Faces of Death (2026)
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2025-09 to 2026-08 · Missing measurements appear as gaps.
A content moderator for a video platform becomes entangled in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a serial killer who is recreating infamous snuff films.
The story
Margot Romero works as a content moderator for Kino, a social media platform, where she is tasked with filtering out violent content. During her shift, she discovers a series of disturbing videos that appear to depict real, graphic executions. Despite her concerns being dismissed by her superiors due to her past, Margot becomes increasingly alarmed by the realism of the footage. When she shares the videos on Reddit, they quickly go viral. As she begins to investigate the source of the content, she discovers a connection to an older film, unaware that she is being watched by the person responsible for the new, horrific videos.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Margot Romero, a content moderator for the platform Kino, discovers a series of graphic videos depicting executions. While her superiors dismiss her concerns due to a past personal tragedy, Margot begins investigating the videos on Reddit. She discovers that the content mirrors the 1978 film 'Faces of Death.' The perpetrator, Arthur Spevak, is a serial killer who is intentionally recreating these deaths for a modern audience. After Margot uncovers his metadata and shares it online, Arthur tracks her down. He kidnaps her and her roommate, eventually capturing her and taking her to a remote location. Margot manages to escape her cell and rescues an influencer, Samantha, but is forced to flee into the woods. After a tense confrontation where Arthur explains his motives regarding the desensitization to violence in the digital age, Margot manages to overpower him with a lipstick knife. She records their struggle and uploads it to Kino, where the public reacts with callous indifference to the reality of the violence.
- First release year
- 2026
- Runtime (minutes)
- 97
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Daniel Goldhaber
- Writers
- Isa Mazzei · writer; Daniel Goldhaber · writer
- Cast and characters
- Barbie Ferreira · Margot Romero; Dacre Montgomery · Arthur Spevak; Josie Totah · Samantha Gravinsky; Aaron Holliday · Ryan; Jermaine Fowler · Josh; Charli XCX · Gabby; Kurt Yue · Neal; Isa Mazzei · a woman talking about Narcan on a Kino video
- Genres
- horror; thriller
- Themes
- desensitization to violence; social media impact
- Tone and mood
- horror; suspenseful
- Premise and plot tags
- serial killer; social media; remake
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1978 film Faces of Death
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews from critics, while audiences gave it a 'C' grade.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 63 · scale: 100 · review count: 22; CinemaScore · score: C · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was originally developed under the working title 'Home Movies'.; The film features a 35mm screening at its premiere.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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