ABCs Of Death 2: Toronto After Dark 2014.

So that happened…

Really, though. I admittedly have never seen the first installment of ABCs Of Death, and although I knew the formula of the film, I was not prepared for what I saw.

Here’s the jist of ABCs Of Death 2:  26 different directors are each assigned a word, each from a different letter of the alphabet. So, the film is 26 shorts films, each showing a way to die corresponding to the given letter.

Seems basic enough. right? You just wait.

For example, let’s go with “B”. Botulism, Bees, Bad Shellfish, Babies from Hell, Boredom, Bricks…it could be literally anything. You’re given hints as to what the word is throughout each short, but are often thrown off by the end of it and it turns out being something you hadn’t at all assumed. Quite a few “GOTCHA!”‘s.

I’m a total gore-whore. For life. I absolutely love practical special effects, with the blood, and the exploding heads, and the severed body parts…so awesome. The worse it was, the more it fascinated me;  I wanted to know how it was done behind the scenes, as I want to pursue practical effects as a career, and this whole thing was like a giant tutorial in “How To Do Gross Things Right In Film.” . I’ve been behind the camera for films involving horror elements in the past, but never on this caliber. So naturally, I was enamored by most of the shorts…the feature as a whole was INSANELY gory, and if that’s something that bothers you…stay the hell away. Seriously. So. Much. Blood.

The mediums ranged from documentary style, to stop-motion (the short that left me unsettled was stop motion…I’m really not okay), sketch animation, and scenarios taking place in real life, and sometimes not-so-real life. The range of creativity amongst the directors is ASTOUNDING. There are some points where I don’t ever want to know what was happening in their heads to create what they did, but…hey, there’s always a method to the madness, right?

It’s really difficult to explain the feature as a whole, since there are literally 26 directors, casts, film crews, etc. involved (as if I was going to stay through the credits, seriously? NOOOPE.) and I would be sitting here for much longer than anyone would be willing to read…but these pieces all put together made something that I don’t think any horror fan should go without seeing. Every corner is covered. Some are gory, some are funny, some are horrendously unnerving and I need an adult (just one, but oh my god.), some extremely witty and original. ABCs Of Death 2 has got you covered, no matter what your niche. Not to mention, the intro/outro theme is creepy as hell, especially if old timey children songs are your jam.

Looking back, it’s hard to differentiate all 26 films,and some definitely stood out. I can’t say what they are, because then the letter in pertains to would be spoiled. Just trust me, that if you’re a horror fan, and more importantly, if you’re a fan of the first ABCs of Death, make sure you add this to your must-see list. You’re going to be talking about it for a while.

Sleep tight. Let’s hope I do too.