Review for The ABCs Of Death

I've always loved horror anthologies. From those three-in-one Vincent Price movies (‘Twice Told Tales’ etc) to countless shows like ‘Thriller’ (both the 50’s Karloff show AND the non-related Brian Clemens penned UK show from the 70’s), ‘Tales from the Darkside’. ‘Tales from the Crypt’, ‘Night Gallery’, ‘Circle of Fear’ ...I love ‘em all. So the idea of ‘The ABCs of Death’ really appeals to me. Hopelessly ambitious in scope (’26 Directors, 26 Ways to Die’) it was almost inevitable that it would end up like most compilation albums, ‘some killer but lots of filler’. Or something like that. Which is just a clumsy way of saying that it’s wildly variable in quality and scope though there is fun to be had in watching the relentless parade of shorts play through.



Oddly, not only are the short films variable in quality and production value, they vary significantly in duration. Some are a mere couple of minutes whilst others play out past the 5 minute watershed. But that doesn't matter in the least. The truth is that even when watching a lesser contribution it’s entirely acceptable because within a few minutes you’ll be on the next one which might be a goody.



Though it does have moments of genuine horror (not for the squeamish) it’s more a case of ‘tastelessness’ being the joining spirit. Some episodes are funny and some utterly surreal. It’s a roller-coaster ride of emotion. So you find yourself wincing as a man fights a dog, laughing as a cartoon lady tries to dispose of a poo at a party, feeling queasy as a female victim is brutally disposed of in a bath, being utterly bemused by a two Japanese ladies who, faced with the apocalypse, descend into a last lesbian liaison that sees one blissfully suffocated by the farts of another. And so on. Twenty six times in a row. 


The line-up of directors is as variable as the films themselves and includes the directors of House of the Devil, Hobo with a Shotgun, A Serbian Film, Tokyo Gore Police, You’re Next & four British Directors - Ben Wheatley (Sightseers and A Field in England), Simon Rumley (Red, White & Blue), Jake West (Doghouse) & Lee Hardcastle, who with his claymation short entitled ‘The Toilet’, won a competition to be the final director.


At just over two hours it’s something of a marathon but it moves along at a pace and with so many featurettes there is rarely a dull moment.


The picture quality on the DVD set is variable (depending on source – lurching from HD video to film throughout) but fine – and I’m guessing even better on Blu-Ray.


The extras are plentiful and well chaptered so allow you to dig out a bit more detail on the features that interested you most. There are commentaries on 6 of the films and behind the scenes featurettes on a 8. There are also some trailers and a bizarre cartoon ‘trailer’ showing two children castrating their father (it’s not as bad as it sounds) before showing a brief trailer – entitled ‘Do you know your ABC’s’.



All in all, every bit as interesting and fun as it sounds but variable both in creativity and realisation. Oh – and not one to share with your Grandparents. You have been warned.


The Shorts:
1. Apocalypse by Nacho Vigalondo (TimeCrimes), Spain
2. Bigfoot by Adrían Garcia Bogliano (Cold Sweat), Mexico
3. Cycle by Ernesto Díaz Espinoza (Mirageman; Mandrill), Chile
4. Dogfight by Marcel Sarmiento (Deadgirl), USA
5. Exterminate by Angela Bettis (Roman), USA
6. Fart by Noburu Iguchi, (Robo Geisha), Japan
7. Gravity by Andrew Traucki (The Reef), Australia
8. Hydro-Electric Diffusion by Thomas Malling (Norwegian Ninja), Norway
9. Ingrown by Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), Mexico
10. Jidai-Geki by Yudai Yamaguchi (Yakuza Weapon), Japan
11. Klutz by Anders Morgenthaler (Princess), Denmark
12. Libido by Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre), Indonesia
13. Miscarriage by Ti West (House of the Devil; The Innkeepers), USA


14. Nuptials by Banjong Pisathanakun (Shutter), Thailand
15. Orgasm by Bruno Forzani & Héléne Cattet (Amer), Belgium
16. Pressure by Simon Rumley (Red, White & Blue), UK
17. Quack by Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way to Die), USA
18. Removed by Srdjan Spasojevic (A Serbian Film), Serbia
19. Speed by Jake West (Doghouse), UK
20. Toilet by Lee Hardcastle (T is For Toilet), UK


21. Unearthed by Ben Wheatley (Kill List), UK
22. Vagitus by Kaare Andrews (Altitude), USA
23. WTF! by Jon Schnepp (Metalocalypse; The Venture Bros.), USA
24. XXL by Xavier Gens (Frontiers; Hitman), France
25. Youngbuck by Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Canada
26. Zetsumetsu by Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police), Japan