Lifting the mask from 'Faces of Death'

Halloween is the right time for director John Schwartz to haunt audiences with tales of his scary film saga. The good news about the horrifying scenes it offers: They aren't entirely as real as the advertising claims.
By MICHAEL PATRICK WELCH

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 26, 2000


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Most adolescent slumber parties in the '80s began or ended with a video screening of the cult classic, pseudo-snuff flick Faces of Death. After the movie, no slumber came, only nightmares and debate.

"Did those people really beat that monkey to death and eat its brains?"

"How did they get that footage of the flesh-eating cult?"

"Is that electric chair execution real?"

Is any of Faces of Death real? What does the man who made it say?

"I'll never forget: All of a sudden on the news one night they're talking about Faces of Death!" says John Schwartz, who directed and wrote the movie and its sequels I through IV (there are now eight Faces of Death movies). The flick was intended as a Japanese-only release in 1979, but found its way to the United States, and the national news, a couple of years later.

"I almost fell out of my chair," says Schwartz in a phone interview. "Dan Rather on CBS was talking about these "incredibly horrible videos.' 'Cause everybody thought they were real!"

If anybody thinks Faces of Death is footage of actual deaths, it's because it says so on the video's box, right under the cheesy drawing of the hooded skull with the forked tongue and fangs. Schwartz and company did film real footage of slaughterhouses and autopsy rooms, but any other "real" deaths came from file footage.

"We traveled to all these different film libraries to see what we could find about death and disaster," says Schwartz. "I found this footage of this woman jumping off a building, and it was just incredible footage. But the part of the footage we didn't have was the aftermath. So we (filmed) inserts into the actual footage to match it."

Then how did Schwartz and company acquire the more bizarre footage? "I was the leader of the flesh-eating cult," Schwart admits. "I had scenes in each of these movies. . . . I'm the crazy, drugged-out killer. . . . I play this freaky rapist in the courtroom scene, and they show the rape on video, and it just so happens that the girl (in the rape scene) was this girl I was dating at the time."

You mean, the famous electric chair scene was fake? But the guy was foaming at the mouth and everything!

"We built a cell in a friend's loft, and we lined the guy's mouth with toothpaste," says Schwartz, laughing. "My research material for that: I happened to pick up a Hustler magazine and there was this great article about electrocution that really detailed how a person is executed. . . . And that's what I used as my basis."

Schwartz is listed in Faces of Death credits as "Alan Black." "My middle name is Alan, and schwarz means black in German."

He used the fake name to prevent bias at his other jobs, writing for TV shows such as Night Rider, Street Hawk and The Fall Guy as well as original movies for HBO and Showtime. But to date, the original Faces of Death has grossed over $30-million. It cost $450,000 to make. These days, Schwartz proudly includes Faces of Death on his resume when cashing in on the "reality" entertainment trend which he helped pioneer.

He's currently working for ABC's Totally Out of Control Videos series. "I created Totally Out of Control Love and Totally Out of Control Vacation . . . real stories of people who got married jumping off cliffs and underwater and, you know, weird stuff."

But once a year, at Halloween, Schwartz speaks at college campuses about his adventures creating Faces of Death.

"It can't be denied," he says. "It's my legacy at this point."

Despite the video's cult status, you won't find it in many video stores. Locally, only Unique Video, at Waters and Armenia avenues, carries the Faces of Death series.

this quite fascinating. inmate09 used to own several of these videos.

he tells me he had a feeling they were fake. the crocodile bungee as well?

hans wishes to know that if death has so many faces why not close our eyes.

doesn't suprise me.

You know I totally believed this shit until I seen this scene where these supposed gangsters put a plastic bag over their victims head to suffucate them, this scene lasted 30 secs.

Another scene that had me wonderin was the one where they show this ambulance in a third world country speeding down the road with is sirens blarin', apparently on it's way to rescue someone. The ambulance literally runs over a man then backs up to throw him inside the vehicle and speeds off again.

asylum said:

I'm not surprised.

magnificentsynthesizer667 said:

perhaps if you test them on yourself we can be sure of their validity.

asylum said:

What's "them"?

magnificentsynthesizer667 said:

the many faces of death, my dear fellow.

i never saw any of these movies, and i thought they were disgusting when i first heard of them.


i still think they're disgusting.

asylum said:

Oh, I've seen that thread. it was tough, but I managed to survive. Still have nightmares though

And to answer your question yes the faces of death are real!

magnificentsynthesizer667 said:

hans wishes to ask if they involve an extension cord and peanut butter.

please do not give him any ideas. i do find one series much more graphic.

have you viewed traces of death?

no, hans it is not coloring time.

asylum said:

magnificentsynthesizer667 said:

those keys will never fit those locks. could they not just walk out?

asylum said:

I know of one that escaped. he posts here at the org.

magnificentsynthesizer667 said:

hey, are you talking about me?

magnificentsynthesizer667 said:

i have been watching mr/miss zelaira myself. my apoligies.