feature earned more attention following its VHS home video release in 1983. It became quite the topic of conversation between those able to rent it from their local video store.

Now director Daniel Goldhaber is bringing back “Faces of Death” but in his own unique way. Where the original version played as an unsettling shockumentary, Goldhaber’s is a more straightforward narrative film that references the 1978 movie rather than remakes it. The results are surprisingly intriguing and at times fittingly unnerving. That is until everything threatens to crumble in a wobbly final act where absurdity undermines the big finish the film is going for.

Thematically, “Faces of Death” 2026 deserves credit for taking a scalpel to our current TikTok culture. It’s not the most incisive examination, but it does poke at the addictive nature of social media and our numbing consciences towards extreme content. Barbie Ferreira plays Margot, a struggling young woman who has mostly isolated herself following the traumatic death of her sister which was captured live in a now infamous viral video.

Margot works as a content moderator for a TikTok-esque video platform called Kino. She spends her entire work days viewing submitted videos and flagging explicit content with warnings or for removal. Her job is to view, approve or flag, and then move to the next submission. But she’s deeply shaken after seeing a video of what looks like a real-life beheading. A man’s voice calmly narrates the grisly ritual with startling detail. Later she comes across a chilling video of an electric chair execution from the very same account.

Margot shares her concerns with her friend and boss Josh (Jermaine Fowler) who tells her to let it go. Instead, the obsessed Margot breaks company rules and starts investigating the account after hours, coming to the conclusion that the content creator is recreating the deaths from the controversial 1978 film “Faces of Death”. The trail she follows takes her into the path of a deranged serial killer named Arthur (Dacre Montgomery). Their battling obsessions leads to an inevitable face-to-face with blood-drenched consequences.

It’s a solid setup with several disturbing reveals that should appeal to the genre faithful. And while the climax is predictable, it’s built up with a palpable sense of dread. Unfortunately logic flies out the window in the final 20 minutes or so. It begins with Margot seeking help from two of the most inept cops ever put on a screen. An equally incompetent doctor follows. And then Margot herself goes braindead in ways that are just too ridiculous to look past.

Thankfully its final act flub-up doesn’t totally derail “Faces of Death”. But it’s enough of a hindrance to keep a potentially audacious chiller from leaving the impression it’s clearly going for. Instead it limps towards a finish that could have been effective if the final leg of the story wasn’t so absurd. Still, there are things to admire in this unique horror movie swing that tips its hat to the 1978 cult classic instead of remaking or reimagining it. If only Goldhaber could have seen all of his ideas through to the end.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS