Faces of Death

Faces of Death (later re-released as The Original Faces of Death) is a 1978 American mondo horror film written & directed by John Alan Schwartz, credited under the pseudonyms "Conan Le Cilaire" & "Alan Black" respectively. The film, shown in a documentary-like style, centers on pathologist Francis B. Gröss, played by actor Michael Carr. The narrator presents the viewer with a variety of footage showing different gruesome ways of dying from a variety of sources. Some of the most iconic scenes were faked for the film, while most of the film is pre-existing video footage of real deaths or the aftermath of death. Faces of Death received generally negative reviews, but it was a huge success at the box office, reportedly grossing over $35 million worldwide. It gained a cult following, was eventually deemed artistically significant to film, and it also spawned several sequels, the first of which, Faces of Death II, was released in 1981. Plot After performing an open heart surgery, pathologist Francis B. Gröss tells the viewer that he is interested with the transitional periods of life and death thanks to a recurring dream, while his experience as a surgeon has desensitized him to grotesque deaths. He has accrued various footage in an effort to better understand the many "faces of death".