ABCs of Death 2 (2014) User Reviews

P-p-p-p is For F-f-f-f-f Worst short film I've ever seen

[luke-638 · 4/10 · 21 March 2015]

A few of these films were pretty good. J, M, O, S,& V. They were creative, well written, or had a good twist. The rest were pretty meh. That's fine. I've seen enough short films. They're passion projects for aspiring film makers working to better their craft, and vent some creative juices. I can accept them well enough, appreciate the little nuggets of goodness that might shine through here and there, and appreciate the effort that went into making them, often a budget of little to nothing, as they made it in their free time.

"P-p-p-p is for Scary" was possibly the worst short film I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. How this ever made its way into this collection leaves me with just one of two conclusions. A: Purely through nepotism or bribery, or P: because there was no other film submitted for "P". If it was the latter, I would've hoped they just left it out. There were definitely some other bad ones in this collection, but this won the top prize of worst by a mile.

A really mixed bag of feelings

[FunkyBoi32 · 6/10 · 29 May 2019]

ABCs of Death 2 is an improvement on the first one in almost every way. The short films are much enjoyable but at some point, I asked myself: is this good? The first one contained some really weird shorts and it was so bizarre that it was enjoyable after a while. This, contains very down to earth stories most of the time but there are still some weird stuff in there. Anyway, the quality of the whole is improved. The first one made me think sometimes, L was my favourite but in this, there were so many twisted and chilling stories that really got me, because some of them were so believable. It is nothing groundbreaking, but check this one out if you liked the first one.

On the whole, better than the first

[gridoon2024 · 6/10 · 4 April 2015]

Let's get down to business:

A - A great start. It cleverly contrasts the glamorous fantasy with the harsh reality in the life of a professional assassin, and has a terrific ironic payoff, to boot. ***1/2

B - A little too much shaky cam, but a funny ending makes it worth it. ***

C - Gruesome and brutal miscarriage of justice. ***

D - Great claymation, but I did not understand the "story" at all. **1/2

E - Imaginative direction, WTF ending. **1/2

F - Well-done, sad tale, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (!) The woman in this one gives one of the strongest performances in the entire film. **1/2

G - The first complete dud. Ugly and disgusting, and not in a good way, either. Ugh! 0

H - A curious little animation piece. **

I - An one-joke premise (old matriarch won't die no matter how many times her inheritors "kill" her) that can barely sustain even three minutes of running time! *1/2

J - A disturbing, effective anti gay-intolerance parable, though I don't quite "get" the title (J is for Jesus). **1/2

K - Artistically made, with a beautiful leading lady and hypnotic imagery, but also a nonsensical story. **1/2

L - Poorly put together and disjointed. *1/2

M - Hard to believe THIS was voted the best entry in the long-running open-for-public competition that was held for choosing who would get to do this particular letter. *1/2

N - A creative N.Y. love story, with a macabre end. **1/2

O - Sounds better than it plays (zombies judge and condemn people to death for killing....zombies!). **

P - Awful sub-Three Stooges "comedy", though slightly more bearable than "G" above. 1/2

Q - Smart and funny. In America, can you marry your widow's sister? ***

R - Very suspenseful, but a frustratingly incomplete ending. Probably the short most in need of expansion. **1/2

S - Good use of the split screen(s), some unexpected stings in the tail of this tale. ***

T - A disappointing throwaway, I expected more from the Soska Sisters. *1/2

U - One of the best entries. Eloquently tells a complete story in three minutes - without any dialogue! ***

V - A bold and creative technical experiment - largely successful. ***

W - Wickedly funny and thoroughly perverse (wait till you see "Fantasy Man"!) ***

X - Far from the most graphic, but probably the most extreme and sickening of the shorts, in terms of what happens in it. **

Y - Trademark Japanese wackiness - but with a point! **1/2

Z - Astonishingly gruesome "body horror", for the strongest stomachs only. Others might be advised to finish the movie five minutes earlier. **

On the whole, "ABCs of Death 2" improves upon its predecessor; the production values / special effects / camera work are superior, there are a couple of shorts that surpass any of those in the first film, and only two - G and P - out of the 26 are completely skip-worthy, IMO.

Moderate and restrained, expected and less shocking

[ArchonCinemaReviews · 4/10 · 10 October 2014]

ABCs of Death 2 revisits the idea of its predecessor of having 26 segments by 26 directors and is far more moderate and less creative.

ABCs of Death 2 is a anthology film featuring twenty six shorts about death. As the opening sequence explains the concept: "The following feature film was created by 26 directors from around the world. Each director was given a letter of the alphabet and asked to choose a word. They then created a short tale of death that related to their chosen word. They had complete artistic freedom regarding the content of their segments."

The entire approach of this horror film is intriguing and ambitiously risky. As with the original ABCs of Death, the directors enlisted to participate in the film are typically up-and-comers of the horror genre.

The film is exciting because those creating short segments have complete creative control and do not have to sacrifice their art for the sake of distributors and producers; a rarity in the film industry. Further, audiences are subjecting themselves to a wide array of subject matter ranging from the silly comedies to the stomach churning perverse. The mystery of the word and director only being revealed after the viewer has subjected themselves to the full three minute segment.

The first ABCs of Death was an experience. There was a nice range of types of shorts. Some were downright ridiculous, some were incredibly disturbing, some were scary and some were funny. Some segments were so odd the viewer begged for its ending in the hope the next one would be better F, Z; others were memorably fantastic D, Q, X and everywhere in-between.

The same can be said for ABCs of Death 2 but to a lesser extent. Overall the execution of the films on average are better but the outliers that represented the best and worse from its predecessor are significantly diminished in the second edition. ABCs of Death 2's segments are relatively safe and restrained, not nearly as creative, and impotently lacking satisfying conclusions.

While some were good, none are memorable enough to stick with me a few years later like the original. My favorites were E, J, M, V and Z and the worst, in my opinion were H, P, R. The ones I felt were good up until the ending were: L, K, Q . The ones I thought were sadly expected but not necessarily bad were: N, X.

For FULL reviews of recent releases, check out our website.

Good! Definitely quantity over quality but you sure get enough bang for your buck!

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 7/10 · 2 September 2017]

Surprised that this has so few reviews.. I thought this was a very decent collection of macabre short films that mostly focus on monsters and death, and there's a terrific variety to the overlong cavalcade of terror, with some of them being comedic, dead serious, or incomprehensibly bizarre. A lot are enjoyable, not too many are exactly great, but to me not many are downright awful either..very mixed bag indeed! I love the multicultural aspect and how you get to experience different kinds of experimental and artistic approaches to the horror. It's a silly nitpick really but like with the original, one of the real downsides is that it gradually becomes quite the slog to watch if you're planning on sitting through the whole thing with one little tale endlessly going into another, and by the end you're fairly itching for it to wrap the hell up already! I'm only talking about the shorts that I was most impressed by, I'll leave the negativity to the other reviews. "D is For Deloused." Oh what a hideously beautiful work of art, it was so mesmeringly grotesque with all those bug things consuming the fleshy man-like thing and dissolving and spawning new larval crawling filth...oh I just loved it, it's so good! Robert Morgan is so skilled and his highly distinctive brand of animation is so absorbing that, if you're like me, you won't even care that you have no idea what's going on. Yeah that was right up my alley, I dug it! "G is For Grandad." To my way of thinking this grungy coarse tale of an equally revolting granddad and grandson who hate each other's guts is more complex than it first seems, because everything about it from the decor to how the horrible people look and sound feels purposefully designed to be as off-putting and hilarious awkward and vile as possible, and in its own way it's quite the artfully done little piece and it certainly got under my skin! "H is For Head games." I could see how some might not take to this one as it's not even really horror, it's a kaleidoscopic visual metaphor of a 'stormy' relationship, or a very passionate kiss! I sometimes enjoy different kinds of animation, and I thought that one was very fun and eye catching from start to finish. "J is For Jesus" I loved and found quite powerful and moving for how brutal it was. "N is for Nexus." While it could have done with just a little more punch to its conclusion, I thought this cleverly constructed little Halloween treat about people ending up at the wrong place at the wrong time at a specific moment was quite sharply directed and nicely suspenseful, and at the end Frankenstein is dead, and she becomes a macabre screaming Bride of death for real - which I found very cool! "O is for Ochlocracy." I found this loony satire of an undead kangaroo court with people being charged harshly by the 'cured' zombies for the zombies that they had to kill to defend themselves really funny and entertaining, and even a little poignant as the woman is sentenced to death by her own reformed zombie daughter who doesn't forgive her... "V is for Vacation." I was impressed by how brutal this found footage type offering of two guys in a foreign country who meet their doom at the hands of a mad prostitute was, I found it to be one of the more realistically disturbing and unnerving stories. "W is for Wish." Rather loved this madly epic and colourful romp of a child's fantasy turned into something twisted and weird in which two kids get sucked into the 80's Castle Grayskull type playset of their favourite action figures and find that it's not quite as rosy fun and black and white as they look from their side, it was a neat imaginative idea that could make for a cool movie, and it was creepy too, with one of the poor young boys being unceremoniously vaporised and He-Man being a pervert! "U is for Utopia" was I thought a very scary idea of a future society of genetically perfect people in which the ugly are immediately burned from existence on sight! What would such a 'paradise' ever be truly worth if it was built on such a nightmare? "Y is for Youth" I loved a lot, I found it to be a jaw-dropping explosion of insanely bizarre and creative metaphorical imagery, it had a giant burger monster, gross maggot hand, an electric guitar erupting from a guy's head, a French fry vacuum cleaner, it was so super freaky but it sure had a lot of energy and was one of the few shorts that ended on am absurdly uplifting note - hell yeah!!! "Z is for Zygote." This was the real gem of the movie and ended it on a very strong and satisfying note that kind of enriches the whole collective tone of the film by itself. It raised the gag factor by a mile and was easily capable of causing anyone's gorge to rise! The world of Zygote was so sharply realised and darkly rich that it felt like there could have been an entire picture made of it. It's repulsive on multiple levels as a teenage fetus forcibly takes over her mother's skin from within after ejecting out all the bones and organs in an astonishing display of gruesome body horror effects... It's an amazingly twisted tale that's so brilliantly visceral and thematically perverse and strange, you'd have to be made of stone not to have some kind of reaction to it! In the girl's defence she never knew what murder or a father was as up to that point she'd lived her existence inside a hideously distended womb! So no classic but a fun and exhaustive horror compilation horror, on repeated viewings you may benefit more from simply watching the chapters that you do like! See ya x

A lot like the first ,but of course ,not like the first.

[dadatuuexx · 4/10 · 25 October 2014]

I will say that these ABC movies are great for some lite viewing.As i said in my review of the first one ,you get a chance to see an artist;s work ,and can keep track of the works that are out there to see.It also gives a person a red flag to a persons work that you may want to avoid in the future.Most of the shorts(each about 5 mins.) are well done ,as far as competent film making ,and production goes.I have a few new artists to follow ,and a few to avoid.Some of the stories are very cool,or very cool to watch(letter D,a personal fave ,cause this artists work is great),and others just had me shaking my head....(letter p )so ,to sum it up ,these are all new stories ,by all new filmmakers,doing what they did in part one.Telling stories,and showing us something worth watching.On that respect,they pulled it off again ,with style ,and flare.Worth a watch if you liked the first one.If this is all new to you ,the viewer ,go back and see the first one ,as this is not the kind of movie that you need to see the first one ,to follow the second.Good stuff,check it out.

Worth a watch if you have admired the prequel too.

[niveshmaheshwari · 6/10 · 11 August 2019]

The legacy continuous. The movie is filled with some of the most creepy, disturbing and gory moments and a moral at the end of each story which doesn't make sense most of the times but it stills keeps your mind thinking about what did the director intented to convey int he 1st place . Filled with surrealism and body horror. Watch it after you have watched your appetite.

An Atrocious Anthology

[SushiStoner103 · 18 November 2014]

Where do i even start? Since the film itself never starts let alone finishes. Abc's of death 2 attempts to avoid all horror film cliché's but somehow manages to create new ones. The film is disgusting, a series of events that are so poorly executed by its lazy filming techniques and its embarrassingly low budget. The acting is horrific there were literally no effort put into this film which leaves me confused on how it eve made it to the big screen. Although i do have to admit it made slight improvements compared to the first film, which is one of my all time hated movies. The film was made for its shock factor as if it was a competition on which skit was capable of creating the most disgusting. You might as well stick to the human centipede franchise.

T is for terrible waste of time

[parhanaama · 3/10 · 22 October 2018]

It is just terrible - and not in a good way. There's only few sparks in the dark. Don't waste your time for this mess.

More consistent and horrifying than the first

[stigdu99-52-293555 · 7/10 · 16 January 2015]

I liked the original ABCs of Death. I loved the idea, and have seen quite a few of the directors' work. Unfortunately, it seems some of the directors approached didn't get the memo, and gave very little effort in their submissions. G for Gravity and M for Miscarriage spring to mind. Then you have your wild/crazy efforts like F,J,W and Z which I wasted minutes of my life watching.

The good news is that the ABCs of Death 2 is far more consistent in the quality. It starts strong with 'A' by E.L.Katz, an amusing tale of a hit-gone-wrong (or has it?) and carried on with great gusto and a well-paced mix of both fun ('B') and dread ('C' and 'D'). In fact, by the time you get to 'Q' during the second half of the film, the quality is almost totally improved and maintains a high level until the film ends.

And what an ending.

'Z' is not just (in my humble opinion) the best short film of the bunch, but also one of the best short films I've ever seen. I wouldn't eat during this one if I were you, and I'd turn all the lights out as well. Be prepared to be thoroughly shocked. It's not quite as disgusting as 'L for Libido' from the first film (my favourite short of that bunch), but is a quite unique take on motherhood and features some quite remarkable, and disgusting, special effects, all of which I think I believe were done by the director in his own living room!

I'll summarise the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, so to speak:

The Great: AZ The very Good: BCFJKRSV The OK: DEGHIMNOQTUWXY The downright ugly: LP

So for your money, you get 2 excellent shorts, 2 awful ones, and the rest are all decent. That's a pretty good run for an anthology-style film like this, I think. :)

too bad

[palitoryu-164-493580 · 3/10 · 19 November 2014]

i loved the first one ; so disappointed in the second chapter. just one or two stories among the 26 are good. It s warning for those who really enjoyed the first one .I feel like i lost my time watching it. i loved the first one ; so disappointed in the second chapter. just one or two stories among the 26 are good. It s warning for those who really enjoyed the first one .I feel like i lost my time watching it. i loved the first one ; so disappointed in the second chapter. just one or two stories among the 26 are good. It s warning for those who really enjoyed the first one .I feel like i lost my time watching it. i loved the first one ; so disappointed in the second chapter. just one or two stories among the 26 are good. It s warning for those who really enjoyed the first one .I feel like i lost my time watching it.

Total creative part 2

[s-natale · 8/10 · 8 November 2020]

26 other directors with the total creative freedom granted to 26 other sick and crazy horror stories. Always for all tastes and for those who do not like some short films there are many others that can certainly like

Lessons Learned to Make Sequel Better

[TheRedDeath30 · 6/10 · 30 April 2015]

There is certainly no shortage of anthologies in the horror genre and, typically, the problem with the average entry is the lack of consistent qualities in the works. While some may be great, the bad ones leaving you walking away with the feeling that the overall product is mediocre and forgettable. Such was the case with the first installment in this series, though it may have been more memorable for its' questionable taste decisions, including a brutal cat murder, a miscarriage and child molestation, not to mention the overload of bad animation.

They seem to have learned lessons on multiple fronts with this one, as there was little objectionable material that would turn off the average horror fan and the quality of the shorts seems to have improved quite a bit as well. As a frequenter of this site, I generally don't like "those reviews" that break down each segment, but you know what. The heck with it. I'm writing one of those now...

CREAM OF THE CROP - CAPITAL PUNISHMENT was a well-constructed little story with some top notch grue - Jesus may be the best of the bunch with a story about revenge from the grave and the horrors that often accompany religious fanaticism - ROULETTE is a tight mini-thriller that is well-paced and riveting - SPLIT seemed to be going into cliché territory until the final reveal showed it to be something more

THE GOOD - AMATEUR was an amusing story of a hit gone wrong - BADGER may not be for everyone, but I found it charming fun - INVINCIBLE steals some from the cake zombie segment in CREEPSHOW but feature good effects and a good story - MASTICATE is a well-shot short film with a funny little ending - NEXUS by Larry Fessenden is one of those stories where the strands meet in the end. It says something that the short works even though you see that finale coming beforehand - OCHLOCRACY is a zombie film done from the "other perspective"

THE AVERAGE - DELOUSED is the first of the animated shorts and reminded me much of an old Tool video - FALLING is an arab/jew story with not much happening - KNELL is a Lovecraftian sci-fi short with an enigmatic finale - QUESTIONAIRE takes a predicable premise and ruins it more with bad effects - UTOPIA has strong images but its' too short to convey its' message successfully, one that's done to death in sci-fi anyways - VACATION would fit into the VHS series well - WISH started off with promise, using the idea of being sucked into an old 80s toy commercial and what the world really may have been like, but ultimately ends up feeling like a student project - XYLOPHONE ends well, but is far too predictable - YOUTH is a bizarre Asian short with no real hook

THE BAD - EQUILIBRIUM is a cheesy little short that attempts to be funny - GRANDDAD suffers from the same fate of trying to mix odd humor with bad horror - HEAD GAMES is a pointless Plympton cartoon - LEGACY may be out of my cultural experience to understand but feels like Gwar attacking an African village - PPP SCARY would have been bad for a high school talent show skit and deserves no spot here. Probably the worst of the bunch - TORTURE PORN is the Soska sisters being lazy to bash us in the had with a message - ZYGOTE is the type of stupid ass premise that gives indie horror a bad name

No one is safe... from Social Justice! Graaah!

[Reviewenstein · 2/10 · 29 September 2016]

Horror anthology. One of the most flexible oeuvres in all of film. 26 solid filmmakers given free rein to produce something innovative. Their imagination was the limit. They could have created any kind of cosmic horror they envisioned. So why was 80% of it clumsy, heavy-handed social commentary? All of humanity's fears at your disposal and you give us "Y Is for Youth," a ten minute sequence about a teenage cutter with a bad stepfather and neglectful mother learning to find her inner strength? In all seriousness - and it was so very serious - she fantasized a giant hand emerging from under her skirt to flip them an enormous bird. It was so on-the-nose it watched like a film student's freshman project. The most annoying part was how well the film was made... it would have been much easier to swallow if the visuals had been as cheap as the content.

Allow me to save you some time: all male characters are thuggish, boorish, and/or cruel. All female characters are the victims of that cruelty and many take their revenge. Subtext is non-existent. There is very little in the way of supernatural horror: most of the sequences are just normal people hurting each other. If you're a millennial and spend a lot of time on Facebook this movie will give you that same warm glow of self-righteousness that fuels your ongoing quest for a world where nothing makes you think too much. If you're looking for a creative horror movie, however, I suggest you keep looking.

Exactly the same concept as before, only not as good.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 25 March 2015]

Another collection of twenty-six horror shorts from twenty-six very different directors, The ABCs of Death 2 is, once again, an extremely mixed bag, in subject matter and in style. With such a varied range of work, it's likely there'll be something to intrigue most adventurous horror fans, but be prepared to wade through an awful lot of nonsense to get to the good stuff.

A is for Amateur, directed by E.L. Katz, kicks off proceedings in fine form. This segment follows an accident prone hired killer who successfully carries out his latest hit, even if it doesn't happen quite how he had imagined. Expertly told, with an unexpected twist and a deliciously dark sense of humour, this was easily my favourite part of the whole film—a shame because that meant that everything that followed was a disappointment by comparison.

The best of the rest:

C is for Capital Punishment (directed by Julian Gilbey), which effectively highlights the potential failings of the death penalty and boasts a really brutal decapitation.

G is for Grandad (Jim Hosking): seriously warped fun that sees a young man taunted by his grandfather, who just happens to have no penis!

M is for Masticate, a stylish zombie short filmed almost entirely in slow-motion.

V is for Vacation: a man regrets calling his girlfriend when his friend grabs the phone and shows her what they have really been up to while on vacation.

W is for Wish: two boys wish themselves into the World of Zorb, the fantasy setting for a popular range of toys. It isn't as much fun as they expected.

Z is for Zygote, which sees a woman delaying giving birth for 13 years, the child growing inside her until there is no more room. In order to create more space, the kid removes her mothers internal organs and bones. Nice 'n' grisly with a really twisted finish.

The absolute dregs:

H is for Headgame: director Bill Plympton delivers an animated short that looks like an excerpt from his 1988 film 'How To Kiss'. Yawn!

L is for Legacy, directed by Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen: Nigerian movie-making at it's most amateurish.

P is for P-P-P-P SCARY!: No… P is for P-P-P-P S**T!

What was the point?:

N is for Nexus: seriously, what was the point?

What the hell was that all about?:

Y is for Youth: seriously, what the hell was that all about?

Another Alphabet Lesson in Blood, Guts, and Laughs

[brando647 · 7/10 · 15 September 2015]

The first ABCS OF DEATH was a fun little experiment in short-form horror storytelling. Now the producers have returned with another 26 teams of filmmakers for a second lesson in blood, guts, and often laughs. I was pretty keen on the first one despite its weaknesses so I was more than happy to settle in for another round. For the unfamiliar, THE ABCS OF DEATH assembles horror filmmakers from around the world, gives them a budget, and assigns a letter of the alphabet around which they create a short film. To be honest, I actually didn't like this one when I first watched it. I thought it relied too heavily on shock value to get reactions, but a second viewing helped me realize I was applying my disgust for one or two particular shorts against the film as a whole. That's not fair, as there is actually a lot of good stuff here.

THE GOOD: A, E, F, G, M, O, S, V, W, Y, and Z

As usual, I tended to love the crazier shorts the best. "Grandad" and "Masticate" were some of the funniest segments, but the honor for most insane goes to "Wish", where a couple of young boys are sucked into the world of an 80s era toy commercial (in the vein of He-Man) and realize it's not so fun anymore. The cheesy costumes and production design are perfect and the ending is equal parts funny and unsettling. "Amateur", "Equilibrium", and "Ochlocracy" get their share of laughs with "Equilibrium" earning some bonus points for creativity in camera blocking and choreography during an extended camera take. And then some of the filmmakers chose to go a more serious route. "Falling" is the simple tale of an Israeli paratrooper whose chute got caught in a tree and she's left at the mercy of a young Palestinian boy, injecting a bit of a social commentary. "Split" is one of the more brutal, as a man speaks with his wife over the phone during particularly punishing home invasion where we're reminded "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned".

THE "BAD": …

That's not really fair. I wouldn't go so far as to call any of these bad, necessarily. The collection has its low points, as any anthology is bound to. Some of them just weren't as memorable. "Nexus", "Knell", and "Utopia" were all well done but I didn't think they were on par with a lot of the stronger material. Really, I'd have loved "Knell" if I understood what it was going for. The "commentary" track was none too helpful but added some extra uneasiness with it's bizarre…what was it? Chant? Poem? I don't know but it probably would've been better if it'd been used as the main audio track for the short. I still wouldn't know what was going on, but it added an extra feeling of unease to an already strange short. I should also mention "P-P-P-P-SCARY!" to this section but…as completely out of place as it felt…I don't hate it. It's…weird…and it's not scary, but it's unique. Kudos for that.

THE UGLY: D and X

"Deloused" is the most nauseating segment in the entire film. That's isn't necessarily a complaint. It's a surreal stop-motion segment with some of the most hideous puppetry I've seen. Keep in mind I don't mean to say the puppets or design were lame or amateur; I mean they were the stuff of nightmares. Its hellish imagery ensures that it stands out against the other segments and guarantees you won't forget it. Meanwhile, "Xylophone" is the one segment I'd love to forget. After a second viewing, I realized this was the segment that painted the movie in a bad light for me. I'm not a fan of child death in film for the sole purpose of shock value. "Split" and "Wish" also involve child death/murder but neither is anywhere as gratuitous. This might not bother others, and that's cool, but it made me ill and I could've done without it.

By the power of these 26 filmmakers combined, THE ABCS OF DEATH 2 is ultimately a stronger film than the first. There was a lot of really cool stuff here and it gives attention to aspiring horror filmmakers that have some awesome talent, and hopefully that attention leads to some bigger opportunities in the future. These movies provide a showcase for talent that might not get the coverage that the big studio films relish in, and I'm open for another round if the producers keep this franchise going.

Excellent letter F. Still too much gore and filth. A waste.

[nitzanhavoc · 5/10 · 17 February 2015]

I must say, when I've learnt of the second chapter of this ABC Horror experiment, I was rather skeptic. The first film had some fine moments, but overall was simply a vulgar display of all things nauseating and a complete waste of a fine idea... So why should this one be any different?

Well, I'm happy to say that this second chapter is different enough to be worthy of a slight higher rating in my opinion. First and foremost, the opening music... Wow! Not since Fantomas' masterpiece in Rosemary's Baby have I heard such horrific intense use of "la la la". Even if you never intend on watching this, check out the theme song. Second, while still infected with gore and revolting scenes, more parts than the first film were artistic, creative and worthy. I was personally very happy to see Israeli filmmakers Keshales and Papushado (made famous by Rabies/Kalevet and Big Bad Wolves) in the letter F.

All in all, I am still disappointed. I believe both films have given way, way too much room to scenes that are nothing more than gore and filth, and I wish they hadn't. What a waste of excellent talent and an excellent idea... If you're a gore fan, by all means, watch both films one after the other, you're in for a treat...

More letters, more death

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 14 June 2020]

Actually the same letters, I reckon more words would have been more apt and correct. But that aside as with the first Abcs and of course other anthology movies, this has quite the ups and downs. It starts off with a bang (first segment with the letter A), which might indeed be one of the best entries in there. What I love here, is the fact that they only reveal the words after the shorts are over.

As the quality varies, so does the violence. Some are almost unbearable to watch, others are more aimed at psychological horror. One things is for sure: you cannot be squeamish and cannot have issues with blood and inner organds being displayed ... explicitly.

More enjoyable than the original, but still pretty average

[misanthr0pist · 5/10 · 22 February 2021]

A 26-part horror anthology film, with varying degrees of quality. I've always enjoyed the concept of the 'ABCs of Death' films, though the execution can sometimes be disappointing, this is expected.

The sequel took a lot less of a horror-comedy than the original, which I think works well. If you enjoyed the first, you'll probably like this a little more.

C , L, and K all stand out to me as the best of the bunch. S gets a special mention as well because of the cinematography and direction.

Not bad, but not probably worth a re-watch either.

Far better than the first part

[SoumikBanerjee1996 · 6/10 · 18 June 2022]

And there goes my back-to-back elementary lessons on death on a single day, and to tell you the truth, I feel overwhelmed, my head hurts. Never did I see this many different varieties and versions of Dead people before. Thankfully I've got a pretty elevated tolerance level (when it comes to watching violent content); perhaps that's the reason, I haven't gone full bonkers yet.

Now, coming back to the film; in a nutshell, it is a big improvement over the last and a much-needed one as well. While the format and the all-around layout of the screenplay remained the same; it is rather the quality of these individual shorts that had gone considerably up compared to the earlier compilation.

There are still a few miserable attempts, those which completely miss the mark but there are a whole lot others that do tell their stories as well as convey their messages and subtexts in a proper, acceptable manner. Thankfully, the latter ones outweigh the former by a considerable margin.

2 down, 24 to go?......

[FlashCallahan · 5/10 · 1 March 2015]

Another 26 short films from prolific film makers and actors, showcasing death, violence, and general filth in all its 18 rated glory.

And even though its a massive step forward from the almost pornagraphic first movie, but like a birthday party for children, some people have to spoil it for everybody else.

Julien Barratts short is easily the funniest thing here, and there are some wonderful ideas, like a drug that turns people into zombies, and a zombie courtroom are both visceral and standout.

But some are downright confusing, like the phone call that ends up with two ladies of the night killing their employees, shouldn't have made the call, and the chapter that spoils the flow and the fun of the film, the letter S.

It starts off well enough, in the vein of Carpenters Halloween, and then you hear a baby crying, and your thinking to yourself, 'they won't, they won't, they won't....................I can't believe they did' and it really puts a dampener on what should be challenging fun.

So its an enjoyable anthology of unique ideas, but S, and come to think of it Z, are just too over the top and insulting, you wouldn't want to watch it again.

I certainly won't be..

An ambitious sequel that may not surpass the first film's cheesy fun but definitely is an upgrade in its quality // instagram: moviesmaniax

[moviesmaniax · 8/10 · 13 October 2014]

A less cheesy and sillier and more ambitiously impressive sequel that feels like a short film showcase that can mostly be developed into a bigger and better feature film. The segments Y and Z alone are just outstanding and wickedly funny and gory and they are one of the best horror short films I have ever seen. Again, this film still has everything that horror fans will enjoy such as weird twisted gory ones like D and J segments, a creative way of death like segment H, sick bloody wicked funny ones like A, G, O, U, I segments and even bizarrely disturbing ones in S, T, X segments. However, most of them seem to be made so well that they might expect some big movie company would pick their shorts up to continue it as a feature film or future their directing career which is good, but at the moment it also feels kind of incomplete and not fully understandable enough and it just ends there leaving the audience lingering for more. The GORES here are still over the top and impressively done as well as bizarrely creative overall but still not as cheesy and outrageous as the first film. Some of the segments also has thrills and SCARES going on as well but nothing that will guaranteed nightmares. Overall, this is a well-made and ambitious sequel that may not surpass the first film's cheesy FUN but definitely is an upgrade in its quality. >>B+<<

Some genius, some good, many just OK, some rubbish... still LOVE the concept

[El_Ingeniero · 7/10 · 9 October 2014]

I really fell for the concept when the first film came out, despite the fact that many of the shorts were complete rubbish... the gems that one finds along the way is prize enough though (Dogfight, Vagitus or XXL just to name a few).

The second one has a new tune and intro (great, both of them) and a more consistent quality throughout the 2 hours of film. Apart from "P", which is the biggest pile of boring *** that I've ever seen, all are at least watchable. Funnily enough, it seems that there are less gold segments than in ABC 1. I'd take the first one.

I do think that the screening process should be a bit more severe. I simply cannot believe that some of the letters were considered good enough to be part of the anthology, even considering personal taste/arty concepts/etc.

In any case, you gotta admire these guys who are pushing in their concept despite its unconventionality; just for that I'll be buying the film!

"ABCs of Death 2"- More of the same, for better or for worse. A fascinating experiment, though it lacks the creative spark of the original and too many entries fall flat.

[TedStixonAKAMaximumMadness · 4/10 · 20 March 2017]

Say what you will about it, but I quite admire the first film in the "ABCs of Death" franchise. With a wonderful high-concept premise and a wide variety of tonalities and styles to chose from, it was quite the fascinating little excursion into the insane and the insidious.

The series is of course based on a simple and elegant set-up... 26 filmmakers from all over the world are assigned a single letter from the English alphabet and are given free-reign to craft a short film based on a word beginning with that letter. The only stipulation? Horror and death must be a common theme amongst all entries. Thus, we are treated to a wide variety of filmmaking styles, ranging from the broadest of horror-comedies to the most sinister and twisted of torture and the macabre.

It's a brilliant idea. And indeed, I thought the original entry in the now three-part series was a wonderfully disturbing ode to the horror genre that I greatly admired and very much enjoyed. But sadly, for the most part I feel the second chapter falls a bit too flat for it to hit home with nearly the same class and quality as what came before. Is it a total loss? No, not really. But are there more misses than hits here? Abso-freaking-lutely!

The biggest problem I had is that there is a definite and very overt leaning towards dark comedy this time around... though none of the directors really seem to "get" what makes a dark horror-comedy work, with far too many of the films being little more than tactless, bland shock-comedy. So many of the films place so much emphasis on tacky gross-out gags that the whole experience starts to falter, and even the better entries that crop up now and again fail to elicit a genuine positive reaction as a result. You're dreading the next unfunny comedic bit too much to really appreciate the good entries that appear here and there. While I won't spoil their outcomes, entries like Jim Hosking's "G is for Grandad", Erik Matti's "I is for Invincible" and Todd Rohal's "P is for P-P-P- P SCARY!" are just painfully overlong jokes that far outstay their welcome and rely on the cheapest of pay-offs. Yes, there were some bizarre entries in the last film, and a few instances of unfunny gags... But not to this extent. I'd go so far as to call segment "G" one of the most shockingly unfunny films I've ever seen. Even with it going as far over-the-top as it did to try and get laugh out of you... I just stared blankly at the screen without any emotional response.

In my opinion, the film really doesn't pick up until the very end, with a one-two-three punch in the forms of entries X, Y and Z... by far the three strongest entries in the entire assembled work. Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo's "X is for Xylophone" is a genuinely disturbing portrait of a woman driven mad by the seemingly innocent actions of her young granddaughter. Soichi Umezawa's "Y is for Youth" is both wonderfully crazed but also genuinely quite tragic. And Chris Nash's "Z is for Zygote"... Oh, boy. I don't even wanna say anything to even hint at what it's about, but suffice to say... Mr. Nash has issues. And he puts them on-screen in one of the most gloriously disturbing displays of carnage I've seen in quite some time.

The sad thing is that the potential for a sprawling and exquisite franchise still exists with this premise. The idea is an intriguing one that affords near-limitless possibilities, and I'd love to see future follow-ups. Sadly, it just appears that "ABCs of Death 2" was too full of mis-steps to hit home with its full potential. My recommendation? Just fast-forward to the last three chapters. And maybe also give entries C, D, S and W a shot if you're feeling particularly charitable. But otherwise... skip the rest.

I give "ABCs of Death 2" an underwhelming 4 out of 10. There's too much to hate and not quite enough to like this time around.

More miss than hit, again

[grantss · 5/10 · 28 June 2015]

More miss than hit, again.

The first ABCs of Death was a novel concept but the result was a mixed bag.

The idea of both movies is that 26 different directors each take one letter of the alphabet, and make a short (4-5 minute) death-themed story on it. Segments are shown in order, ie from A to Z, and end with "(whatever) letter is for (something)'.

Nice idea, but the execution didn't quite measure up to the concept. The short stories vary from very clever and interesting to incredibly stupid. Some are clearly made just with shock value, and no narrative, in mind.

ABCs of Death 2 is slightly better than the first movie, but now the novelty has worn off. There are some great little stories - B (directed by and starring Julian Barratt, of The Might Boosh fame) is funny and interesting and C makes a very good point in a very short space of time.

Less incredibly stupid stories than the first one, but not much more good ones either.

Overall: so-so. More bad stories than good.