Review of Face of Terror

5/10
Predictable, mildly interesting, of interest to some
26 December 1999
Dr. Taylor (Rey) develops a revolutionary new process of restoring badly damaged human skin. His synthetic skin can quickly and painlessly eliminate scarring. Unfortunately, the Madrid Institute of Mental Health denies his request to start human testing of his procedure.

Soon after being rejected, he is approached by a desperate woman (Gaye) with appalling burn scars on the left half of her face from an accident involving an oil lamp. What Dr. Taylor doesn't know is that she is an escaped mental patient from the very institution that had just rejected his work. He agrees to attempt the procedure on her free of charge since she is to be the first human test subject. It turns out to be a resounding success.

Unfortunately, the patient flees the doctor when he discovers her true identity and wants to turn her in. During her escape, she incapacitates him with a blow to the head. Now on the run, she struggles to remain at large and even escape the Madrid area. The film follows her desperate plight to both remain free and prevent her new skin tissue from deteriorating.

"Face of Terror" (U.S. title) is rather well done in many respects. The cast is decent and the production values are fine. There are some genuinely chilling moments as our fleeing mental patient plots murder in order to get her way. Pacing is slow at times and the entire film is rather predictable, but it is still worth seeing if one is a dedicated fan of the genre.
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