In 2026, we engage with violence nearly every day due to the pervasive nature of grim content on social media. As with any aspect of culture, there is a wealth of perspectives to explore in the world of cinema. Attempting to address our relationship with brutality, Faces of Death is a new film directed by Daniel Goldhaber and co-written by Isa Mazzei. While the movie does contain a solid throughline, its failure to commit results in a sanitised exploration of violence.

After a series of violent videos appears on social media, a content moderator becomes determined to discover their origin. Barbie Ferreira stars alongside Dacre Montgomery. They are supported by Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, Jermaine Fowler and Charli XCX.

For a film that aims to confront savagery on social media, Faces of Death, unfortunately, pulls its punches. The story itself is well-written, and the central performances are largely decent, but the entire picture appears afraid to go full force into the world it clearly desires to live in.

This is as much a commentary on social media as it is a slasher feature. The former aspect is addressed quite well, and the script asks many important questions related to the subject, such as “have we become too desensitised?” and “has violence in media negatively transformed our culture?”. But the movie also wants to be a tribute to 70s mondo horror. In this regard, it fails to challenge the audience.

If you are to dissect desensitisation, it’s best to dive in with both feet if you want to be a horror film. 2023’s Red Rooms is a drama which explores similar themes but chooses to focus on the psychological aspect of the topic at hand. With that movie, the lack of violence is acceptable as its genre is neatly established. Faces of Death is a different beast entirely and would have been better off pushing viewers to their limits. What a wonderful film it could have been if it had decided to truly test how desensitised we have become.

As a whole, Faces of Death is well directed, written and acted, but falls short in the areas that mattered most. It’s certainly entertaining, but the areas of missed potential result in a film that makes little impact.