Stranger Things Star Will Lead Remake Of The Most Controversial Movie Of All Time
The 1978 horror film Faces of Death, which used real footage of death, is being remade and will star Stranger Things actor Dacre Montgomery.
Many horror films like those in the Paranormal Activity franchise and the recently released The Outwaters aim for virality through the use of found footage and the appearance of reality. Few horror films present viewers with real footage or actual events, but this could soon change. According to an article from the Hollywood Reporter, the Stranger Things actor Dacre Montgomery is set to star in a remake of 1978’s shock horror film Faces of Death, which was known for using actual footage of various deaths to unsettle viewers.
“Faces of Death was one of the first viral video tapes, and we are so lucky to be able to use it as a jumping-off point for this exploration of cycles of violence and the way they perpetuate themselves online,” said writer Isa Mazzei and director Daniel Godhaber when announcing the casting. The two in charge of the new film are also responsible for 2018’s thriller Cam and 2022’s film How to Blow Up a Pipeline.
Faces of Death is a reimagining of the cult horror film of the same name. The original 1978 film was one of the most controversial films of its era because of its use of actual footage of various kinds of death. Dacre Montgomery will star next to Barbie Ferreira, another young breakout star from the HBO drama Euphoria.
Faces of Death’s Dacre Montgomery is an Australian actor best known for his role as Billy Hargrove in the Netflix series Stranger Things. He stole the show with his acting, which was a mixture of villainous, violent, and alluring. He also played Jason Scott in the 2017 action film Power Rangers, and Steve Binder in the 2022 biographical film Elvis.
Montgomery’s Faces of Death castmate Barbie Ferreira is best known for her role as Kat in the first two seasons of Euphoria, although the actress announced that she would not be reprising her role for Euphoria’s third season allegedly due to disagreements with series creator Sam Levinson. She’s also seen in HBO’s Unpregnant, Jordan Peele’s horror film Nope, and the upcoming thriller House of Spoils for Amazon Prime. She is a well-known plus-size model who advocates for body acceptance and awareness around fatphobia.
Legendary Entertainment is in charge of the Faces of Death remake. They are known for The Dark Knight franchise, the Godzilla franchise, and the Enola Holmes franchise. Their most recent release was the 2023 horror comedy We Have a Ghost.
Faces of Death became a cult classic years after its theatrical release in 1978 during the boom of the VHS market in the 1980s and is widely considered one of the first viral video tapes. The film is shot in a fake documentary style, with fictional narrator Francis B. Gröss (played by Michael Carr) presenting gruesome images of pre-filmed, real footage of different ways to die. Some of these include dead and decaying animals, footage of assassinations, the aftermath of a plane wreck, and other gruesome “faces of death.”
Although the original Faces of Death contained some faked film interlaced throughout the movie, subsequent films had little to no fake footage. It will be interesting to see how this new remake of Faces of Death will approach this aspect of death in the film, as a 21st-century audience may be more prone to backlash against the showing of actual death on film. Still, the filmmakers hope to capture the viral energy of the original seen through a contemporary lens.
