Ideal Itinerary

Eat and relax your way through a day in Dallas' Inwood Village

Traditional shopping malls were already waning before the coronavirus pandemic, but now open-air destinations are even more enticing.

One of Dallas' most beloved is Inwood Village, a fixture off Lovers Lane and Inwood Road since 1947. With individually owned stores, unique boutiques, and local restaurants, all connected with pedestrian-friendly walkways, it's easy to spend an entire day shopping, dining, and relaxing.

You'll especially want to pop into your favorite spots and discover new go-tos during Partners Card week, October 30-November 8.

Inwood Village is one of the retailers that supports The Family Place through this annual event, which nets shoppers and diners big discounts while giving back to this important nonprofit as it aids victims of family and domestic violence. One $75 Partners Card provides a victim with one night of safety, while scoring you 20 percent off at retailers and 10 percent off at restaurants.

With this give-back mentality in place, plan out your perfect day at Inwood Village with these tips.

Breakfast and lunch
Grab breakfast on the run or a quick sandwich at the place Dallasites revere as their carb Mecca: Empire Baking Co. It's easy to see why, once you scan the extensive menus of naturally leavened breads, pastries, cookies, and savory sandwiches. The bakery also supplies its delicious bread to several popular restaurants, but you can go right to the source and bring a loaf or two home to enjoy.

Looking for a quick gift or help on entertaining? Empire also offers a curated selection of local and national products on its shelves. Don't forget to swing by during Partners Card and get mouth-watering treats at a discount.

Rest and recharge
The Ozone Bar is the spot for all things for health and wellness, with a focus on releasing toxins from the body and boosting immunity. Soak up the benefits of the infrared sauna, which helps with cell turnover to combat high blood pressure, cholesterol, weight gain, pain, and even the amount of heavy metals in the body. Or go for the namesake treatment with ozone therapy, which promotes healthy living through detoxing, increasing circulation, and stimulating blood cells for optimal energy output and nutrient absorption.

This location even has one of only two HOCATT saunas (reportedly the kind Tom Cruise uses) in Dallas. It's the only sauna that utilizes transdermal ozone, CO2/carbonic acid, far infrared, pure oxygen, red light/color therapy, and microcurrents to give the most collective response for better results. Join The Ozone Bar's email list, and receive $15 off your first treatment.

Pause to shop
Outdoor activities are so in right now — better make sure you're properly outfitted at Saint Bernard. As you pick out sportswear, ski and snowboard equipment, pro-level footwear, and any accessory you might need, keep in mind that from October 30-December 24 the store will be offering $5 gift wrap, all benefitting Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.

With children in mind, get a jump on holiday wish lists with a stop at Toys Unique!. The family-owned wonderland has been recommending just the right gifts and games to DFW families for more than 30 years, and always stocks the latest must-have toys. Both of these stores are participating in Partners Card.

An afternoon of indulgence
Hiatus Spa + Retreat's flagship location can be found here, and it recently underwent a major remodel. That means an even more beautiful setting in which to enjoy massages, facials, waxing, and nail services, all with customizable add-ons for a truly luxurious experience.

Treat yourself by signing up for Hiatus' monthly membership program, which entitles you to one essential service a month (or save them up for a spectacular day of pampering). Once you experience the zero-gravity chairs in the nail room or the Hiatus Everyday essential oils during a massage, you'll want to set aside this regular time for yourself.

Happy hour + dinner
Cap off a terrific day by dropping into Mesero just in time for happy hour, which runs Monday through Thursday from 3-5 pm. Enjoy $2 off cocktails and appetizers — go traditional with the La Perfección or spicy with the La Picosa, rounded out with a duo of queso and guacamole — then stick around for a dinner crafted with Mexican flavors and spirit. Some say the enchiladas are the best in Dallas, but that's something you'll have to try and decide for yourself.

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Inwood Village is proud to support Partners Card. Participating retailers include The Bar Method, Empire Baking Co., Jon Hart Shop at TheBiz, KidBiz, Liz and Honey Boutique, Mary Cates & Co, Mecox, Saint Bernard, Sculpthouse, Susan Saffron Jewelry Boutique, TheBiz, Theia Jewelry, and Toys Unique!.

Continue to support local businesses by shopping on Small Business Saturday, coming up on November 28.

Relax during an infrared sauna at The Ozone Bar.

Photo courtesy of The Ozone Bar

Relax during an infrared sauna at The Ozone Bar.

shopping dinner lunch luxury cocktails promoted brunch

Movie Review

Faces of Death returns with modern twist on cult horror film

Photo courtesy of of IFC Films

Dacre Montgomery in Faces of Death.

True horror fans will likely be familiar with the 1978 cult film Faces of Death, which purported to be a documentary showing real-life killings in gory detail. It didn’t, of course, but that didn’t stop rumors from continuing to spread for decades. Now, almost 50 years and multiple sequels later, comes a new version of Faces of Death, an actual movie that pays homage to the original in interesting ways.

Margot (Barbie Ferreira) works at a YouTube-like company called Kino as a content moderator, flagging videos that violate the company’s policies. This means her job often involves seeing some truly despicable things from all manner of depraved people. One day, though, she comes across a video that seems a little too real, and after seeing more similar videos, she starts to believe they’re genuine murders.

Going against her company NDA, she starts to investigate the videos on her own, which puts her on the radar of Arthur (Dacre Montgomery), who is actually kidnapping people and killing them on camera through methods seen in the original Faces of Death film. It’s not long before Arthur tracks her down, with a plan to make her one of his next victims.

Written and directed by Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) and co-written by Isa Mazzei, the film is not so much scary as it is creepy, with the occasional gross-out sequence. The idea of having someone emulate the killings in the cult film is a good idea, and pairing it with the modern-day attention economy - in which content creators go to increasing lengths for clicks - is a clever twist on a concept that other films have done.

The film as a whole is a commentary on how social media and video sharing sites have often decided to prioritize profits over the well-being of their users. Margot is shown allowing videos involving violence and sexual assault to stay on the site while nixing ones depicting how to use Narcan or demonstrating putting on a condom on a banana. Josh (Jermaine Fowler), Margot’s boss, is even explicit in the company mandate that outrageous videos drive views.

While Arthur has the makings of a good villain, there are few attempts to make him seem truly diabolical. His kidnappings often seem more spur-of-the-moment than calculated, and even though he has a well thought-out dungeon at home, the house’s location in the suburbs seems to make him vulnerable to easy discovery. Goldhaber and Mazzei leave more than a few unanswered questions along the way that take away from the intensity of the story.

Ferreira is yet another actor from Euphoria who’s capitalizing on her exposure from that show. She plays Margot’s increasing anxiety well, and when the action ratchets up in the final act, she meets the moment in a satisfying way. Montgomery returns to the vibe he had while playing the evil Billy on Stranger Things, and even though his character doesn’t fully live up to his potential, Montgomery sells his evil for all it’s worth.

The new Faces of Death may not be what some are expecting given the reputation of the previous films, but it’s a solid horror/thriller that uses the brand as a launching pad into something different. It doesn’t make much of a dent in the scare department, but it does give its violence and gore a degree of relevance in today’s often desensitized world.

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Faces of Death is now playing in theaters.

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