Faces da Morte

It's really ironic that of all the "shockumentaries" that have turned up on video in recent years the "Faces of Death" series has attracted the most attention (positive and negative), since so much of its "shocking" footage is blatantly phoney. Those with an interest in authentic death and atrocity footage would do better to check out the "Death Scenes" series (3 volumes), "Inhumanities 2" or the British documentary "Executions". (An editorial aside here, since I'm frequently asked why I watch such material: While I wouldn't say that such films are fun or enjoyable to watch, I make myself watch them occasionally to remind myself not to take the best things in life - or life itself, for that matter - for granted.)

Eh, what can you do with a film like this? I didn't like it, yet between seeing this or a Joel Schumacher "Batman" movie, I'd probably watch this. (I hate those Schumacher "Batman" movies.)

I saw this at the impressionable young age of 12. Admittedly, I was WAY too young to see this at the time, but even though I was still at the point where horror films still unnerved me, this film didn't phase me at all. Who knows? Maybe my BS sensor was pretty well-tuned to this one. From a logic standpoint, some of it is pretty laughable, and for a "serious" film, it's pretty darn cheerful at times in its depictions of dismemberment and death. So what is "real" in this film? Is any of it real? The thing that probably has the most validity are the animal deaths. While the acts may still make people squeamish, and as sick as it sounds, people are generally more able to (I hate using this word) accept an animal killing over a person. Ever live on a farm? Well, neither have I, but I know this kind of thing happens.

This is purely low-brow "art" at its most basic. It's disgusting, sophmoric, laughable and outright silly at times. The people who put these films together probably had a blast doing so, and probably enjoyed the fact that they would repulse people the world over with this little nugget. I didn't take "Faces of Death" seriously then, I don't take it seriously now. It's made for shock value, and that's what it achieves. Do I think this is a great film? No. Would I have this in my video collection? Probably not. But it is a curiosity piece, I'll give it that. I probably wouldn't watch one after eating dinner, either.

Ah yes, Faces of Death, that infamous movie that boasts how it was banned in "46 Countries". That one movie that kids of a young age at around the time it came out (late 70's) would whisper to each other about, how it was that movie "you weren't allowed to see." My, how times have changed huh? For starters, as reviewers before me have stated, yes, most, if not all, of the footage in this movie was faked (some of it rather badly too). However, on the other hand, one also has to keep in mind that way back in 1978,79,80, the news of it being faked was not known, so people were being treated too, what they thought, was a controversial, pull no punches look at death. It was a fascinating and original concept/idea/movie at the time of it's inception, but sadly, FOD, as well as it's sequels, just looks terribly dated and lame by 2005 standards.

Undoubtedly one of the worst movies of all time. And how many sequels were there? With the possible exception of 3, the live action sequences were staged. Alt.folklore.urban has decimated this movie. When mixed in w/ some shots of real animal slaughter, cadavers, and other dead things, I can only imagine a 14-16 yr old could enjoy and believe such tripe. As for entertainment value? Why not get a stick and poke at road kill for 88 min. If you liked that movie see Surf Nazis Must Die, The Leprechaun, or The Blade Master.

Before I get responses beginning with "you sick bugger", let me explain that this set of movies is the jewel of my collection strictly for it's cult status. I first saw FOD #1 when I was about 12yrs old in the extreme early 80's. The caption "Banned in 46 countries!" made this a compulsory rental for twisted little minds. During the first viewing however, I can remember distinguishing between the "real" and "fake" clips and thinking that the blood in "Dawn of the Dead" was far more realistic. Jump ahead about 20 yrs. I purchased the 6 video collection (with additional "Executions" video thrown in for good measure) in the late 90's. For those who have only seen clips or stopped after #1, the rest of the videos are pretty much the same (#2 is a lot of war atrocities, #3 has more nature/animal attacks, #4 should be called "Faces of Stupidity" due in part to the dumb ways people are getting killed, and #'s 5 & 6 are a best of compilation....the "real" 5 and 6 are German and Japanese releases that are fairly hard to get a hold of and rather expensive). I watched all of these videos, knowing that the majority of the clips are staged with bad SPFX and the real clips look as though they are unedited news footage, but It's "schlockiness" is mildly entertaining (Dr. Francis B. Gross hosting). The "Executions" tape I received as well however I have been unable to make it through in the past 6 years(everything on there is real and disturbing). I found that in my teens, this series was amateurish and only slightly interesting, but in my mid thirties it is much harder to watch and brings up morality questions that I didn't have when I a kid. The series definitely isn't for the faint of heart, but credit must be given for an unapologetic exploration (albeit 90% phony) of often taboo subjects.