Michelle reviews the blood sopped ABCs of Death 2.
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| "Yay for pervert beard!!!" |
Film anthologies are always a blast to watch because they
have so much variety and creativity. It’s interesting to see all the different
director’s visions and the bite-size stories allow for more thought-provoking
ideas. The first ABCs of Death put a twist on the concept by employing a different
director for each letter of the alphabet, thus having twenty-six little horror
vignettes. It was a good idea on paper, but unfortunately, the quality varied
wildly for each short and made for an uneven viewing experience. Still, it had
its moments and was worth watching for the sheer imagination that was on
display.
In ABCs of Death 2,
they picked a fresh crop of directors with some bigger names jumping onboard
this time around. The production value seems to be higher and the entire
project feels more cohesive. There are many different styles used to include
animation (by Bill Plympton, of all people) and even a sweet claymation piece! Each
letter is a surprise and it’s fun to figure out what is going on with the
limited time allotted to every respective plot. Some of the bigger names
include The Soska Sisters (American Mary),
E.L. Katz (Autopsy), and Steven
Kostanski (Father’s Day and Manborg).
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| "Ahhhhh!!!!Mumble. Ahhhhhhh!" |
Everything is much gorier and grisly than the original film
and some of the content really toes the line of being downright shocking. They
let all of the creators have free reign and there is some absolutely filthy and
bizarre scenes; there will be some feathers ruffled for sure. It has an old school horror feel, almost like
it could have come out in the 1980’s. One letter in particular is utterly grotesque;
the director’s sanity should probably be checked. All of the shorts aren’t serious
in tone and some of them are played for laughs. The constant mood changes keeps
the pace consistent and prevents the audience from getting bored.
In this stagnate glut of cookie-cutter horror films being
released lately, ABCs of Death 2 is
like a brisk cold wind cutting through the stale air of slasher flicks and
haunting films. It improves on the first film in almost every way; even the
musical score has been revamped! It’s
rare to see a sequel (especially in the horror genre) outperform the original. Hopefully
it does well enough in theaters and home release to spawn a third film. Who
knows what crazy ideas they will come up with next!
-Michelle Kisner