In a world where all press is good press we are following up on the release of the teaser trailer for the new Faces of Death movie on Tuesday. It got yanked by YouTube, who issued a takedown notice for its "violent or graphic content.”
Allow me to play the cynic on this one.
Ahem.
Cough.
"Quelle Suprise!"
Hats off to the marketing team for trying to generate controversy and outrage, hopefully enough to garner more interest in this modern iteration of the cult series of films and get those bums in seats.
And today, Independent Film Company and Shudder announced that they have acquired North American rights to this new film and will handle the theatrical release on April 10th. This is my 'surprised face' (I know you can't see it. Trust me, it's there.). These things don't happen overnight. Principal photography was done back in 2023. April, 2023. It'll be three years to the day when the theatrical release comes... no one sees a teaser on Tuesday, picks up the rights, and arranges a theatrical release in two months time, in (counts) less than a day!
I don't know. Am I 'Old man, yelling at clouds'-ing this thing? I'm going to go take a nap. You do you.
Independent Film Company and Shudder announced today that they have acquired North American rights to Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei’s provocative new film FACES OF DEATH. This marks Goldhaber’s third narrative feature following HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE and CAM. Inspired by the legendary 1978 shocker of the same name, FACES OF DEATH is reimagined for a digital generation. Written by Mazzei & Goldhaber, based on The Gorgon Series FACES OF DEATH, the film stars Barbie Ferreira (Euphoria), Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things), Josie Totah (Saved by the Bell), Aaron Holliday (Euphoria, Cocaine Bear), with Jermaine Fowler (The Blackening), and Charli XCX (The Moment). FACES OF DEATH will be released theatrically nationwide on April 10, 2026.In FACES OF DEATH, the exploration of the original film’s infamous “is it real or not?” conceit continues as a woman (Ferreira) working as a content moderator for a major video platform discovers what appears to be re-enactments of murders from the original film. In an online world where nothing can be trusted, she must determine whether the violence is fiction, or unfolding in real time.“Growing up in a video store culture there are vivid memories of being terrified to even touch the original FACES OF DEATH VHS box. That legend haunted a generation, and bringing that fear back to audiences now is both deeply personal and an exciting full-circle moment. We’re in awe of Daniel Goldhaber reimagining of FACES OF DEATH. His take is unsettling, timely, and provocative, and we can’t wait to unleash it in theaters everywhere this Spring,” said Mark Ward, RLJE’s Chief Acquisition Officer, a division of IFC Entertainment Group.Said Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei, “We could not be prouder of our movie, and are so glad that it is being released with our feral vision intact. IFC has been an incredible partner in bringing this movie to the world, and we cannot wait for audiences to finally have a chance to see it."Said Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angry Films, “Having worked on Faces of Deathin its various incarnations for 16 years, we wanted to be certain we honored the IP with the right reimagining. We interviewed many emerging horror filmmakers and were immediately struck by Isa and Danny’s real-world-stakes approach, as well as their debut feature Cam and its unsettling “is it real or isn’t it?” perspective."The film is produced by Legendary Entertainment, Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angry Films, and Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath of Divide/Conquer. Isa Mazzei, Derek Bishé, and Rick Benattar serve as executive producers.The deal was negotiated by Mark Ward on behalf of Independent Film Company and Shudder.