Shudder's New Horror Remake Of Controversial '70s Cult Classic Debuts To Solid Rotten Tomatoes Score Ahead Of Release

2 weeks ago 10

The killer staring straight into the camera wearing a white mask with red contacts in Faces of Death

Published Apr 6, 2026, 7:32 AM EDT

Hannah Gearan (she/her) is has been writing for ScreenRant for over three years. Her deep cinema love traces back to age 11, when she equipped herself with a spiral-bound notebook, rated all the films she watched, and declared herself a critic. About a decade later, she received a BA from Wesleyan University, where she studied Film, Environmental Studies, and Writing. Hannah’s short film, Toxic Faucets, has screened at numerous film festivals, including the Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston). As a Movie News writer now, she draws upon her vast experience studying, making, and analyzing film as she approaches dynamic breaking stories.

Faces of Death has not scared off critics so far.

Now, the first reviews of Faces of Death are in, and it has debuted to a solid Rotten Tomatoes score. With 10 reviews counted thus far, the Faces of Death remake holds a 60% Tomatometer. The audience Popcornmeter is still to come, and more reviews could come in that shift that score in either direction.

Creating this aggregated approval rating is a wide range of positive- and negative-leaning responses, with scores as high as 4 out of 5 (B+) or much more middling 2 out of 4s and 5s out of 10. One of said middle-of-the-road reactions came from ScreenRant's Graeme Guttmann, who gave it a 5 out of 10 and called the film "a well-directed horror thriller with too much on its mind."

Faces of Death is set to release in theaters this week on Friday, April 10. At that point, there will be a clearer sense of the overall response to the film.

If the reviews at least slant positively, it creates a potentially big opportunity for Shudder or whoever might want to delve into a Faces of Death franchise. Following the original's release in 1978, Faces of Death got multiple sequels, including three official sequels and two unofficial sequels.

The original creator also made the documentary Faces of Death: Fact or Fiction? in 1999. All the sequels relied on more and more "real" footage, creating the found footage-esque splatter horror cult classic series that people know today.

However, most of those Faces of Death sequels were released straight-to-video. With this first Shudder remake getting a theatrical release, the potential reboot franchise could get to see what the audience response is like when these series are made for the big screen.

Already, the Shudder version is doing a lot better than 1978's Faces of Death, which holds just a 25% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. While this is already a good sign for the movie, its path forward will ultimately be determined by its box office performance. As the weekend arrives, the true fate of Faces of Death will be revealed.