Why Shudder’s New Faces Of Death Isn’t A Straightforward Remake Explained By Director & Writer

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The notorious horror series Faces of Death is returning, but its creators weren’t interested in simply re-making the original.

The new film is directed by Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei, the team behind How to Blow Up a Pipeline. It stars Barbie Ferreira as Margot, a content moderator for the social media site Kino. Margot begins investigating a series of disturbing videos that appear to show actual murders. She realizes the videos are recreations of scenes from the original Faces of Death documentary and tries to uncover whether they are genuine or faked.

Before the April 10th release of the new film, ScreenRant’s Grant Hermanns spoke with co-writer and director Daniel Goldhaber and co-writer Isa Mazzei about their take on Faces of Death. When asked why they chose a meta-sequel approach instead of a simple remake, Mazzei explained that they were initially contacted by Legendary Pictures to adapt the franchise, which was appealing because neither of them had ever seen the original horror movie.

When Goldhaber and Mazzei finally watched Faces of Death, they realized they’d actually seen clips of it online over the years. These scattered pieces gave them the initial idea to include the film in their story. Goldhaber explained that part of what made the original so terrifying was how difficult it was to find, but now, the easy availability of the film and similar content creates a different kind of fear.

Initially, this film was heavily restricted and difficult to find – it wasn’t available at mainstream rental stores like Blockbuster and had a sort of underground reputation. Now, it’s readily accessible to everyone, constantly available on our phones and devices, which is unsettling. That contrast – from hidden and forbidden to ubiquitous – creates a compelling setting for a story, especially a horror story.

While horror remakes still exist, they’ve become less common lately. Filmmakers are now focusing more on creating original stories, continuing existing franchises with new installments, or releasing standalone films within a franchise. We’ve seen a growing trend of these legacy sequels and standalone films, especially after the success of movies like the 2018 Halloween, the 2022 Scream, and Evil Dead Rise.

The creators of Faces of Death took an unusual approach with their sequel by making the original film a part of the new movie’s storyline. This technique—where a previous film exists within the world of the sequel—is relatively rare in horror. Other examples include Grave Encounters 2, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, and Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, all of which incorporate their predecessors as fictional movies within the sequel’s plot.

The Blumhouse film The Town That Dreaded Sundown is the closest comparison to Goldhaber and Mazzei’s plans for a Faces of Death sequel. Similar to the original 1976 film, the 2014 sequel takes place in Arkansas, where a serial killer known as the Phantom Killer once spread terror. But the newer film also includes a copycat killer and incorporates footage from, and discussions about, the 1976 movie.

By including the original Faces of Death and using it as inspiration for the villain, the filmmakers seem to be aiming to spark a conversation about how constant exposure to disturbing content – especially online – can desensitize us. The new movie, which arrives in theaters April 10th and will later stream on Shudder, is receiving the best reviews of any film in the series so far, suggesting this approach is paying off.

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2026-04-09 23:28