Spoiler Warning! The following article contains major spoilers for Faces of Death. If you haven’t watched the new horror movie, please exercise extreme caution.
When I first heard about the new Faces of Death, my first thought was: How is this going to work? Would it be like the classic horror movie of the same name by presenting staged yet incredibly unnerving scenes of violence and depravity, or would it be a found-footage film similar to the V/H/S movies? Instead, it’s a terrifying thriller about an unhinged serial killer posting harrowing videos of his victims inspired by the most distressing moments from the notorious 1978 “documentary.”
Though I have a myriad of issues with Faces of Death after watching the new 2026 movie, there’s one aspect that was done really well: its villain. Played by Stranger Things alum Dacre Montgomery, Arthur Spevak is both unhinged and grounded by reality, making this character one of the biggest surprises of the year and an instantly iconic slasher that I won’t soon forget.
Article continues below
Arthur Spevak Is A Grounded Serial Killer, And That Makes Him Even More Terrifying
I love a good slasher, but I can only take so many movies in which the killer is a seemingly invincible force of nature who’ll stop at nothing to maim and kill his victims. Though Arthur Spevak is a powerful and menacing figure from the time he’s introduced in Faces of Death until his final breath, his portrayal never reaches the peak of disbelief.
Not once in Daniel Goldhaber’s lean and mean horror flick did I think what Arthur was doing was unbelievable. Though he was too self-righteous and misguided on his quest to make society pay for being desensitized from an overexposure to violence on the internet, his killing spree honestly felt like something that could happen in Smalltown, USA, and that honestly makes this whole scenario all the more terrifying.
The Way Arthur Is Revealed Is Also Really Well Done
I avoided the Faces of Death trailer and pretty much everything to do with the movie before seeing it, so I went in not knowing what to expect. That being said, I had no idea this was going to be a serial killer movie until Arthur Spevak was introduced, a good 10-to-15 minutes into the movie.
Much like John Doe’s killing spree in the all-time great serial killer movie, Seven, Arthur’s series of brutal murders is well underway by the time we meet him. We see his videos inspired by the original Faces of Death and the impact they have on Margot Romero (Barbie Ferreira) as she moderates content on the fictional Kino social media platform, but there’s no inclination that we have a masked killer on our hands until it’s too late. Like Margot on her journey to find the man behind the camera, we’re in too deep and have crossed the point of no return by the time we figure it out
The way Arthur is introduced is just so well done and refreshing. I have to admit that it was jarring jumping from Margot watching unnerving videos to Arthur following his latest victim in the following scene.
Like a lot of critics who have seen Faces of Death, I have a lot of problems with the horror movie, its pacing, and bleak worldview. That said, I honestly think that for all its flaws, it very well could have introduced us to the most terrifying villain in a very long time.