Here is a synopsis of the FACES OF DEATH series:
Faces of Death
This is the most infamous of all Mondo Movies and with out a doubt the most vicious exploitation title ever filmed. This pseudo documentary features the aptly titled Dr. Frances B. Gross, as he studies death and how fragile live can be.The film opens with scenes of a catacomb in Mexico where we see mummified corpses, all of this is genuine and pretty much benign. We then proceed to a slaughterhouse where we witness animals prepared for our dinner table(Yum!). We then witness one of the most infamous scenes in the film, a group of restaurant patrons are seated, entertained with music and alcohol and then are given a monkey to bash with a mallet. This scene is quite vile. Afterward they eat the brains and the look on the patrons face's shows they are not quite happy with their meal (Maybe it should have been chilled). The films also features animal attacks on people and in many cases these are quite laughable, one worth noting has a stupid couple feeding a bear, an adjacent vehicle records the grim results of the subsequent attack by the bear on the stupid man. For the rest of the film what we end up with is a mix of stock footage from accidents and disasters. The film is supposedly banned in over 40 countries yet I can barely think of 20 that might carry it. You will more then likely not find it at any Blockbuster store!
Faces of Death 2
It is almost inevitable that such an infamously successful title like Faces of Death would spawn a sequel and in a rare case this one is actually much better then the first. The movie begins with our favorite pseudo Dr. explaining how he felt he needed to further explore the issues of death, contradicting his statements from the first film but enough of that for now. The film goes on to show animal testing, poachers killing animals, scenes from human autopsies, more slaughterhouse footage and some scenes of executions in Africa. We then view war atrocities, most from the fighting in Vietnam and Lebanon. The film ends with the infamous death of boxer Johnny Owen as the annoying music closes out this film. It is undeniable that FOD 2 is better made then the first.
Faces of Death 3
Opening with European car crashes the third film of the FOD series pretty much follows the same pattern of the earlier films.A number of the first segments feature police reports, the style of work seems way to close to those COP's style shows and when one thinks about the crud they show on TV it is little wonder how too close these films are to the portrayals they are making. One well known and significant moment features a bomb squad preparing to defuse a bomb, a makeshift blast shield is erected to allow the camera to witness this tricky procedure. As the police man slowly pulls the fuse it explodes killing him instantly. This same film was shown in many other similar titles so don't be surprised if I mention it later. We also witness a suicide in grim detail, complete with gawking witnesses. As with many of the FOD titles this one boasts an infamous scene which gives this film its highlight, in this case we witness an auto lot security camera capturing a pair of car thieves in the act. As the camera pans left to right we see the dogs taking down one of the bad guys and ripping him to pieces. All the while we are required to sit through Dr. Gross's silly commentary on crime and punishment. The only highlight in the conclusion is the fresh footage of recent accident scenes which fill in the gaps between the reenactments. As stated this FOD adventure plays more like a COP's Really Uncut video and with its fabricated scenes mixed with accident footage we get a collection of films more entertaining then any episode of COP's, cut or uncut.
Get the whole series for just £30!
Seperate buying price of the series: £36
There are another 3 FACES OF DEATH films but I haven't
got them yet. Check back soon!
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