Podcast: ‘Faces of Death’ Gets Uncertified

Is there such a thing as an anti-slasher? That's the question one must grapple with after watching Faces of Death, the new remake or meta-sequel from filmmaking duo Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei. These are the minds behind genre standouts like Cam and How To Blow Up a Pipeline, and in this week's episode of Certified Forgotten, Matt Donato and Matthew Monagle take a closer look at whether Faces of Death lives up to the duo's already impressive track record.

After a college social media stunt ends in tragedy, Margot Romero (Barbie Ferreira) tries to atone for her mistake by working as a content moderator for Kino, an app that is, for legal reasons, definitely not TikTok. Margo prides herself on being the first line of defense against dangerous content - that is, until she stumbles across the profile of a possible serial killer (Dacre Montgomery). But as Margot races to discover the links between the creator and his missing victims, she does not realize she may very well be his next target. Directed by Goldhaber and written by Goldhaber and Mazzei, Faces of Death is the kind of meta-sequel that would make Grave Encounters 2 proud.

In this short excerpt from the episode, Matthew Monagle summarizes his take on what holds the film back.

The issue with Faces of Death, what makes it different, and what knocks it down a peg ... it's never quite in sync. There are two big elements: the Margot storyline and the killer storyline. Those are two tonally different horror films that can work together a little bit. But unlike Cam, and certainly unlike, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, it just never coalesces.

The Faces of Death episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, or the podcast platform of your choice.