The end of the beginning or the beginning of the end?
A disturbing, unidentified teaser that leaked online last week, and was quickly removed by YouTube for violating its violent and graphic content policies, has now been revealed as the first look at Faces of Death.
Independent Film Company and Shudder have confirmed they’ve acquired North American rights to the film and released a censored version of the teaser, setting a nationwide theatrical release for April 10, 2026. The release marks Independent Film Company’s widest theatrical rollout to date.
The teaser is largely abstract, with hardly any visuals decipherable, but the ominous phrase, “The end of the beginning or the beginning of the end?” can be heard before the warning words YOU CAN’T UNSEE IT flash up on the screen.
The film is directed by Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline, Cam) and co-written with Isa Mazzei (Cam), reimagining the infamous 1978 cult shocker for a digital-era audience. The original Faces of Death was presented as a documentary, following pathologist Francis B. Gröss (Michael Carr) as he showcased a mix of staged scenes and real footage depicting death and its aftermath, blurring the line between fact and fiction and cementing its reputation as one of cinema’s most notorious shockers. Goldhaber and Mazzei revisit that tension in their version, updating it for the age of online platforms, viral content, and the “is it real or isn’t it?” question at the center of the story.
Faces of Death stars Barbie Ferreira (“Euphoria”) as a content moderator who uncovers videos that appear to recreate murders from the original film, raising the possibility that the violence may be real. The cast also includes Dacre Montgomery (“Stranger Things”), Josie Totah (“Saved by the Bell”), Aaron Holliday (“Euphoria,” Cocaine Bear), Jermaine Fowler (The Blackening), and Charli XCX (The Moment).
“Growing up in video store culture, there were memories of being terrified to even touch the original Faces of Death VHS box,” said Mark Ward, Chief Acquisition Officer for RLJE Films, a division of IFC Entertainment Group. “Daniel’s reimagining is unsettling, timely, and provocative, and we can’t wait to bring it to theaters.”
Goldhaber and Mazzei said they were proud to release the film with their vision intact, while producers Don Murphy and Susan Montford of Angry Films cited the filmmakers’ real-world approach and their work on Cam as key to honoring the property.
The film is produced by Legendary Entertainment alongside Murphy and Montford for Angry Films, and Adam Hendricks and Greg Gilreath of Divide/Conquer. Executive producers include Mazzei, Derek Bishé, and Rick Benattar.
The deal was negotiated by Ward on behalf of Independent Film Company and Shudder. Faces of Death opens exclusively in theaters nationwide on April 10, 2026.
