The upcoming Faces of Death reboot is already proving as controversial as its source material, and audiences haven’t even seen the film yet.
The first uncensored teaser was swiftly removed from YouTube for violating its policies on “violent or graphic content.” The teaser, which circulated online without any official branding or distributor information, was flagged for imagery deemed too disturbing for the platform, forcing the release of a more official, toned-down, red-band version shortly after.
Now, the film’s promotional rollout has hit another obstacle, this time in physical spaces. According to newly surfaced materials, theatrical “1-sheet” posters for Faces of Death have been officially rejected for in-theater placement, with regulators citing imagery that is “too intense” for environments where children may be present. The decision underscores the difficulty of marketing a horror project that appears genuinely committed to pushing boundaries in both content and presentation.
Directed by Daniel Goldhaber and co-written with Isa Mazzei — the creative duo behind Cam (2018) and How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022) – the upcoming film reimagines the infamous 1978 shock film of the same name for a modern audience. This new, meta-narrative iteration of Faces of Death centers on a content moderator (Barbie Ferreira) who encounters graphic videos that appear to be recreating murders from the original movie. While plot details beyond that have been kept tightly under wraps, the revealed cast also includes Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler, and none other than Charli XCX.
DiscussingFilm can now exclusively debut the three new posters that the MPA is prohibiting from in-theater placement.
Independent Film Company and Shudder recently acquired North American rights to the project, confirming that Faces of Death will receive a national theatrical release on April 10th this year. This marks the distributor’s widest release to date.
The original Faces of Death became notorious for its daring blend of staged and real footage, sparking decades of ongoing debate over “snuff films,” authenticity, and ethics. That same “is it real or not?” tension still seems somewhat intact in Goldhaber’s reimagining, and, based on the current response to its marketing, the film is already recreating that discomfort in real time.
With both digital platforms and theatrical exhibitors pushing back against showing its promotional materials, Faces of Death is positioning itself as one of the most contentious horror releases of the year, long before any audiences ever step into a theater.
