Cast & Filmmakers of Faces of Death on recreating the film for the modern age
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In a media landscape driven by clicks, virality, and shock value, the upcoming horror film Faces of Death aims to hold up a mirror. In conversation with director and co-writer Daniel Goldhaber, co-writer Isa Mazzei, and cast members Barbie Ferreira and Dacre Montgomery, it becomes clear that this isn’t just a reimagining, it’s a recontextualization for the algorithm age.
At its core, the film interrogates a chilling question: what does Faces of Death mean in a world where graphic content is no longer hiddenbut endlessly streamed?
For Barbie Ferreira, stepping into the role of Margot meant inhabiting a character shaped by both personal tragedy and professional exposure to humanity’s darkest corners.
“Margot was like this raw nerve of a person, she has this sense of justice, but also so much guilt and shame. And then she's constantly seeing the horrors of the world every day.”
Margot works as a content moderator, filtering violent material online, made even heavier by unresolved trauma from her past. Ferreira describes building the character through immersion in true crime media, placing herself in a constant state of unease:
'“Being someone who is in fight or flight at all times, the bubbling of the plot is also her trauma bubbling up.”
The result is a protagonist whose decisions aren’t always rational,but feel deeply human.
Meanwhile Dacre Montgomery’s Arthur embodies the urge to create it for attention.
"‘What is it, society or his upbringing that creates someone like him? I think it’s both.”
Arthur is driven by the logic of the attention economy, where visibility equals power. Montgomery points to a line from the film that encapsulates this ethos:
“And baby, business is booming.”
'“People are addicted to doing anything to get attention. Arthur sees a snuff film as a path to fame.”
Rather than portraying him as purely monstrous, the film frames Arthur as disturbingly recognizable,a reflection of a culture that rewards extremity.
“That’s the scariest part of the film. Not the gore,this idea that Arthur represents something real and global.”
Throughout the film, Margot is dismissed, labeled “emotional” or “hysterical,” even when she’s right. Her frustration builds as institutions fail her:
“That realization—that the system wasn’t built for her and won’t protect her is devastating.”
This culminates in a finale Ferreira describes as both triumphant and haunting:
“She wins. but at what cost?”
Montgomery approached Arthur through meticulous physical and psychological detail, grounding the character in control before unraveling him.
“When you thrive on control, losing it is overwhelming, like the gears in a watch falling out of sync.”
He fixated on textures, routines, and visual distortions, even experimenting with how the world would look through red-tinted lenses:
“The idea of literally ‘seeing red’ became intoxicating, it personified his violence.”
As Arthur’s control deteriorates, so does the structure he depends on, making him more unpredictable and more terrifying.
Visually, the film blends retro influences with modern media aesthetics.
“We wanted it to feel like it could have been made in the 1970s but with this mixed-media, digital layer.” — Daniel Goldhaber
Arthur’s in-film videos mimic the original Faces of Death style but with an amateur, obsessive twist:
“How would a student filmmaker try to recreate something like that? That question shaped everything.”
By having actors operate cameras during certain scenes, the filmmakers embedded character directly into the visual perspective—blurring the line between observer and participant.
While Faces of Death delivers on genre expectations, its creators are clear: the real horror isn’t what’s shown—it’s what feels familiar.
Q&A on the film Faces of Death with cast Barbie Ferreira and Dacre Montgomery, director & co-writer Daniel Goldhaber and co-writer Isa Mazzei. Moderated by Mara Webster.
