The Original Faces of Death Part II (1981)- Michael Carr

Director: John Alan Schwartz

Stars: Michael Carr

Genre:  Documentary | Horror


MPAA Rating:  X


Running Time: 85 Mins

Tagline: "When Make Believe Is Just Not Enough"

Synopsis:

{According to IMDB}

This movie continues in the same vein as F.O.D. 1 with short scenes of death related material. Mortuarys, accidents, police work are filmed by TV crews and home video cameras. Some of the material are most likely fake, some not as likely

This sequel is practically the same thing as the first film; showcasing scenes of murder, accidents, shootings and executions. The film has the return of Dr. Francis B. Gross: the crazy doctor who is mostly narrating and giving his philosophy on the taboo subject of death and afterlife.   I must say that II actually find it humorous hearing this guy narrate the film. The way he actually tries being  ”serious “and “educational”  is quite laughable. But I still give credit to the creators of this franchise. I give them credit for making this hoax look authentic. I said it in my previous review that I really don’t blame the director for presenting this as a real documentary. People tend to be way to curious on  how accidents and murders took place…keep in mind that one way or another this will eventually happen to everyone…and that is: Death.

This time around Dr. Gross (curious name no?) clarifies to the audience, that his views on death have long since changed.  For a short period he talks about how different cultures view the matter of death, like in India where they burn the body of the deceased. This custom is very common in India. The reason for burning the body is due to the belief that the soul is trapped in the brain and the only way to release it is through burning the cadaver. Some of the relatives will shave their head and bathe in a river as a form of condolence for the passing of the relative. That scene in particularly made me take this film a bit more serious than the previous film.   

The rest of the picture involves random death scenes, most of which (in difference to the 1^st film) is mostly all real.  The only scene I noticed that was fake was a shootout scene at a drugstore. The various angles in that scene made me question the authenticity of it. All the other deaths, to my knowledge, are real and taken mostly from stock footage.  The most brutal of them all is the scene involving the clubbing of seals; I was shocked at how inhumane these individuals were at doing such atrocity.  There is also footage (which was shown live) of a boxing match, where Johnny Owens gets defeated (and killed) in the ring. That whole footage is real because it was televised when it occurred. Aside these scenes, there are a few stunt driving gone awry , footage of napalming in Vietnam, more WWII footage, and  a repeated  scene of an execution  from the first film. 

 If you are into death scenes, gore, and the taboo, then perhaps this is for you. I really don’t find these films enjoyable. Besides most of the time you have to be pondering on whether it’s real or fake. Personally I could care a less if they are fake or real, sometimes they do a good job at making the scenes authentic. But anyway, I will leave at the bottom of the review a free link to the full movie.  Enjoy…I guess.