Alex Essoe and Brendan Sexton III star in the latest film from Marcel Sarmiento, the mind that gifted the world Deadgirl. Sarmiento’s latest project, Faceless, is a twisted tale of body horror and crime thriller that begins after George (Sexton) undergoes emergency facial reconstructive surgery. The procedure has left him unrecognisable to everybody, George included, and with one of the many side effects to the operation including a foggy memory, George has a tough time fitting back into his old life. Events then take an interesting turn when he meets recovery counsellor Sophie (Essoe), a woman who may have a connection to the owner of the new face that George is now parading around town in. As the pair are drawn close to one another, they uncover a potentially nefarious plot being run by the institution’s lead doctors.
Despite some of its controversial plot points and themes, Deadgirl is a stone-cold cult classic. The film told the rather unpalatable story of two high-school losers who discovered a reanimated female corpse tied up in an abandoned medical facility, whom they then proceed to “practice” their sexual urges on. Not a film for everyone, those that were polarised by Deadgirl should know that Faceless is a much more accessible and ordinary genre story. Faceless still has some interesting ideas to explore, they just aren’t the type that make your skin crawl. The story plays in safer territory, but manages to pique interest by keeping several plot points hidden in mystique.
With so much of the story cloaked in secrecy, it is down to the performances to pull the viewer through. Sexton and Essoe are two of the most consistent actors working and they handle the task easily. Although the narrative is more closely tied to George, Essoe does some great work with Sophie. Torn between her professionalism and being confronted with the face of her former flame, Sophie is in an emotional quandary. Sexton has less depth to his character, but only because George can’t remember who he is. The work presented to Sexton is to retain a high level of bewilderment and confusion, as George struggles to reconnect with the world around him. Massive kudos should also be given to Sexton for agreeing to spend the duration of his screen time hidden under invasive facial prosthetics. An actor’s face is their trade and to have it distorted is always a daunting prospect for someone in this line of work, but Sexton takes it in his stride. He also manages to act through the make-up, where so many end up getting lost amongst the effects.
Technically, Faceless isn’t very showy, focusing more on being structurally sound and put together. There’s no huge stylistic flourishes, but this is a film that isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, and it’s far more concerned with letting the story speak for itself. Some may be disappointed with the lack of boundaries being pushed, but not every project from every filmmaker needs to startle or confront. With Faceless, Sarmiento eases back on the controversy and thrusts the story to the forefront, presenting an intriguing mystery for the viewer to lose themselves in.
Faceless
Summary
Another great project from Sarmiento, Faceless might not be as aggressive as some of his past projects, but remains an entertaining viewing prospect.
Faceless was reviewed at Grimmfest 2021.
