'M Is For Metamorphose: The ABC's Of Death 2 (2013)' is a short film created for the 'ABCs of Death 2 (2014)' "Search for the 26th" director competition. It tells the tale of an injured woman who runs through the woods, seemingly after having escaped some sort of attack. There isn't all that much to the piece; it almost feels like an excuse to just film some really grisly gore. However, just because it's simple doesn't mean it's automatically bad. The problem is that it isn't all that compelling. Its late-game reveal is also handed sort of poorly, despite being interesting in premise. The main thing that stands out about the flick is its aforementioned gore. It really is unrelenting, an unpleasant and painful depiction of personalised violence. It's among the most brutal short films I've ever seen. Sadly, the violence doesn't have all that much impact because the characters are, in essence, non-existent. Sure, we inherently root for survival, but the development comes far too late for us to actually care about this specific protagonist. The thing also acts as though it has pulled the rug out from under you with its final twist (which I won't spoil), but this segment doesn't actually subvert things as much as it thinks it does. Overall, this is a decent little film, but it lacks something almost intangible. It isn't bad, but it isn't much more than fine, either. 5/10.
