Faces of Death
Short description
Faces of Death is a documentary horror film that presents a series of scenes depicting death and violence. The movie utilizes a combination of television clips, amateur Super 8 footage, and staged reconstructions to show various causes of death. The narrative is framed by a doctor discussing the nature of mortality, leading into sequences that include animal deaths, autopsies, executions, and fatal accidents.
Directed and written by John Alan Schwartz, this was the first of three films in the series, followed by sequels in 1981 and 1985. The production was handled by F.O.D. Productions in the United States. The cast features Michael Carr as Dr. Frances B. Gröss, alongside Samuel Berkowitz and Thomas Noguchi. Other contributors include Rosilyn T. Scott as producer and John Alan Schwartz, who also appeared in an uncredited role.
The film has a runtime of 109 minutes. Based on user feedback, it has received a low score of 4.6/10 on TMDB from 230 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- The electric chair execution scene was recreated in the attic of a house belonging to an acquaintance of one of the filmmakers. The foam dripping from the mouth of the supposed executed person was toothpaste.
- The voice-over claims that the first gas chamber execution was carried out in California in 1938. This is incorrect. The first gas chamber execution took place in Nevada in 1924.
- In a February 2012 interview, director and screenwriter John Alan Schwartz revealed that the scene where supposedly ordinary tourists in Egypt kill a monkey and eat its brain was filmed in a Moroccan restaurant in the USA; Schwartz's own friends participated as actors, and the production used prop wooden hammers, a monkey doll with a removable head, and cauliflower smeared with fake blood to represent the brains.
- One episode tells the story of Samuel Berkowitz, who underwent cryogenic freezing in July 1978 and was placed in storage in California. Over time, the relatives who paid for Berkowitz's storage lost interest. An offer to continue the storage for free, but to keep only the head in the tank, was rejected. In October 1983, Berkowitz was thawed, after which the body was immersed in formaldehyde and buried. No attempts were made to preserve the brain.
- The film uses footage from accident sites, suicides, as well as clips of autopsies and animal killings. However, it has been proven that in many cases, the deaths were staged.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
