The ABCs of Death 2

I must say, when I've learnt of the second chapter of this ABC Horror experiment, I was rather skeptic. The first film had some fine moments, but overall was simply a vulgar display of all things nauseating and a complete waste of a fine idea... So why should this one be any different?

Well, I'm happy to say that this second chapter is different enough to be worthy of a slight higher rating in my opinion. First and foremost, the opening music... Wow! Not since Fantomas' masterpiece in Rosemary's Baby have I heard such horrific intense use of "la la la". Even if you never intend on watching this, check out the theme song. Second, while still infected with gore and revolting scenes, more parts than the first film were artistic, creative and worthy. I was personally very happy to see Israeli filmmakers Keshales and Papushado (made famous by Rabies/Kalevet and Big Bad Wolves) in the letter F.

All in all, I am still disappointed. I believe both films have given way, way too much room to scenes that are nothing more than gore and filth, and I wish they hadn't. What a waste of excellent talent and an excellent idea... If you're a gore fan, by all means, watch both films one after the other, you're in for a treat...

The first ABCS OF DEATH was a fun little experiment in short-form horror storytelling. Now the producers have returned with another 26 teams of filmmakers for a second lesson in blood, guts, and often laughs. I was pretty keen on the first one despite its weaknesses so I was more than happy to settle in for another round. For the unfamiliar, THE ABCS OF DEATH assembles horror filmmakers from around the world, gives them a budget, and assigns a letter of the alphabet around which they create a short film. To be honest, I actually didn't like this one when I first watched it. I thought it relied too heavily on shock value to get reactions, but a second viewing helped me realize I was applying my disgust for one or two particular shorts against the film as a whole. That's not fair, as there is actually a lot of good stuff here.

THE GOOD: A, E, F, G, M, O, S, V, W, Y, and Z

As usual, I tended to love the crazier shorts the best. "Grandad" and "Masticate" were some of the funniest segments, but the honor for most insane goes to "Wish", where a couple of young boys are sucked into the world of an 80s era toy commercial (in the vein of He-Man) and realize it's not so fun anymore. The cheesy costumes and production design are perfect and the ending is equal parts funny and unsettling. "Amateur", "Equilibrium", and "Ochlocracy" get their share of laughs with "Equilibrium" earning some bonus points for creativity in camera blocking and choreography during an extended camera take. And then some of the filmmakers chose to go a more serious route. "Falling" is the simple tale of an Israeli paratrooper whose chute got caught in a tree and she's left at the mercy of a young Palestinian boy, injecting a bit of a social commentary. "Split" is one of the more brutal, as a man speaks with his wife over the phone during particularly punishing home invasion where we're reminded "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".

THE "BAD": …

That's not really fair. I wouldn't go so far as to call any of these bad, necessarily. The collection has its low points, as any anthology is bound to. Some of them just weren't as memorable. "Nexus", "Knell", and "Utopia" were all well done but I didn't think they were on par with a lot of the stronger material. Really, I'd have loved "Knell" if I understood what it was going for. The "commentary" track was none too helpful but added some extra uneasiness with it's bizarre…what was it? Chant? Poem? I don't know but it probably would've been better if it'd been used as the main audio track for the short. I still wouldn't know what was going on, but it added an extra feeling of unease to an already strange short. I should also mention "P-P-P-P-SCARY!" to this section but…as completely out of place as it felt…I don't hate it. It's…weird…and it's not scary, but it's unique. Kudos for that.

THE UGLY: D and X

"Deloused" is the most nauseating segment in the entire film. That's isn't necessarily a complaint. It's a surreal stop-motion segment with some of the most hideous puppetry I've seen. Keep in mind I don't mean to say the puppets or design were lame or amateur; I mean they were the stuff of nightmares. Its hellish imagery ensures that it stands out against the other segments and guarantees you won't forget it. Meanwhile, "Xylophone" is the one segment I'd love to forget. After a second viewing, I realized this was the segment that painted the movie in a bad light for me. I'm not a fan of child death in film for the sole purpose of shock value. "Split" and "Wish" also involve child death/murder but neither is anywhere as gratuitous. This might not bother others, and that's cool, but it made me ill and I could've done without it.

By the power of these 26 filmmakers combined, THE ABCS OF DEATH 2 is ultimately a stronger film than the first. There was a lot of really cool stuff here and it gives attention to aspiring horror filmmakers that have some awesome talent, and hopefully that attention leads to some bigger opportunities in the future. These movies provide a showcase for talent that might not get the coverage that the big studio films relish in, and I'm open for another round if the producers keep this franchise going.

26 other directors with the total creative freedom granted to 26 other sick and crazy horror stories. Always for all tastes and for those who do not like some short films there are many others that can certainly like

ABCs of Death 2 is an improvement on the first one in almost every way. The short films are much enjoyable but at some point, I asked myself: is this good? The first one contained some really weird shorts and it was so bizarre that it was enjoyable after a while. This, contains very down to earth stories most of the time but there are still some weird stuff in there. Anyway, the quality of the whole is improved. The first one made me think sometimes, L was my favourite but in this, there were so many twisted and chilling stories that really got me, because some of them were so believable. It is nothing groundbreaking, but check this one out if you liked the first one.

I liked the original ABCs of Death. I loved the idea, and have seen quite a few of the directors' work. Unfortunately, it seems some of the directors approached didn't get the memo, and gave very little effort in their submissions. G for Gravity and M for Miscarriage spring to mind. Then you have your wild/crazy efforts like F,J,W and Z which I wasted minutes of my life watching.

The good news is that the ABCs of Death 2 is far more consistent in the quality. It starts strong with 'A' by E.L.Katz, an amusing tale of a hit-gone-wrong (or has it?) and carried on with great gusto and a well-paced mix of both fun ('B') and dread ('C' and 'D'). In fact, by the time you get to 'Q' during the second half of the film, the quality is almost totally improved and maintains a high level until the film ends.

And what an ending.

'Z' is not just (in my humble opinion) the best short film of the bunch, but also one of the best short films I've ever seen. I wouldn't eat during this one if I were you, and I'd turn all the lights out as well. Be prepared to be thoroughly shocked. It's not quite as disgusting as 'L for Libido' from the first film (my favourite short of that bunch), but is a quite unique take on motherhood and features some quite remarkable, and disgusting, special effects, all of which I think I believe were done by the director in his own living room!

I'll summarise the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, so to speak:

The Great: AZ The very Good: BCFJKRSV The OK: DEGHIMNOQTUWXY The downright ugly: LP

So for your money, you get 2 excellent shorts, 2 awful ones, and the rest are all decent. That's a pretty good run for an anthology-style film like this, I think. :)