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The Secrets of “Faces of Death” Finally Revealed

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Faces of Death



Live puppies are a delicacy in some cultures. If you need proof just watch Faces of Death. Younger viewers may not be familiar with the movie, but horror fans of the 80’s know of the controversy behind it. iHorror talks with the man who directed the commentary and featurette for the 30th anniversary DVD, and he reveals some of the secrets to this cult classic

[This article was first published in December 2014]

Faces of Death

Is Faces of Death the most shocking film ever?

Ask any horror movie fan old enough to remember the genre 30 years ago, and he or she will probably tell you about their first experience with Faces of Death, arguably one of the first “found footage” movies ever made. Faces of Death portrayed itself as a film compilation of real suicides, deaths, and autopsies.

Related image
Coming to a Grizzly end (via IMCDb)

The movie includes 105 minutes of, among other things, footage of an autopsy, piranha attacks, a beheading, a Grizzly bear mauling a tourist, a drowning victim, a suicide, and a cannibal orgy. This footage is real and all of the deaths and disembowelments are genuine. Aren’t they?

Try to determine if you think the film delivers what it promises:

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT (NSFW):

Media outlets and politicians alike blamed the film for the delinquency of the period. This fervor created an instant cult classic that eventually would earn it a place in horror history.

Is Faces of Death Real?

The main question on everyone’s mind who watched it was, “Is this real!?” iHorror finally has the answer.

Michael R. Felsher, owner and founder of Red Shirt Pictures, a production company that provides documentaries, director commentary, and bonus content for DVD and Blu-Ray distributors, talks to iHorror about his experiences with Faces of Death and its director, Conan Le Cilaire (not his real name), who provides the commentary for the Blu-Ray edition.

“He has a whole separate career aside from what he did on Faces of Death,” Felsher said, “and he used a pseudonym dating back to when the movie first came out. He’s not ashamed of it, but it’s a situation where he still wants to keep his professional real career separate from what he did on Faces of Death. We talked him into doing commentary, but he didn’t want to go on camera.”

Faces of Death (1978)
Special Edition (via IMDb)

Felsher’s company is behind some of the most recognized bonus feature documentaries on DVD. His company created “Flesh Wounds” for the special edition of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as well as extra content for Creepshow and Night of the Living Dead DVDs.

The Faces of Death Formula

It is no surprise that Felsher’s insight into the secrets of Faces of Death are abundant, “There’s a scene in the movie where a woman jumps, commits suicide from a building, she just jumps and hits the pavement.

Part of that is real—her jumping is real. But then the rushing up to the body lying on the ground is fake. So they would take and augment existing footage to make the creative narrative around it, and also sometimes to enhance the gore and shock aspect of it.”

Faces of Death (1978)
via IMDb

Part of the magic of Faces of Death was its editing and misdirection. The movie incorporated real footage with special effects and make-up to create scenes that trick the viewer into believing what they are seeing.

Although a lot of the film’s footage is real, most of it is fake.

Felsher says that after speaking with some of the film’s crew, he found a new appreciation for the movie, “One of the things that I found really fascinating about the project was talking to both the special effects crew who worked on the movie and also the editor, who had a really interesting task in that he had to blend stuff that existed at the time, and also sometimes create something out of whole cloth.”

The editor’s magic can be seen in the dog fight segment; two pit bulls fight each other to the death in what looks like a glimpse into a dog-fighting ring. But the director told Felsher it’s really something a lot less terrifying,

“It looks really savage and cruel and mean in the movie. But these dogs were the most playful dogs in the world, we just smeared them with jelly, they were just playing around they weren’t doing anything wrong at all, in fact, the footage itself is so laughably cute, we couldn’t believe that anyone would buy this but, you add sinister music and some sound effects and cut it a certain way, and it looks like these dogs are killing each other.”

Despite camera tricks and creative editing, there are some scenes that were not faked. Faces of Death, for all of its trickery, contains some very real graphic footage.

Faces of Death Isn’t All Misdirection

The director told Felsher about one scene in particular:

“We were down on the beach shooting something else, and we got a call that a body had washed up on the beach, and we were the first one on the scene. So what you’re seeing here is a real body that had washed up. It was a guy who had gotten high on LSD or something and had gone swimming out by the pier and drowned and his body had just washed up while they were out there. So that footage is 100% real; there were no effects there was nothing it wasn’t planned, but they were there so that body’s real.”

Image result for faces of death movie 1978
Unfortunate accident (via HorrorCultFilms)

Understanding Faces of Death and the time period in which it was released, with no internet or YouTube to explore, one can appreciate the curiosity it induced. It was taboo at the time which only increased its popularity among children and college students,

“It’s an amazing example of the power of word of mouth,”

Felsher said, “a legend spread amongst people, almost like an urban legend. There have been so many rumors attributed to it, so many supposed truths about it over the years.”

Felsher also explains how the United States government got involved, “The F.B.I was even fooled by it; they thought the cult footage was real. They had gotten hold of like a fifth-generation [duplicate] of it that looked so crappy, they couldn’t make it out very well, but it actually looked real to them. So they thought the footage was real.”

Faces of Death was a phenomenon of its time. Public officials, critics, and social groups attacked its integrity and even went so far as to blame it for heinous criminal behaviors.

Whether you watch it and roll your eyes at some scenes or cover them for others, there’s no denying that it is a prototype for the more visceral materials that would become available online to everybody a few years later.

A scene from the movie (warning graphic) NSFW:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=iAoAL32RyxQ

The secret: from “The Death Makers” featured on the DVD & Blu-Ray of The Original Faces of Death from Gorgon Video.

Felsher says how he felt going into the project changed once he was done with it, “I came away with an amazing appreciation for the artistry and the talent that went into it, even if it wasn’t something that I would necessarily want to watch on my own, but as a document of a certain film making technique, that was one of my favorite experiences on a project.

I learned as much as people watching it learned; I was learning as I was going along and over the course of that commentary in particular. By the time it was over, it was like my world has been expanded on certain things I didn’t even think about. And I have now an actual appreciation for “Faces of Death” of all things.”

Although there are some cleverly edited depictions of gruesome scenarios, Faces of Death still contains real footage of real death. Viewers today can watch the film and try to determine what is real and what is not.

Whatever your thoughts on the film, Felsher sums up its composition the best:

“The movie’s about, I would say, 30% real and 70% bullshit.”

Image result for faces of death movie 1978
via IMDb

Although we have revealed some secrets of Faces of Death, are you brave enough to explore the rest of the movie for yourself and come up with your own conclusions about what is real and what is not? Just remember, live puppies are a delicacy in some cultures. Can your stomach withstand the full 105 minutes of the infamous Faces of Death?

To learn more about Faces of Death, you can check out the official website here.

You can purchase your own special 30th-anniversary Blu-Ray edition of Faces of Death at Amazon today.

If you decide to watch Faces of Death, Tell iHorror what you think.

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‘Immaculate’ Stars Reveal Which Horror Villains They Would “F, Marry, Kill”

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Sydney Sweeney is just coming off the success of her rom-com Anyone But You, but she’s ditching the love story for a horror story in her latest film Immaculate.

Sweeney is taking Hollywood by storm, portraying everything from a love-lusting teenager in Euphoria to an accidental superhero in Madame Web. Although the latter got a lot of hate among theater-goers, Immaculate is getting the polar opposite.

The film was screened at SXSW this past week and was well-received. It also gained a reputation for being extremely gory. Derek Smith of Slant says the, “final act contains some of the most twisted, gory violence this particular subgenre of horror has seen in years…”

Thankfully curious horror movie fans won’t have to wait long to see for themselves what Smith is talking about as Immaculate will hit theaters across the United States on March, 22.

Bloody Disgusting says that the movie’s distributor NEON, in a bit of marketing smarts, had stars Sydney Sweeney and Simona Tabasco play a game of “F, Marry, Kill” in which all their choices had to be horror movie villains.

It’s an interesting question, and you might be surprised at their answers. So colorful are their responses that YouTube slapped an age-restricted rating on the video.

Immaculate is a religious horror movie that NEON says stars Sweeney, “as Cecilia, an American nun of devout faith, embarking on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Cecilia’s warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.”

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Michael Keaton Raves About “Beetlejuice” Sequel: A Beautiful and Emotional Return to the Netherworld

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After more than three decades since the original “Beetlejuice” film took audiences by storm with its unique blend of comedy, horror, and whimsy, Michael Keaton has given fans a reason to eagerly anticipate the sequel. In a recent interview, Keaton shared his thoughts on an early cut of the upcoming “Beetlejuice” sequel, and his words have only added to the growing excitement surrounding the film’s release.

Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice

Keaton, reprising his iconic role as the mischievous and eccentric ghost, Beetlejuice, described the sequel as “beautiful”, a term that encapsulates not only the visual aspects of the film but its emotional depth as well. “It is really good. And beautiful. Beautiful, you know, physically. You know what I mean? The other one was so fun and exciting visually. It’s all that, but really kind of beautiful and interestingly emotional here and there. I wasn’t ready for that, you know. Yeah, it’s great,” Keaton remarked during his appearance on The Jess Cagle Show.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Keaton’s praise did not stop at the film’s visual and emotional appeal. He also lauded the performances of both returning and new cast members, signaling a dynamic ensemble that is sure to please fans. “It’s great and the cast, I mean, Catherine [O’Hara], if you thought she was funny last time, double it. She’s so funny and Justin Theroux is like, I mean, come on,” Keaton enthused. O’Hara returns as Delia Deetz, while Theroux joins the cast in a yet-to-be-disclosed role. The sequel also introduces Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter, Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice’s wife, and Willem Dafoe as a dead B movie actor, adding new layers to the beloved universe.

“It’s just so fun and I’ve seen it now, I’m gonna see it again after a couple little tweaks in the editing room and I confidently say this thing is great,” Keaton shared. The journey from the original “Beetlejuice” to its sequel has been a long one, but if Keaton’s early rave is anything to go by, it will have been worth the wait. Showtime for the sequel is set for September 6th.

Beetlejuice

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‘The Unknown’ From Willy Wonka Event is Getting a Horror Movie

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Not since the Fyre Festival has an event been so lambasted online as Glasgow, Scotland’s Willy Wonka Experience. In case you haven’t heard about it, it was a children’s spectacular that celebrated Roald Dahl’s offbeat chocolatier by taking families through a themed space that felt like his magical factory. Only, thanks to cellphone cameras and social testimony, it was actually a sparsely decorated warehouse filled with flimsy set designs that looked like they were bought on Temu.

The famous disgruntled Oompa Loompa is now a meme and several hired actors have spoken out about the inelegant party. But one character seems to have come out on top, The Unknown, the mirror-masked emotionless villain who appears from behind a mirror, terrifying younger attendees. The actor who played Wonka, at the event, Paul Conell, recites his script and gives some backstory to this frightening entity.

“The bit that got me was where I had to say, ‘There is a man we don’t know his name. We know him as the Unknown. This Unknown is an evil chocolate maker who lives in the walls,'” Conell told Business Insider. “It was terrifying for the kids. Is he an evil man who makes chocolate or is the chocolate itself evil?”

Despite the sour affair, something sweet may come out of it. Bloody Disgusting has reported that a horror movie is being made based on The Unknown and may get a release as early as this year.

The horror publication quotes Kaledonia Pictures: “The film, gearing up for production and a late 2024 release, follows a renowned illustrator and his wife who are haunted by the tragic death of their son, Charlie. Desperate to escape their grief, the couple leave the world behind for the remote Scottish Highlands – where an unknowable evil awaits them.”

@katsukiluvrr evil chicolate maker who lives in the walls from willies chocolate experience in glasgow x #glasgow #willywonka #wonkaglasgow #scottish #wonka #theunknown #fyp #trending #foryou ♬ its the unknown – mol💌

They add, “We are excited to begin production and look forward to sharing more with you as soon as possible. We are actually only a few miles from the event, so it is quite surreal to see Glasgow all over social media, worldwide.”

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