The year is 1993. Fifteen years ago, the world was introduced to the shock mondo of the late 1970s; Faces of Death- supposedly banned in 46 countries. From that glorious day to the early 2000s, mondo films have been pushing their way into the masses. In 1993, Damon Fox presented the "Traces of Death" series to the world; four sequels would (the last would be released in 2000).
This low budget feature ($18 estimated) which grossed only $230; has a similar vibe as its father series, Faces of Death. What separates the two is a thin line. As motown stated, its not so much a film and its not so much a documentary. While both TOD and FOD show graphic accounts of executions, autopsies, accidents and other causes of death-- this has more authentic footage, which makes can make Traces of Death the true real shockumentary. Also shown include things such as car accidents, car bomb explosions, a story told by a man who survived a suicide attempt as well as tedious sex change operation footage.
Being made on a near shoe string budget; the movie is very poor in quality and narration; compared to FOD with a budget of nearly half a million dollars. While Dr. Gross narrates most of Faces of Death, Mr. Fox comes in rarely; and usually only makes dark humor remarks-such as that to be found in Faces of Gore.
With all of this being said, I will be generous and give the film a 5/10; its somewhat shocking for its time--but the quality decreases it quite a bit. I do give credit to the company for having more authentic footage, compared to Faces of Death; where most of it is reenacted.
This low budget feature ($18 estimated) which grossed only $230; has a similar vibe as its father series, Faces of Death. What separates the two is a thin line. As motown stated, its not so much a film and its not so much a documentary. While both TOD and FOD show graphic accounts of executions, autopsies, accidents and other causes of death-- this has more authentic footage, which makes can make Traces of Death the true real shockumentary. Also shown include things such as car accidents, car bomb explosions, a story told by a man who survived a suicide attempt as well as tedious sex change operation footage.
Being made on a near shoe string budget; the movie is very poor in quality and narration; compared to FOD with a budget of nearly half a million dollars. While Dr. Gross narrates most of Faces of Death, Mr. Fox comes in rarely; and usually only makes dark humor remarks-such as that to be found in Faces of Gore.
With all of this being said, I will be generous and give the film a 5/10; its somewhat shocking for its time--but the quality decreases it quite a bit. I do give credit to the company for having more authentic footage, compared to Faces of Death; where most of it is reenacted.