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“Faceless After Dark” Plot Summary
“Faceless After Dark” is a sly revenge thriller for any woman who’s had a guy leave a creepy comment on their social media. Co-written and starring Jenna Kanell, the movie takes aim at toxic fandom while presenting its own small-budget gore. “Faceless After Dark” is big on vibes and bold in its execution. The audience for this movie may be the very people it skewers, and it could care less about building tension, but “Faceless After Dark” manages to stay punk and intriguing throughout.
We open on a bloodied woman, frightened and dazed, looking directly at us. A Lynchian strobe light increases as the image gets smaller, squared away into a vertical frame. “Faceless After Dark” has a lot on its mind, and most of these thoughts come from Bowie (Jenna Kanell), an actor who’s primarily known for starring in a killer clown movie. Since the success of the horror movie, Bowie’s been struggling to break out of that role and is in a career limbo with comic cons, auditions, and a sea of creepy DMs online. But when Bowie’s girlfriend (Danielle Lyn) goes away for an acting gig, the toxic fandom surrounding Bowie’s movie is more dangerous than she thought.
A man breaks into Bowie’s house dressed as the killer clown. Bowie feels she has no choice but to defend herself and take matters into her own hands, but what surprises Bowie is how much she enjoys it. “Faceless After Dark” takes a twist into vengeance as Bowie starts to seek out the predators who are on a hunt for her.
Director Raymond Wood keeps the kills and the insight into Bowie’s brain intriguing with neon lighting, clever editing, and dreamy atmospheric camera movements. The whole production team should be proud of what they created on a shoestring budget. “Faceless After Dark” may not evoke the suspense it needs to drive its action or gore, but the story and stylistic choices give us a reason to stick around and learn a thing or two about how to make an experimental horror movie.
Content Information
“Faceless After Dark” is not rated but includes profanity, terror, and violence, including stabbings, blood, and murder.
Other Noteworthy Information
- Jenna Kanell starred in “Terrifier,” a cult classic movie about a killer clown.
“Faceless After Dark” General Information
| Director | Raymond Wood |
| Screenplay By | Todd Jacobs and Jenna Kanell |
| Date Released | May 17, 2024 |
| How To Watch | Video On Demand |
| Genre(s) | Horror |
| Film Length | 1 Hour, 23 Minutes |
| Content Rating | Not Rated |
| Noted Characters and Cast | |
| Bowie | Jenna Kanell |
Character Descriptions
Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.
Bowie (Jenna Kanell)
Bowie is an actor in a rut with her profession and relationship. After the success of her killer clown movie, she receives horrible messages from fans, a lack of pay, and little promise of a future career. She may be reaching her breaking point.
- The actor is also known for their role in “Terrifier.”
“Faceless After Dark” Review
Our Rating: Mixed (Divisive)
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- What did you think of “Faceless After Dark?”
Highlights
“Faceless After Dark” Captures the Brain of a Frustrated Actor
“Faceless After Dark” takes us into the buzzing and paranoid world of an actor who’s tied to their big break. The script, acting, and clever editing take us into Bowie’s frustration and darkest thoughts. From the need to be online while being sickened, smiling through fans’ awkward comments, and watching as their partner becomes more successful, we can easily see how Bowie becomes the monster. The satire becomes a cautionary tale and a glimpse into the world of cult fame.
On The Fence
Thrills and Suspense are Tame Compared to Dark Comedy
By the third murder, “Faceless After Dark” seems to finally understand its tone and have the most fun depicting its terror. But at this point, we’re in the third act of the movie. Since we never fear for Bowie’s life and never empathize with the people being murdered, “Faceless After Dark” has trouble depicting its violence or what the audience should gain from it. But if the tone is comedic, the movie could have benefited from parodying the internet trolls more.
The Many Motivations of Bowie’s Descent
The first act of “Faceless After Dark” has numerous montages packed with Instagram comments, war, social movements, and plenty of political figures, as Bowie’s about to break. Clips of “#MeToo” and Ronald Reagan flash in Bowie’s mind. While the amount of noise may be the point, the movie also wants to point out the dark side of fame, the faceless sadistic comments online, and our obsession with violence. That’s a lot of plates to juggle in 85 minutes, and “Faceless After Dark” provides a deep serving of some of those points while suggesting shallow shrugs at others.
Good If You Like
- Revenge thrillers or low-budget horror movies.
Recommendations
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