FacesofDeathIV

Faces of Death IV (1990)

Back in my high school days, before the Internet made every nasty little video just a click away the Faces of Death films were always whispered about over the lunchroom table. You see this is the sort of nasty little video store rental that no one’s parents ever wanted to let their children rent. It was guaranteed to screw you up for life if you ever saw it! Now of course we all know that these movies are nothing more than a combination of footage from real life and many cleverly staged “true” events with decent special effects. But at the time these were a big deal, especially to a group of adolescents who were after anything they shouldn’t have. With the original Faces coming out on a spiffy new DVD with special features I took the time to sit down and check out this sequel.

Like the previous films there isn’t a plot here. Just a series of horrible “accidents” caught on tape with a narrator droning on about his study of the faces of death. Unlike previous installments that contained some fairly disturbing real footage of suicides (jumpers, head shots) this one leans far more on the staged accidents. Now if this movie managed to pull off some of the special effects as well as previous installments then that wouldn’t be a bad thing. But Faces of Death IV is nothing more than one poorly executed special effects sequence after another, each looking more and more fake. Throw in the community theater level of skill from the cast and you have a movie that comes nowhere near its predecessors. One of the greatest things about watching the previous films was sitting around trying to figure out what was real and what was fake. This is a testament to how great some of the effects were. Faces of Death IV doesn’t have that going for it at all. You have scenes that go on and on that end up being ruined with a terrible payoff (the magicians head), or scenes that keep focusing on something that is clearly just plastic (the leg in the wrecking yard). Additionally I think there are some parts that really drag, which I suppose is true of all of these movies, but is more obvious here.

Now that I’ve sort of trashed the movie I will say that it does have a couple of things going for it. First is the new Narrator, Dr. Flellis, played by James B. Schwartz. Schwartz is a terrible actor and delivers his dialogue with an over the top performance that has him emphasizing every couple of words. If that weren’t enough he makes some of the funniest faces that I’ve ever seen captured on film. The other thing that the movie has going for it is the greatest song ever recorded for a film’s soundtrack! Well okay not really, but it is so bad that I loved it. Trust me it is worth sitting thru the movie just to hear the end credits, you wont’ be disappointed.

So basically we have a movie here that won’t grab you viscerally like the original film did. But it is pretty cheesy and sort of unintentionally works as a parody if you are in the mood for such a thing. Even then I can’t recommend this as a purchase (even for the $10 I spent on my copy), but it might be worth a rental if you can find it.

2 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer