Questions for those who saw this when it came out

I saw it in a theater which normally showed porn. This was before anyone really had the internet and very few had camcorders.

1) What drew you to checking this out? Was it morbid curiosity? Boredom? Any sort of issues with the press?
Following friends. I had never heard of it other than a family friend said never to watch it.

2) From what I've gathered (or assume), the movie was played theatrically. What was the initial critical response like? I remember hearing that when Snuff came out, the director created a lot of fake publicity stunts to help the movie get more attention. Was there something similar like that going on?
It wasn't played in normal theaters, hence me seeing it in a porno theater. They maintstream media did not review it. You had to read the right magazines or newspapers which were mail order and very niche.

3) What was your reaction to the trailer and any other promotional related material?
I saw a trailer on a cheap kung fu video I rented at a cheap movie rental place but that was after I had seen it. I don't think there were many advertisements; mostly as trailers on very cheap movies like the imported and dubbed kung fu movie I saw. You weren't going to see a trailer before a movie like Empire Strikes Back or Raging Bull. Never in a typical movie theater. Think if this as low budget porn. That is the best comparison I can make.

4) Can you describe your movie going experience? Be as descriptive as you'd like.
Mostly men (probably all men) and I was in Miami so I was one of the few who spoke English. Mostly rowdy crowd who were probably already drunk. It was a midnight showing.

5) What was your reaction to the movie once it was over? Did it live up to any expectations you had?
I thought it was fake besides the newsreal footage and morgue scenes. And I was right even if it took 20 years for there to be proof.

6) Given the amount of time that has passed since then, have your thoughts on the movie (be it positive or negative) changed?
I love mondo films. I thought it was terrific -- I loved how it fooled everyone into thinking it was real. I still love coming to youtube or IMDB and seeing people claim it is real. Schwartz keeps fooling them 40 years later.

7) Do you think Faces of Death was ahead of its time, or was it something that just shouldn't have existed?
Ahead of its time for the US. There were mondo films in other countries claiming to protray real deal but were also fake. When the internet and broadband came available along with digital video, it became less rare. Now Liveleak posts better stuff in a week than the entire Faces of Death movie.

8) What are your thoughts on the movie's sequels (be it your general opinion or personal experience with them)?
Faces of Death II is just as good as the original. The others were just the same material from the first two films. Traces of Death, now that was the real deal. It was what Faces of Death was pretending to be.

9) How do you feel about other "shockumentaries" such as Traces of Death, Executions, Death Scenes, Faces of Gore, and even recent ones such as The Most Disturbed Person on the Planet Earth? Do you feel like Faces of Death is responsible for them, or do their roots stem farther back with mondos such as Mondo Cane and Shocking Asia?
I saw Mondo Cane and several other foriegn modo films before Faces of Death. The Killing of America was more shocking because everyone knew it was real, unlike Faces of Death. By the early nineties where you had video stores everywhere and everyone had a camcorder and a VHS player it was played out and no longer shocking.

10) Why do you think the series has developed the cult following that it has?
It fooled so many people. Like a big joke that never really stops being funny. It was so talked about -- a video store in my town actually had a sign out front saying "We do not carry Faces of Death....so don't bother asking".

11) Many people say that Faces of Death (and the like) are proof that snuff films exist. What are your thoughts on these statements?
Despite people on this site claiming they do, no one has ever provided any proof that a person was murdered on film for profit. and yes, that is the definition of snuff -- the term was invented for that very purpose and accidents, police footage, war footage, etc. don't count as snuff. If snuff just meant "filmed death" then the John F Kennedy Assassination is the most famous snuff film of all time.