ABCs of Death 2 (2014)

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

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 ZAs 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.

The idea is so great, let us gather some famous directors and let them do a short so we can compile it on a DVD. But sometimes you better watch out what you are doing, because i was looking forward to the second entry liking part 1 but after seen it I was left with a bitter feeling.For me the A en Z entry was by far the best. There are a few other ones that did deliver the gore and scare but most of the entries I asked myself, how did they ever got on this DVD. There's no gore or horror to catch. I have seen it before with the V/H/S franchise. Starting off above mediocre, part 2 being the best and part 3 sucks real hard. If you think you are going to sit and watch 2 hours of gore and horror then you are wrong. I don't mind the stop-motion shorts and done with clay, they are good but there's so much crap here that I hope part 3, which is announced already will pick up again the real horror. Maybe the Asian entries are above mediocre and do contain gore and full frontal, and A do deliver nudity and black humour, if all entries would have been done that way (or like Z) this would have been a gem but for know it's below mediocre.Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 1/5 Effects 3/5 Story 2,5/5 Comedy 0/5

first what do your expect in an anthology movie that consist of so many episodes... with their limited time they are not able to build a proper plot, but forget about it. i am very satisfied with the disturbance of this movie.''SPOILER'' but what i am proud of is from the episode INVINCIBLE, maybe non Filipino audiences are wondering what is the stone all about?to explain further , the family in the INVINCIBLE Episode are ASWANG (PHILIPPINE VAMPIRE, HUMAN-MONSTER)the stone made the grandmother immortal and that's why she have to past the stone in one of the family member to continue her legacy and to finally die. =)

An anthology horror film from 2014 featuring segments directed by the director who made the documentary 'Room 237', The Guy who was Howard Moon in 'The Mighty Boosh', The Director of 'Inside', The director of 'Manborg', The director of 'Splice', The director of 'Idiots and Angels', The Director of 'Stage Fright' the slasher film musical, The directors of 'Dead Hooker in a Trunk' and 'American Mary', and at one time the director of 'Suicide Club' was involved but sadly he dropped out at the last minute and tonight's movie is 'The ABCs of Death 2'A sequel to the first film this one is another 26-chapter anthology that showcases death in all its vicious wonder and brutal beauty.There's not going to be a run down I'm just gonna tell you the good segments, the Okay segments and the bad segments, I will say this the opening credits are amazing.Good: A- An assassin's Job doesn't quite go as planned B- An a TV show gets cut C- A Kangaroo Court has a mistrial D- I don't know what to say, 'Where the Dead go to Die' meets the works of Lee Hardcastle G- Surprising, funny, weird H- Its like getting to first base times a million I- 'Deadgirl' meets 'Evil Dead' J- Anti-religious segment M- At first its bad but once you get to the end its just awesome N- The Dangers of Trick r' Treating O- Cool look at the zombie genre, zombies putting humans on trial Q- Why you shouldn't take tests people randomly offer you R- A game of chance S- Home Invasion its that simple T- Porn shoot gone horribly wrong, U- What apple will ultimately do to the world W- Its like 'Manborg' but with more fantasy elements X- Why you don't give your kid's musical instruments Y- Easily the weirdest and funniest segment Z- reminds me of the ending to Miike's 'Gozu'Bad K- not really interesting or impressive P- annoying, uninteresting and stupidOkay E- People on an island with a funny ending F- Just a somewhat Ironic story, nothing fantastic L- Hard to describe, like a 50s monster movie V- A Hooker's RevengeNow as weird and fun as the first one this one is more logical I guess, with only one segment from Japan its more for an open audience than the first one but I think that's why I liked the first one its not for everyone it was gross and weird and crazy and gory as all hell. this one isn't as gory or weird but its still really good I'd suggest it to anyone who liked the first one or even hated the first one. The acting was pretty decent all around same with the writing which shifts from bad to good. Also the effects are all really good. on the gore meter from one to ten its a 7 the goriest segment s the last onein conclusion the best segments where A,C,D,I,J,N,O,Q,S,T,U,W,X,Y,Z 5/5 stars