Fantastic Fest 2014: ABC’S OF DEATH 2 – The Review

You would think that after THE ABC’s OF DEATH gathered so many of the most talented horror directors working in the business, that the well might be a little dry to go back for a second time around. ABC’s 2 proves that there are many talented voices working in the genre. The second entry may not have as many flashy names as the first did (Ben Wheatley, Ti West, Jason Eisener, and Adam Wingard), but it brings together a number of gifted directors that have started to break through in recent years and some that definitely should be well-known names.

What’s so great about ABC’s 2 is that there are so many highlights. Things kick off with a bang with the letter “A.” Quite literally actually. “A is for Amateur” is an entertaining blend of pipe-dream fantasy and reality that delivers a comedic blow to the head. Kristina Buozyte (VANISHING WAVES) directed one of my favorite shorts – “Knell.” An isolated woman suddenly notices from her apartment window a strange alien force affecting a neighboring apartment building. What happens next is more artistic and dreamlike than most of the shorts in this collection. Veteran indie filmmaker Larry Fessenden structures his short around Halloween in New York. His fast-paced editing and filmic style fits well with a story about time and consequence. Later on a zombie court case is equally ironic as it is emotional. “Utopia” is a purposefully slick look at a future society where perfection is strictly enforced. A journey into the “real” world of kid’s cartoon characters left me with a grin ear to ear during the short “Wish.” The film comes to an end with my favorite short of the entire series. “Z is for Zygote” is from relatively unknown short film director Chris Nash. The less said about this twisted fantasy tale the better, but I will admit that it delivered one of the most horrific moments I have ever witnessed in a theater.

Like the first ABC’s before it, this film creates a kaleidoscope of death and horror that feels like you are watching an all night horror marathon. There are so many different genre styles on display that there is a little something that will appeal to everyone’s taste. The marketing for this series has always placed an emphasis on the deaths. With that in mind, I felt that this entry doesn’t quite live up to the slogan “26 new ways to die.” Many of the deaths aren’t as creative as you would expect, and even aren’t as memorable as a few of the kills from the first film. That being said, this group of shorts at least exists on the same level of quality. The first film had such high highs and low lows. Looking back, there are only a few that stand out above the rest in the first ABC’s. Some may say the same about the sequel, but I found that almost all – except for a few derivative and predictable ones – were solid horror shorts that make up a more cohesive and entertaining collection.

Clever titles end many of the shorts with a witty punch line. It starts to become a game to try to guess what the letter is going to stand for. With what appears to be a higher budget and better production overall, ABC’s OF DEATH 2 delivers some exciting stories that manage to use their five minute or less run-time quite well. Sadly, only a few end with an imaginative approach to death, but I can at least say that the sequel far exceeds its predecessor in terms of overall quality and even gives audiences some new directors to keep an eye out for in the future.

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5