The ABCs of Death

Horror anthologies have slowly been making a return to mainstream viewing habits, thanks to the likes of American Horror Story, and V/H/S. Ant Timpson and Tim League have produced another attempt, that ropes in twenty six directors from around the world to tackle every death-ridden letter of the alphabet. The results are wildly uneven as a result. Below are the short films on the DVD:

Apocalypse - Nacho Vigalondo (TimeCrimes), Spain
Bigfoot - Adrian Garcia Bogliano (Cold Sweat), Mexico
Cycle - Ernesto Diaz Espinoza (Mirageman; Mandrill), Chile
Dogfight - Marcel Sarmiento (Deadgirl), USA
Exterminate - Angela Bettis (Roman), USA
Fart - Noburo Iguchi, (Robo Geisha), Japan
Gravity - Andrew Traucki (The Reef), Australia
Hydro-Electric Diffusion - Thomas Malling (Norwegian Ninja), Norway
Ingrown - Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), Mexico
Jidai-Geki - Yudai Yamaguchi (Yakuza Weapon), Japan
Klutz - Anders Morgenthaler (Princess), Denmark
Libido - Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre), Indonesia
Miscarriage - Ti West (House of the Devil; The Innkeepers), USA
Nuptials - Banjong Pisathanakun (Shutter),Thailand
Orgasm - Bruno Forzani & Héléne Cattet (Amer), Belgium
Pressure - Simon Rumley (Red, White & Blue), UK
Quack - Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way to Die), USA
Removed - Srdjan Spasojevic (A Serbian Film), Serbia
Speed - Jake West (Doghouse), UK
Toilet - Lee Hardcastle (T Is For Toilet), UK
Unearthed - Ben Wheatley (Down Terrace; Kill List), UK
Vagitus - Kaare Andrews (Altitude), USA
WTF! - Jon Schnepp (Metalocalypse; The Venture Bros.), USA
XXL - Xavier Gens (Frontiers; Hitman), France
Youngbuck - Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Canada
Zetsumetsu - Yoshihrio Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police), Japan

The presentation begins with a ridiculous opening credits sequence awash with blood and nursery letter blocks. Subtle. Thankfully things get classier with the opening short, a brutal and comic incident by Nacho Vigalondo, and thereafter fluctuates wildly from one short to another. Here's my quick recap of initial impressions to each short:

What I liked:

A - straight to the point and taking advantage of the short film medium.
C - like an episode of Outer Limits.
H - a hilariously weird WW2 romp with furries...
J - another hilarious Japanese take.
L - torture porn which I dislike, but I'm a sucker for situational horror.
P - unlike most of the shorts this one doesn't aim for instant blood and gore, but has a condensed tale.
Q - this is a hilarious self-referential short about the director trying to film a short for ABCs of Death...
S - wacky Russ Meyer-esque hijinks.
T - really really really messed up claymation.
U - really interesting take on exorcism from the bad guy perspective.
V - cyberpunk. I love cyberpunk.
Y - borderline nonsense but such a great 80s synth soundtrack.

What I didn't like:

B - 95% exposition.
D - unnecessarily aiming for shocking cruelty, quite prevalent in this anthology.
E - uninteresting.
F - basically light porn.
G - concept more interesting than the story.
I - a woman being tortured to death, no thanks.
K - an infantile cartoon with potty humour.
M - pointless.
N - just a light skit.
O - a visual abstract experiment.
R - as subtle as anything else from the director.
W - self-referential but not as coherent as Q by Adam Wingard.
X - too on the nose.
Z - again with the light porn…

It's a worthy attempt at an anthology, and I suppose the odds were against a cohesive collection of shorts from such disparate directors with unique visions. Worthy attempt though it is, it's also an exhausting undertaking watching it all in one go, so unlike the vast majority of these tales, moderation is key.