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11 out of 11 people found the following review useful: I'm in this god-forsaken movie, 18 September 2006 Author: a_rural1 from United States
Every once in a while I google Faces of Death just to see what's out there, and I found this site. I was working one of the god-awfullest jobs in my EMT career in NYC one morning in 1988 at around 6:30 when we got the call for a "space case" in the subway at W. 66 and Broadway. This poor unfortunate trying to cross from the Uptown side to the Downtown side via the tracks, and didn't quite scramble up to the platform quickly enough before the train rolled in. Well, it was rush hour, and we were surrounded by freelance photographers and videographers trying to catch their last footage of the night (or first of the day) for the TV news, and our "patient" was still alive, although unconscious, so we had to offer advanced life support and remove him with the help of ESU. Apparently whoever took this footage couldn't sell it to the news in time, so he sold it instead to this monster who does the Faces of Death videos. You know, this was a serious call. I had the smell of that victim on me for days. But it was a public place, blah blah blah...fair game. P.S. He lived long enough to make it to the ER where he hung on even longer. Jesus, his torso was so twisted around, how did he last as long as he did!!!? It was grueling for us all the way to the bitter end. Oh, by the way, one of those paramedics working with me on the subway platform is Joe Connelly who wrote the book (which became a movie) Bringing out the Dead.
13 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Should Be Faces of Dupe, 20 July 2002 Author: Matrixx058 from New York
As a Pathology/Histology Technician I have the ability to both see and experience the most saddest aspect of life, and that is the passing of a fellow human being. As such, I think not only should Faces of Death be revealed as it truly is, an insensitive exploitation of those unable to speak for themselves, it should also be banned for the violation of their rights as fellow human beings. In the industry of death, we all hold dignity, respect and compassion as our first priority to those who have crossed over and that death being a personal experience should not be mocked for the purposes of advancing ones own financial interests...the producers should really contemplate their intents, and people who are not registered Pathologists should not call themselves as such.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Curiosity kills our brain, 10 December 1999 Author: bghorror from Houston, TX
This movie is a perfect example of where curiosity leads us in life. Faces Of Death 4, like the previous films, dares to shock us with more violent images of (supposed) true life horror. It did it for me.....and will forever leave an impression on my mind that I'd rather not have.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: There's a new doctor in town ..., 17 December 2003 Author: Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki from United States
Mindless direct to video continuation of the "Faces of Death" series, basically this is just a remake of the highlights from the first movie, but this time there is a new narrator in the bald, bug eyed "Dr. Louis Flellis" talking about his obsession with death and the afterlife all the while sitting in front of a bright glowing lava lamp(???). Did the original narrator really die like it says in this movie? Or did he just not want to do another sequel and this is just part of the story? The guy in the auto yard that supposedly had his leg severed when a car fell on him doesn't make any sense: wouldn't the car have fallen on top of him, crushing his entire body, not just his leg? I also liked the mental patient that was wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit with the word "FELON" clearly written on the back of it ...Curiously, the thief that was locked in the airtight bank vault for over 40 hours and supposedly suffocated also looked strangely like this series's writer/ director/ producer etc. John Alan Schwartz. Can it be another one of his cameos? Who knows? *1/2 out of ****
2 out of 2 people found the following review useful: For the guy who said it's real..., 2 April 2006 Author: ienjoyhoagies from Tampa
You said it has to be real, otherwise why is it banned everywhere including the U.S.Ummm.... I've lived in three different states in the U.S. and it was widely available to rent on video in all three. Now maybe I just "coincidentally" happened to live in the three states where they allow it, but I doubt it.You see, they put that it's been "banned" in so many places to make it sound cooler so people will rent it. It's a lie you buffoon.Yes, most of the scenes are fake. But it was still pretty fun to watch back in the day.
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful: "I'm not going to let a truck fully loaded sit on my stomach for five seconds anymore, it's just too dangerous." At least it's better than part III., 29 July 2005 Author: Paul Andrews (poolandrews@hotmail.com) from UK
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Faces of Death IV starts with graphic shots of a dead body & it's cremation. We, the viewer that is, are then introduced to Dr. Louis Flellis (writer James B. Schwartz) who has taken over from his recently deceased colleague Dr. Francis B. Gross (Michael Carr) who obviously jumped ship after he saw how rotten Faces of Death III (1985) turned out to be, Dr. Flellis claims that Dr. Gross went insane & is now dead. This instalment of the infamous series of documentaries follows the same patterns as those before it. Dr. Flellis narrates as we witness all manner of human & animal carnage, some real & some fake. The real footage consists of scenes like plane crashes, the remains of a suicide bomber, traffic accidents including one where a man is knocked of his motorbike by a speeding ambulance which then reverses & picks him up off the road, stunts gone wrong, animal cremation, third world police brutality & a trip around New York from subway accidents to people who've jumped from their hotel room window & landed on a car. The fake footage is easy to spot, there's a tiger attack where someone has their arm severed, a car falls on someone & their leg is severed, a bungled robbery, a fake dog being disembowelled & cooked, someone is drawn & quartered, an assassination of a drug dealer & some of his family, a silly bit that involves genetically mutated giant leeches & quite a gruesome sequence involving Satan worshippers & their house full of grisly secrets... Director John Alan-Schwartz again mixes real & fake footage with little regard for accuracy or factual intent. This is all about gore of which there is some but it isn't as shocking as the original Faces of Death (1978) strangely enough. For hardened gore lovers & extreme cinema enthusiasts Faces of Death IV is a little on the tame side, although most ordinary filmgoing audiences will probably find it both sick & disgusting which is fair enough I suppose. The fake parts are of reasonable quality but most of the real stuff is of very poor camcorder quality, but then what did you expect, art? This is OK for it's type but it doesn't exactly stand out in a genre where your supposed to...
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Definitely cheezy stuff, 22 October 2003 Author: one4now4 from Ft. Worth, TX, USA
As many should know by now, most of the things that are shown in these movies (at least, in the first four) are either staged or dull news footage. That said, there are so many mixed feelings I have about this one. I liked the darkly humorous narration of "Dr. Louis Flellis", and some of the nasty stuff was kind of neat (almost all of which was faked, I can guarantee). It wasn't nearly as shocking or effective as I'd hoped, but I suppose that that's a good thing in some scenes (puppy that's really a plush doll getting disemboweled, anyone?). I do like a lot of the no-nonsense political and social commentary the narrator makes, but sometimes it is very dishonest, like when we see the slaughterhouse footage and the narrator goes beyond the educational aspects of that scene's dialogue and panders to sick people's desire to enjoy pain and suffering of an animal. I do eat meat, and that includes pork, but some of the comments seem as if they're made simply to enhance entertainment value of real pigs having the blood drained from their throats. Even if I'm not a vegetarian, I do believe that more respect should be had for an animal instead of just regarding it as something that landed on your plate, as well as a realization that that animal died to help you survive. Also, there is some dialogue in the narration that seems outright right-wing. I don't go for the right or left wings, but that also means that some of the snotty dialogue in this grates on me a bit at times. Otherwise, this is a pretty diverting time-waster for people who might be interested in this sort of thing. I just don't understand what the big deal is when all those series out there that rip off these mostly fake "Faces of Death" movies are usually more real and disturbing than almost any of the things shown here. (Please note: The original "Faces of Death" is very different and it is actually a GOOD movie, even if it's by far more disturbing, as well as nearly as faked. See that one, for sure, no matter what you've heard, for it may surprise you.)
quite a bad horror movie...., 29 October 2009 Author: MovieGuy01 from United Kingdom
I thought that Faces of Death 4 was quite a bad horror film. It Follows the same pattern of the other Faces of Death movies. In this one there are many staged and unstaged looking deaths ranging from bungee jumping accidents and magic tricks which have gone bad. It was mostly the same type of video footage as in the the other films, although this copy that i own is an uncut version. I found this one to be a much better film than the last one as it contained a bit more interesting footage in it. I would not recommend these film to a lot of people as they contain quite graphic images that some viewers may not be able to watch. 3/10
90% faked... and poorly at that., 19 January 2009 Author: Tony A. Emond (tony@clevershark.com) from Montreal
Basically this film's a mix-bag of old news footage and poor fakes. It's a very low-budget film and it shows -- clearly the producers of this film had very little money for actors, so you actually recognize the faces of the "participants" in a lot of the scenes which are said to occur in very different places and times. You'll see someone die tragically one moment, then miraculously come to life again for the next tragedy... this is a very silly film, but then that's pretty obvious from the over-the-top introduction by "Dr. Louis Flellis".Even if you don't have a good eye for faces, the faked nature of many of the "shocking footage recently recovered" is so obvious it's a wonder anyone can not spot it. The "bungee" scene, supposedly taken with one camera on the roof, has a cinematic cut to another scene at ground level. In the tiger scene, the wounded man mysteriously changes clothes between the time of the attack and the arrival of the paramedics (he starts off in camouflage, but ends up wearing blue coveralls, and his hair changes color too). I understand the whole "voluntary suspension of disbelief" idea, but this film is quite poor even by exploitation flick standards.
An incisive and thoughtful series of pieces, 22 February 2006 Author: meshegahgoyim from United States
The fourth installment of the "Faces of Death" series arrived on the heels of tragedy: Dr. Francis B. Gross, the brand's original narrator, expired during pre-production -- "driven mad," it is reported, "by the desire to determine the cause of his own death." In his place, the eminent necrologist Louis Flellis performs admirably. An grisly subway accident prompts the host to rail passionately against those who would champion life's beauty..."I just show these friends of mine some of these pictures -- that usually shuts them up."Flellis also provides thought provoking interpretations of the Second Amendment and the dining practices of Oriental peoples. Those of you who were stimulated by the first three episodes shall not be disappointed. A solemn guarantee.
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