‘Faces Of Death’ By Daniel Goldhaber.
‘Faces Of Death’ is an upcoming horror film and a remake of the 1978 classic of the same name. Daniel Goldhaber (Cam) is set to direct and co-wrote the script with Isa Mazzei. The film stars Barbie Ferreira and Dacre Montgomery. Legendary Entertainment and Angry Films are producing the “reimagining” of John Alan Schwartz’s cult classic.
In April and May 2023, Barbie Ferreira (Euphoria), Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things S3), Josie Totah, Jermaine Fowler, Aaron Holiday (Cocaine Bear) and Charlie XCX (Brat) were announced as the lead cast.
Synopsis: The new plot revolves around a female moderator of a YouTube-like website, whose job is to weed out offensive and violent content and who herself is recovering from a serious trauma, that stumbles across a group that is recreating the murders from the original film hidden in the depths of the site’s content. Are these gruesome videos merely a morbid work of shock-value fiction, or something all too horribly real?
The rights to the 1978 controversial but commercially successful movie was reported in May 2021 to have been acquired by Legendary Entertainment. The writing team Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei were hired, with Goldhaber set as director. Susan Montford and Don Murphy produced under Angry Films, while John Burrud, who also produced the original film, serves as a producer.
The original, shown in a documentary-like style centers on pathologist Francis B. Gross and includes a variety of footage showing gruesome ways of dying. Some of the most iconic scenes were faked, but it also included pre-existing video footage of real deaths or the aftermath of death. Although it was staged and fictional, many thought it was real. The film advertised itself as “banned in 46 countries”, though that was simple hype.
Mazzei and Goldhaber previously said: “Faces of Death was one of the first viral video tapes, and we are so lucky to be able to use it as a jumping off point for this exploration of cycles of violence and the way they perpetuate themselves online.”
Isa Mazzei (left). Daniel Goldhaber (right)
Mazzei and Goldhaber previously collaborated on “Cam” (2018), “50 States Of Fright” (2020) and the acclaimed “How To Blow Up A Pipeline”, which was acquired by Neon at Toronto in 2022.
On a production budget of $7.4 million (before tax incentives), principal photography began in New Orleans on April 2023, under the working title Home Movies, and wrapped on May 12, 2023. Pick-up shots were done in early 2024.
The film recently test-screened in California and had a very positive take. one attendee stated “[..] Good acting from both of the leads. Barbie is a very modern final girl with a tragic past. A Patrick Bateman-esque turn from Dacre Montgomery as an unhinged 21st century internet psychopath. The movie also looks great, it was shot on film and that gives it an extra grimy look. Watch out for a tense single-take scene that’s impressively crafted.
Issac Bauman serves as the cinematographer for the film.
“Faces of Death” currently has no distributor and no release date, but I bet someone will pick it up soon (maybe Neon?). Goldhaber is definitely a new horror talent to keep an eye on.
