The worthy Dr. Francis B. Gröss (really actor Michael Carr) takes us on a trip through death to stare into its many (sometimes real, sometimes most certainly not) faces....

One of the most famous, indeed infamous, 'Video Nasties' (films on VHS deemed to repulsive for delicate British minds, so were banned from sale or rental in the UK in the 80‘s) "Faces of Death" is also one of those films caught up in the chaos that was never actually released uncut on VHS in the UK, like "The Evil Dead" and "Cannibal Holocaust" etc.
But there was enough gruesome Mondo atrocity, slapdash staged gore deaths and real (or cruelly staged) animal snuff left to see the film become one of…

Faces of Death is John Alan Schwartz's - credited under a number of synonyms - attempt to understand the unavoidable reality of death. But is that even possible? We all will have our own answer, but after watching this film I have reached no sense of understanding or even the slightest revelation. It explores a vast number of theories involving death with the most complicated being the most engaging - war, religion, senseless murder, afterlife etc. I was also greatly surprised that there are actually moments when this immensely disturbing and highly arresting piece of exploitation, that looks cheap thanks to bad aging, is actually dull.

Narrated by Michael Carr - under the false identity of "Dr. Francis B. Gross"…

The worthy Dr. Francis B. Gröss (really actor Michael Carr) takes us on a trip through death to stare into its many (sometimes real, sometimes most certainly not) faces....

One of the most famous, indeed infamous, 'Video Nasties' (films on VHS deemed to repulsive for delicate British minds, so were banned from sale or rental in the UK in the 80‘s) "Faces of Death" is also one of those films caught up in the chaos that was never actually released uncut on VHS in the UK, like "The Evil Dead" and "Cannibal Holocaust" etc.
But there was enough gruesome Mondo atrocity, slapdash staged gore deaths and real (or cruelly staged) animal snuff left to see the film become one of…

There are many ways to die in this secluded world and some (whether fake or real) are explored here in this odd documentary from 1978, Faces of Death. This is hard one to describe, we see people dying for our curiosity and enjoyment sake. What are you supposed to do when these people are plummeting, being eaten, attacked, or electrocuted to death? Chant vigorously like youre at a Chicago Bears game? "DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!!!" or just say "He a goner"? I dont know about all of you, but I just sat there in awe watching people being killed. I can contradict which parts are real or fake which made it helpful. But back in '78 I dont think…

The Plot:
Faces of Death is most often thought of as a stylized documentary. It covers the topic of death from many different angles including farm animals being bread for consumption and concluding with the biggest face of death, war. In between these faces of death lies the so-called ‘meat’ of the film as it’s here we’re shown the brutality of death through news media coverage and other sources available at the time the film was produced. The remainder of this review will detail ‘the facts’ and ‘the fiction’ around the film, the unmasking of Faces of Death if you will.

The Facts:
All the scenes in the LA County Morgue are 100% real. From the opening credit autopsy to…

Faces of Death is John Alan Schwartz's - credited under a number of synonyms - attempt to understand the unavoidable reality of death. But is that even possible? We all will have our own answer, but after watching this film I have reached no sense of understanding or even the slightest revelation. It explores a vast number of theories involving death with the most complicated being the most engaging - war, religion, senseless murder, afterlife etc. I was also greatly surprised that there are actually moments when this immensely disturbing and highly arresting piece of exploitation, that looks cheap thanks to bad aging, is actually dull.

Narrated by Michael Carr - under the false identity of "Dr. Francis B. Gross"…