Faceless After Dark is a film that comments upon some of the toxic fandom in the horror scene, while very much being a genre movie, and a bloody one at that by the second half. Its protagonist, a B movie actress who stared in a killer clown movie but has since struggled to land roles, undergoes quite the transformation due to negative fandom. I suspect most people will either really love this character or despise her.

Directed by Raymond Wood with a script by Todd Jacobs and Jenna Kanell, the film features Kanell (Terrifier and Terrifier 2) in the lead role as Bowie. While her killer clown movie may have been an underground hit, she’s not really taken seriously in the industry. Not only that, but she has to deal with hateful online comments about her performance constantly, as well as phone calls and messages from some real creepers. You can’t help but wonder if some of this was autobiographical, considering Kanell’s previous roles. One of the film’s strengths is how it shows the impact these comments have on an actress, especially when they’re constant. It’s a very human aspect to the narrative.

Bowie dreads that the rest of her career may be spent at cons, saying cheesy lines over and over again for photo-ops, while she signs stills and sells them for $20 without getting a full cut of the profits. Even worse, one of her director pals, Ryan (Danny Kang), casts someone else over her in the next film, and Bowie’s girlfriend, Jessica (Danielle Lyn), is an up-and-coming star who basks in all of the accolades and attention whenever they’re out together. In fact, most people can’t identify Bowie, or if they can, they know she’s stared in something, but they can’t quite name the movie or her role.

While the first quarter of the film or so deals with a struggling B movie horror actress, the rest of the film is something else entirely. At one point, it becomes a home invasion film, after a crazed fan sneaks into the home and stalks Bowie, trying to recreate the final scene from the clown movie. He even adorns a clown mask. It’s one of the most unsettling sequences in the film, especially when she watches camera footage of him entering the home while she was too drunk to notice. The film’s second half, however, undergoes another transformation and genre bender. It shifts from a home invasion movie to a female revenge flick.

Kanell truly gives an impassioned performance as Bowie, though audiences will likely have varying reactions to her character arc. On the one hand, when she starts killing fans who torment her, you can’t really blame her. On the other hand, Bowie comes across as entitled more than once. Again, this film is very likely to have contrasting reactions from audience members. Some will likely cheer on Bowie’s gruesome murders, while others may find her grating or too villainous.

There are moments where loud music thumps, colored strobe lights flesh, and it simply feels like a film student’s music video. The feature would have benefited without some of these experimental, drawn-out sequences. It’s disorienting. Still, Faceless After Dark has a lot working for it, including Kanell’s crazed performance and the bloody kills. There’s plenty here to satisfy horror fans, while also saying something about the more negative aspects of fandom.

6 Out of 10