‘Faces of Death’ Red Band Trailer Reveals Shudder Reboot

Horror and meta often go hand in hand, and director Daniel Goldhaber is bringing fans his own meta take on the 1978 pseudo-documentary film Faces of Death. Following in the footsteps (or should that be slither tracks?) of Anaconda, the most recent meta take on a previous cult horror classic, the new Faces of Death plays on the original film existing within the new story’s world. Fans of the original have been eagerly awaiting a look at this new horror film starring Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday, with Jermaine Fowler and Charli XCX, and a Red-Band trailer has finally been unleashed.

The film’s synopsis explains that the remake will center on the continuation of “the exploration of the original film’s infamous ‘is it real or not?’ concept as a woman (Ferreira) working as a content moderator for a major video platform discovers what appears to be re-enactments of murders from the original film. In an online world where nothing can be trusted, she must determine whether the violence is fiction, or unfolding in real time.” A compelling concept for all of us in today’s online world, where AI-generated content has blurred the lines between reality and fantasy even further than ever before. Check out the new Red-Band trailer for Faces of Death below, and try to determine what’s real…

While it’s been 48 years since the release of the original film, written and directed by John Alan Schwartz, its concept could not be more timely, as audiences are living their own fever dream of sifting through viral AI-generated content online. The original was, in a sense, a true-to-form horror film with so much gore and violence that it ended up banned in several countries, sparking its genius marketing statement: “banned in 46 countries.” By making the original film canon in this reboot, writers Isa Mazzei and Goldhaber, have created an enormous sandbox to play in. Writer Isa Mazzei and director Daniel Goldhaber made an intriguing statement about the reboot back in 2023 when it was announced:

“Faces of Death was one of the first viral video tapes, and we are so lucky to be able to use it as a jumping off point for this exploration of cycles of violence and the way they perpetuate themselves online.”

The original Faces of Death inspired many copycats, including movies like Cannibal Holocaust, the Guinea Pig horror series from Japan, the August Underground trilogy, and even the V/H/S series, so fans can reasonably expect the cultural conversation within the reboot and its audiences to be rich with possible references to other horror films. With Euphoria and Stranger Things actors attached, the film is set to be a feast for the zeitgeist. Horror fans can stream the 1978 original on Prime Video and Apple TV ahead of the new Faces of Death’s release on April 10, 2026.