Review of Faceless

Friday afternoon I left work early and went to Media Play looking for nothing in particular when I spied Jess Franco's 1988 film Faceless for 17.99. Here is my review...

First, this is a single disc set. I had heard about a 2 disc set coming out but I don't know if Shriek Show decided to scale back, or if the 2 disc set is around the corner, and I should have waited, but frankly this 1 disc has plenty of features on it.

Plot: Basically a Dr Orloff for the cocaine fueld '80s. Dr. Flamand (Helmet Berger), his sister, and his girlfriend/nurse are out on the town when some old woman shows up who didn't like the plastic surgery he did on her face. So she throws acid on him, but it hits his sister's face by mistake. Now she's all f-ed up and needs a new face. So the Dr comes across some photos of a really hot model, played by Caroline Munro. The blonde nurse lures this model out to her car with some high quality cocaine, and then kidnaps her.

The father of this model, a bald American rich guy (played by Telly Savalas, obviously slumming by most people's standards after his Kojak golden years), hires a detective to go and find her. This detective, played by Chris Mitchum, had apparently served with Telly in the 'Nam, although as Mitchum notes, this plot line never goes anywhere.

Meanwhile, Caroline Munro is held captive in the basement of the asylum, and a Morpho-like guy nearly rapes her. The Dr and Nurse go visit Howard Vernon and Lina Romay for about three minutes, to track down a fugitive Nazi who is the world's biggest expert on facial transplants.

The rest is fairly predictable, although the abrupt ending is ambiguous.

So how is the disc? The transfer is excellent and anamorphic, the audio is decent, and as far as the extras, Shriek Show has done a great job. First is the audio commentary by Jess Franco and Lina Romay, in French with English subtitles. Jess provides many details and has a fairly dry sense of humor, but why was Lina touted as a "star"? She is in it for literally two minutes. There is also an interview with Jess (good to see him do more of these; the Christopher Lee boxed set is chock full of them as well), an interview with Chris Mitchum, and the piece de resistance:

A 20+ interview with Caroline Munro. Let's just say that where I come from, she is what's known as a Cougar: a hot woman over 40! She talks about her whole career, with a concentration on Faceless. There is also a photo gallery with what seems like a 100 photos of her.

Bottom line: Not Jess' best film, but it has a linear plot and decent production. Good, classy transfer and good extras. Worth it for Caroline!

[dwatts]

Nice little review. Of course, I'm no jess fan either, but I do enjoy the Readers Review section, and this is a welcome addition. How does Munro look after all these years?

Wow, I'm amazed. I had heard that this disc was released in a few places but obviously not to the general public, and that those who had picked up a copy had problems with the disc. That's cool that you got a good one, and the quality of the disc sounds fantastic. Can't wait to pick it up.

Also - Coverdale, does the cover of your disc say "Special Edition" above the Anamorphic Widescreen banner?

How does Munro look after all these years?

Incredibly hot! Her hair has blonde highlights to it now. That's what prompted my labelling of her as a cougar. I didn't know what to expect when I went to the new interview with her.

Wow, I'm amazed. I had heard that this disc was released in a few places but obviously not to the general public, and that those who had picked up a copy had problems with the disc. That's cool that you got a good one, and the quality of the disc sounds fantastic. Can't wait to pick it up.

Also - Coverdale, does the cover of your disc say "Special Edition" above the Anamorphic Widescreen banner?

I've pretty much checked out all the features and I haven't had any technical problems with it.

My cover doesn't say "Anamorphic Widescreen" OR "Special Edition" on the front! I've seen both written on cover scans on the net. I didn't think one way or the other when I bought it...so maybe Shriek Show made some last minute changes.

Oh yeah...for what it's worth it has a reversible cover, kind of like Buio Omega or Exorcism. I like the bluish/yellow cover it displayed when I got it...the other side shows that horrible disfigured woman.

[DefJeff]

Thanks for the review man! I can't wait to finally find this somewhere.

[mcchrist]

Faceless is a decent movie (a masterpiece when it comes to Franco) I was wondering about a DVD release.

Originally Posted by Coverdale

I've pretty much checked out all the features and I haven't had any technical problems with it.

My cover doesn't say "Anamorphic Widescreen" OR "Special Edition" on the front! I've seen both written on cover scans on the net. I didn't think one way or the other when I bought it...so maybe Shriek Show made some last minute changes.

This keeps getting more and more interesting, thanks.

My most eagerly awaited title of the month is about to arrive!

Thanks for the great review Coverdale!

My most eagerly awaited title of the month is about to arrive!

Thanks for the great review Coverdale!

Somehow I thought you would like it!
Have you ever gotten to meet Caroline Munro?

Originally Posted by Coverdale

Somehow I thought you would like it!
Have you ever gotten to meet Caroline Munro?

Sadly, I have never been lucky enough to meet her. Hopefully one day I will be able to make it to one of her convention appearances.

Have you met her?

Haven't met her either...

[zombi3]

I saw her at a Fangoria convention last year. Very charming lady.

I didn't know Faceless was out yet, thanks for the update and great review!