Controversial ‘Faces of Death’ Remake Faces Censorship Hurdles: Unveiling the Battle Behind the Most Banned Horror Revival

One of the most debated horror films in cinema history has finally made its way back to audiences, although its journey was far from easy.

The reimagined version of “Faces of Death,” originally released in 1978, debuted in theaters this week after spending two years waiting on the shelf.

The original movie, notorious for its shocking content, was initially presented as a real-life documentary. It was later revealed, however, that most of the gruesome scenes were fabricated.

Despite the staged nature of its content, “Faces of Death” faced bans in countries such as the UK, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. Its reputation was further amplified by marketing campaigns that boldly claimed it was banned in 46 countries.

Now, as the remake garners praise from critics, writer and director Daniel Goldhaber has successfully navigated the challenges posed by censors to bring the film to the big screen.

Starring Euphoria’s Barbie Ferreira and Stranger Things villain Dacre Montgomery, the R-rated remake follows a social media content moderator (Ferreira) who suspects that somebody is recreating the deaths from the original Faces of Death and posting them online.

The new Faces of Death remake starring Barbie Ferreira was shelved for two years and almost didn’t make it past censors for release

Shooting wrapped back in 2023 and the film was supposed to premiere at SXSW in 2024, but was mysteriously pulled from the festival without explanation. 

It then spent the next two years in limbo before finally getting released this week. 

‘There’s only so much I can get into,’ Goldhaber told Interview magazine.

‘We had to fight very hard. I would say it was a problem of censorship and of corporate interference. I’ll leave it at that.’

The first teaser for the film was finally released in early February, but was instantly banned from YouTube. 

Goldhaber confirmed that the ban wasn’t a ‘marketing’ stunt like many horror fans had assumed. 

‘We had our own censorship battles with the MPAA too. But the point is that we’ve had trouble marketing the movie, and our materials have gotten banned and taken down,’ he said. 

While Faces of Death is incredibly violent, Goldhaber says that a few seconds had to be removed from one particularly gruesome scene involving a man’s head being hammered and mutilated. 

The original 1978 Faces of Death was a compilation of violent deaths that was passed off as a real documentary, despite largely being fake

In the remake, a twisted serial killer starts recreating the deaths from the original film and posting them on social media

Charli XCX has a small role in the R-rated horror film, which is earning rave reviews from critics

‘They forced us to cut a section where you see the scalp get peeled back and flopped out from the moderation sequence,’ he said.

Certain posters for the movie were also banned, which is ironic given that one of the main themes in the Faces of Death remake is censorship.

Despite the many setbacks, the hard work to get the film into theaters seems to be paying off so far.

According to Deadline, distributor IFC is reporting $450,000 in Thursday sales – its second highest Thursday ever after Clown In A Cornfield, which was a box office hit.

Critics have also praised the film, with many singing out its social commentary and meta aspects.  

‘Faces of Death is fantastic. The type of clever, self-aware, and deeply unsettling “how we live now” horror movie that should — but sadly won’t — embarrass the Scream franchise out of existence,’ wrote IndieWire. 

‘Faces of Death is a gory, clever satire for horror audiences who’ve seen everything,’ gushed the Los Angeles Times. 

Ferreira and co-star Dacre Montgomery are pictured at the Faces of Death premiere in Los Angeles earlier this week

The film is also garnering attention thanks to a small role from pop star Charli XCX.

While fans have already seen Charli in The Moment, Faces of Death is technically her first acting role given that it was shot way back in 2023. 

The original Faces of Death follows a pathologist who presents the viewer with various footage of people dying in gruesome ways.

It is depicted as a real documentary and features some authentic deaths that were caught on tape, but most of the film was staged. 

Some of the more unsettling scenes from the original film include an African tribe butchering a cow and footage of war atrocities, including the Holocaust. 

Although it was released theatrically in 1978, the movie became a word-of-mouth sensation in the ’80s as people passed VHS copies around, seemingly unaware that many of the deaths were fake.

It eventually earned millions off the back of VHS sales and rentals and spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs.