by Josh Sewell
Faces of Death
(Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, sexual content, nudity, language and drug use. Opens in theaters on April 10.)
The premise: In this fictional exploration of the ’70s cult horror flick’s “real or fake?” conceit, a woman (Barbie Ferreira) working for a TikTok-like app discovers what appears to be re-enactments of murders from the original Faces of Death. In an online world where nothing can be trusted, she must determine whether the violence is fiction or playing out in reality.
The verdict: This horror tale from Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei (who also wrote the screenplay) could’ve taken the obvious route by coasting on name recognition and drowning its audience in Hostel-style torture porn. Instead, the filmmakers use the dark premise to make some astute points about our culture’s obsession with social media and how it dehumanizes all of us.
As you might imagine, the flick is a brutal watch, but its violence never feels gratuitous. In fact, Goldhaber and Mazzei take their work seriously – there’s no camp or winking humor to be found. It’s also elevated by Gavin Brivik’s incredible synth-heavy score (reminiscent of John Carpenter’s ’80s stuff) and compelling performances from Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Jermaine Fowler and Josie Totah. (Weirdly enough, there’s also a jarring, out-of-nowhere cameo from Charli XCX that took me out of the movie for a second.)
While Faces of Death is the epitome of “not for everyone,” I was pleasantly surprised to find it’s not a hollow exercise in nostalgia. Without being preachy or moralizing, Goldhaber and Mazzei use a familiar title to examine some major problems that our society must address if we’re going to make it out of this profoundly bleak era.
Grade: B
Pizza Movie
(Rated TV-MA for crude language and graphic violence. Now available on Hulu.)
The premise: A trio of socially awkward college students (Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone and Lulu Wilson) face an epic journey after they take drugs and must navigate two flights of stairs to get the pizza they ordered. A simple task immediately becomes a surreal adventure.
The verdict: Written and directed by Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney (a comedy duo who got their start doing viral videos under the name BriTANick), this stoner comedy basically asks, “what if the drug sequence from 21 Jump Street was the whole movie?” The answer is a gloriously stupid and super R-rated way to spend 90 minutes.
Although the simple premise at the heart of Pizza Movie runs out of gas about 15 minutes before the movie ends, it still packs in nonstop gags and boasts some charming performances. Stranger Things fans should prepare to see an entirely different side of Matarazzo, though his comedic chops will come as no surprise.
Giambrone is also funny, but I wasn’t familiar with the actor prior to his work here. Turns out he was the star of The Goldbergs, which ran for 10 seasons on ABC. No wonder he’s so good at comedy – that’s on me. On the other hand, I knew Wilson looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her. A quick IMDb search revealed she was a crucial part of Mike Flanagan’s masterpiece The Haunting of Hill House, which proves just how much range she has as an actress.
The three actors are terrific together and help the flick glide past a handful of sequences that don’t quite work. Nevertheless, I appreciated the kindhearted nature of Pizza Movie, which is buried under a ton of crude jokes and f-bombs. For those with a warped sense of humor, it’s worth checking out on a lazy night at home.
Grade: B-
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice
(Rated R for strong/bloody violence, pervasive language, sexual material and drug use. Now available on Hulu.)
The premise: Mike (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (James Marsden) navigate the dangerous world of organized crime, testing their loyalty and survival skills as they get deeper into the gangster underworld. Oh, and there’s a love triangle involving Mike’s wife Alice (Eiza González) as well as a little bit of time travel.
The verdict: Do you ever get the feeling a movie was made specifically for you? (Granted, that could simply be an occupational hazard after writing reviews for almost 25 years.) Regardless, only a few minutes into writer-director BenDavid Grabinski’s crime comedy, it felt like he had targeted my sense of humor and sci-fi nerdiness.
Any movie that opens with a scientist (Ben Schwartz) singing Billy Joel’s “Why Should I Worry?” (from Disney’s underrated Oliver & Company) has my attention. Factor in even more amazing needle drops – including songs from Steve Winwood, Seal, Dave Matthews Band and a perfectly placed Oasis sing-along that almost made me cry – and I’m fully in the tank.
But there’s even more terrifically oddball aspects to Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, including a supporting cast that boasts Keith David, Jimmy Tatro, Arturo Castro, Emily Hampshire and hilarious cameos from Stephen Root and Dolph Lundgren. It’s also the kind of movie where the action stops so characters can have a lengthy, enthusiastic discussion about Gilmore Girls.
The flick is weird, silly and right up my alley. Honestly, I’m frustrated that it went straight to Hulu since I would’ve loved to experience the craziness in a crowded theater. I’ve got a feeling this one’s well on its way to becoming a cult hit.
Grade: B+
(Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, sexual content, nudity, language and drug use. Opens in theaters on April 10.)
The premise: In this fictional exploration of the ’70s cult horror flick’s “real or fake?” conceit, a woman (Barbie Ferreira) working for a TikTok-like app discovers what appears to be re-enactments of murders from the original Faces of Death. In an online world where nothing can be trusted, she must determine whether the violence is fiction or playing out in reality.
The verdict: This horror tale from Daniel Goldhaber and Isa Mazzei (who also wrote the screenplay) could’ve taken the obvious route by coasting on name recognition and drowning its audience in Hostel-style torture porn. Instead, the filmmakers use the dark premise to make some astute points about our culture’s obsession with social media and how it dehumanizes all of us.
As you might imagine, the flick is a brutal watch, but its violence never feels gratuitous. In fact, Goldhaber and Mazzei take their work seriously – there’s no camp or winking humor to be found. It’s also elevated by Gavin Brivik’s incredible synth-heavy score (reminiscent of John Carpenter’s ’80s stuff) and compelling performances from Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Jermaine Fowler and Josie Totah. (Weirdly enough, there’s also a jarring, out-of-nowhere cameo from Charli XCX that took me out of the movie for a second.)
While Faces of Death is the epitome of “not for everyone,” I was pleasantly surprised to find it’s not a hollow exercise in nostalgia. Without being preachy or moralizing, Goldhaber and Mazzei use a familiar title to examine some major problems that our society must address if we’re going to make it out of this profoundly bleak era.
Grade: B
(Rated TV-MA for crude language and graphic violence. Now available on Hulu.)
The premise: A trio of socially awkward college students (Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone and Lulu Wilson) face an epic journey after they take drugs and must navigate two flights of stairs to get the pizza they ordered. A simple task immediately becomes a surreal adventure.
The verdict: Written and directed by Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney (a comedy duo who got their start doing viral videos under the name BriTANick), this stoner comedy basically asks, “what if the drug sequence from 21 Jump Street was the whole movie?” The answer is a gloriously stupid and super R-rated way to spend 90 minutes.
Although the simple premise at the heart of Pizza Movie runs out of gas about 15 minutes before the movie ends, it still packs in nonstop gags and boasts some charming performances. Stranger Things fans should prepare to see an entirely different side of Matarazzo, though his comedic chops will come as no surprise.
Giambrone is also funny, but I wasn’t familiar with the actor prior to his work here. Turns out he was the star of The Goldbergs, which ran for 10 seasons on ABC. No wonder he’s so good at comedy – that’s on me. On the other hand, I knew Wilson looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her. A quick IMDb search revealed she was a crucial part of Mike Flanagan’s masterpiece The Haunting of Hill House, which proves just how much range she has as an actress.
The three actors are terrific together and help the flick glide past a handful of sequences that don’t quite work. Nevertheless, I appreciated the kindhearted nature of Pizza Movie, which is buried under a ton of crude jokes and f-bombs. For those with a warped sense of humor, it’s worth checking out on a lazy night at home.
Grade: B-
(Rated R for strong/bloody violence, pervasive language, sexual material and drug use. Now available on Hulu.)
The premise: Mike (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (James Marsden) navigate the dangerous world of organized crime, testing their loyalty and survival skills as they get deeper into the gangster underworld. Oh, and there’s a love triangle involving Mike’s wife Alice (Eiza González) as well as a little bit of time travel.
The verdict: Do you ever get the feeling a movie was made specifically for you? (Granted, that could simply be an occupational hazard after writing reviews for almost 25 years.) Regardless, only a few minutes into writer-director BenDavid Grabinski’s crime comedy, it felt like he had targeted my sense of humor and sci-fi nerdiness.
Any movie that opens with a scientist (Ben Schwartz) singing Billy Joel’s “Why Should I Worry?” (from Disney’s underrated Oliver & Company) has my attention. Factor in even more amazing needle drops – including songs from Steve Winwood, Seal, Dave Matthews Band and a perfectly placed Oasis sing-along that almost made me cry – and I’m fully in the tank.
But there’s even more terrifically oddball aspects to Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, including a supporting cast that boasts Keith David, Jimmy Tatro, Arturo Castro, Emily Hampshire and hilarious cameos from Stephen Root and Dolph Lundgren. It’s also the kind of movie where the action stops so characters can have a lengthy, enthusiastic discussion about Gilmore Girls.
The flick is weird, silly and right up my alley. Honestly, I’m frustrated that it went straight to Hulu since I would’ve loved to experience the craziness in a crowded theater. I’ve got a feeling this one’s well on its way to becoming a cult hit.
Grade: B+
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
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