One of the most famous of the ‘Video Nasties,' Conan Le Cilaire's (AKA John Alan Schwartz) Faces of Death compiles numerous video clips in which people (and animals, for that matter) are killed, usually unexpectedly, and in an increasingly violent matter. Faces of Death is a complete mystery to me, as there is seemingly no way to take this film in the context in which it was originally intended… Let me explain.

The film begins with an introduction by Dr. Francis B. Gross (what a clever name… ugghh) as to the inevitability of death, and the many ways it can sneak up on an unsuspecting member of the human race. The film carries on, past this unnecessary introduction, to a number of sequences of violence throughout the animal kingdom. These sequences showcase dog-fighting, a python falling victim to a school of piranhas, and other similar events. While this is unnerving to watch, what follows is much worse. The film increases in its attempt at grotesque intensity, as we bare witness to a table of people beating a small monkey to death in order to devour its brain tissue, a suicide jumper, an obviously fake bear attack, and the results of a plane crash. It is disturbing material to say the least, yet it's nearly all fake…

After viewing Le Cilaire‘s Faces of Death, I found myself at an impasse… was what I had just seen a genuine attempt at chronicling, in a documentary format, genuine events that resulted in death? I highly doubt it, although nearly everything I had read on the film suggested that the original idea for the film was a documentary, the likes of which had never been seen. But there is far too much fabricated content within the film for me to accept it as a genuine attempt to use this structure.

Was it a pure gore film, meant to shock the audience? This is certainly more likely; however it is still difficult for me to accept, as there are far more effective ways to craft a ‘mondo macabre' gore film. Faces of Death is nearly two hours… far too long for a film that intends only to shock its audience through its graphic depiction of violence and death. There are also a number of voice-overs that attempt to suggest to the audience that there is some sort of moral to be learned from the events that have occurred… This is, once again, not something seen in a typical ‘gore film'. Above and beyond this, there are video segments of Adolph Hitler, and imagery from Nazi Germany's concentration camps. This sort of inclusion would be inexcusable if the film was simply trying to shock, or worse, titillate its audience with its graphic visuals.

Now, in the film's defence… it was released in 1978. I have no idea what the cinematic climate was like in 1978… I was ‘Minus 4 Years Old”, but I am certain that no one had attempted to construct anything as genuinely graphic as this before, and as such, the audience was bound to be completely and utterly horrified, hence the film being banned in a number of countries. However, without understanding the context in which this film was made, I can't even begin to understand its purpose. In modern cinema, it has no validity. Today's film-goers have witnessed such an excess in violence in Hollywood productions, not to mention the obscene level of violence coming from Europe and Asia (watch the film Naked Blood, if you require an example), that it would not be nearly as effective as it would have been 30 years ago.

Faces of Death misses the mark on all levels. It is either the most ill-conceived documentary ever put together, or the most tasteless composition of genuine and non-genuine violence ever created. It is a terrible film that I really can recommend to no one, yet it has spawned numerous sequels, and has a surprisingly large cult following. I'm not certain what the film's appeal is… perhaps it's the thought of satisfying our own morbid curiosity by witnessing something as horrific as this. Only about 80% of the film is a fraud… Roughly 20% of the film is genuine footage. While it's generally quite painfully obvious which is which, this thought of viewing something we should consider ‘taboo' is the only reason I can think that this film would have any followers at all.

Faces of Death is a terrible film any way you look at it. But, I hate to say, I believe it has an undeniable cultural significance that began in the late 70's and still grows to this day.