The ABCs of Death (2012)

First up, let's start with the facts - The ABCs of Death "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."

It says "26 directors," but there were two on one letter, as you'll with the following:

A Is for Apocalypse - Nacho Vigalondo
B Is for Bigfoot - Adrián García Bogliano
C is for Cycle - Ernesto Díaz Espinoza
D Is for Dogfight - Marcel Sarmiento
E is for Exterminate - Angela Bettis
F is for Fart - Noboru Iguchi
G is for Gravity - Andrew Traucki
H is for Hyrdo-Electric Diffusion - Thomas Cappelen Malling
I is for Ingrown - Jorge Michel Grau

J is for Jidai-geki (Samuria Movie) - Yudai Yamaguchi
K is for Klutz - Anders Morgenthaler
L is for Libido - Timo Tjahjanto
M Is for Miscarriage - Ti West
N is for Nuptials - Banjong Pisanthanakun
O is for Orgasm - Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet
P Is for Pressure - Simon Rumley
R Is for Removed - Srdjan Spasojevic
S is for Speed - Jake West
T Is for Toilet - Lee Hardcastle
U Is for Unearthed - Ben Wheatley
V is for Vagitus (The Cry of a Newborn Baby) - Kaare Andrews
W is for WTF? - Jon Schnepp
X Is for XXL - Xavier Gens
Y Is for Youngbuck - Jason Eisener
Z is for Zetsumetsu (Extinction) - Yoshihiro Nishimura

There really is a fantastic line up here and it reads like the "who's who" of modern horror.

Here's a few of the films by a few of the directors that you should recognise:

Hobo with a Shotgun (2011), Penumbra (2011), Dead Sushi (2012), We Are What We Are (2010) (which is has an English remake in production), Tokyo Gore Police (2008), Shutter (2004), Deadgirl (2008), A Serbian Film (2010) (which is the most disturbing film I've seen to date!), Timecrimes (2007), Doghouse (2009), The Innkeepers (2011), Kill List (2011), You're Next (2011) (which we're still waiting for!), May (2002) (the actress who plays May, Angela Bettis, directs a segment), and Frontier(s) (2007).




With the amount of short stories here, it's probably one of the best anthologies you'll ever see. There was only one segment where I thought to myself "MEH!" And that was G is for Gravity. Speaking of the letter G, there's plenty of GORE (see what I did there?!) throughout to keep the blood thirsty types, like myself, very pleased.

It has it's fair share of disturbing stuff too, which surprised me. L is for Libido was probably the most sick and twisted piece, but it was also very original.

As you can imagine, M Is for Miscarriage wasn't very pleasant, although it was very simple and effective.

Y Is for Youngbuck is also worth mentioning with the previous two.


The most fun segments for me were the animated ones, K is for Klutz and T Is for Toilet. Both stories revolve around a toilet and couldn't possibly be made any better with live action and SFX!




It also offers the completely weird and wonderful. Some of it is so far out there that only fans within the genre will appreciate and get it. This includes F is for Fart, H is for Hyrdo-Electric Diffusion, W is for WTF? and Z is for Zetsumetsu.

But what segments stood out the most me? L is for Libido is definitely worth mentioning again, along with R Is for Removed, U Is for Unearthed and X Is for XXL. But there was one other that was really special...

 

For me, D Is for Dogfight stood head and shoulders above the rest. The cinematography, choreography, score and even the sounds, or lack off, made for a visually stunning and original short with a brilliant twist.

Overall, the performaces from all the actors where engaging, the SFX ranged from cheap and cheerful to extravagant, there is a hint of predictability with some of the segments, but this collection of short stories from directors around the globe makes for a very entertaining, clever, fun, bloody, brutal, disturbing and shocking watch. It has some of the most original work I've seen for years. There's certain things featured that I thought I would never see on film, so giving the directors "complete artistic freedom" was a genius idea. This anthology is a must see!

The ABCs of Death gets 9/10

Check out the trailer below...

V/H/S (2012)

This found footage anthology is set up by the first part of the film, which is the main story arc and also returns to it between each of the other stories. So I'll start at the beginning...

Tape 56
Director - Adam Wingard
Writer - Simon Barrett

The tale follows a group of misfits, that seem to have nothing better to do with their time than exposing random women's boobs and smashing up empty buildings all while recording the misdeeds on camera, until one of the men tells them of an offer from an unknown source that involves retrieving a VHS tape from a seemingly empty house.

When they arrive at the house and break in, they search all over and find an old man in an upstairs room, but he is presumed dead so the guys carry on and search the house for the VHS tape.


Although it's not quite that simple, as there are dozens of tapes that they have to sift through and watch to make sure they have the right one before they can leave. This then shows us the other 5 films, all caught on a home video camera. But in between watching each tape, strange things start to happen and one by one the shady characters get more than what they bargained for.

The Cast -
Calvin Reeder as Gary
Lane Hughes as Zak
Kentucker Audley as Rox
Adam Wingard as Brad
Frank Stack as Old Man

Amateur Night
Director - David Bruckner
Writers - David Bruckner & Nicholas Tecosky

Three male friends are getting ready for a night out. One prepped with a pair of glasses which contains a hidden camera. The plan is simple, pull a couple of chicks, get them back to the motel and record themselves getting down and dirty!

The alcohol and drug fuelled evening goes to plan. Two girls three guys, what could go wrong? One of the girls, Lily, is quietly weird though. She has massive eyes and has taken a creepy shine to Clint, who is wearing the glasses.

Back at the motel they try their luck, but Lisa passes out due to the drugs. So Shane tries it on with the weird girl and things get hot and heavy. However, little frail Lily is out for more than a one night stand. Sexual heat turns into heated blood!

The Cast -
Hannah Fierman as Lily
Mike Donlan as Shane
Joe Sykes as Patrick
Drew Sawyer as Clint
Jas Sams as Lisa

2nd Honeymoon
Director & Writer - Ti West

Sam and Stephanie are on a road trip for their 2nd Honeymoon. The couple visit a Wild West themed park where Stephanie receives a prediction from a mechanical fortune teller. The prediction says that she will be visited by a loved one.

Later that night at the motel they are stopping in, the couple is visited by a strange woman who asks for a ride in the morning. Sam declines her request and the girl leaves.


After the lights are off and the couple have settled down to sleep, someone breaks into the room and videos them with Sam's own camera.

With Sam and Stephanie's seemingly perfect relationship, comes somewhat of a stalker, which leads to Stephanie being more than what meets the eye.

The Cast -
Joe Swanberg as Sam
Sophia Takal as Stephanie
Kate Lyn Sheil as The Stalker

Tuesday the 17th
Director & Writer - Glenn Mcquaid

Wendy, Joey, Spider and Samantha, visit Wendy's home town and take a walk in the nearby woods. Along the way, the camera flashes glimpses of bodies.

Wendy starts getting a little strange by telling the group scary and confusing things. There's a rather dark reason Wendy has returned to these woods. She starts to tell Joey about her past and an "accident" that happened involving her friends and a mysterious man, although nobody believed her story.

Set on getting to the truth behind the events of her past,Wendy and her friends are now in mortal danger as an unfathomable figure appears as a glitch on the camera.

The Cast -
Norma C. Quinones as Wendy
Drew Moerlein as Joey
Jason Yachanin as Spider
Jeannine Yoder a Samantha

The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger
Director - Joe Swanberg
Writer - Simon Barrett

Emily and her doctor-to-be boyfriend James, video chat over their laptops with one another. Emily tells James that she thinks her apartment maybe haunted and she also has a troubling mark on her arm that reminds her of her "leg when she was younger."

As she sits talking to James we see strange movement in the background of what appears to be a child. This freaks Emily out so she decides to walk around the apartment with her laptop facing outwards so James can see while she closes her eyes!

What happens next is something disturbing, leading us to think that this has happened more than once.

The Cast -
Helen Rogers as Emily
Daniel Kaufman as Janes

10/31/98
Director & Writer - Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez, Chad Villella)

It's Halloween and Chad, Matt, Tyler and Paul are in search of a party! Dressed in full costume, the Unabomber, a pirate, a teddy bear (with a hidden camera) and a marine, the four boys head to the address they were given, which is a strangers house. They arrive at the location, but the house is deserted.

They all look around each room downstairs and upstairs. Tyler (in the bear suit), starts seeing things though. Soon after, they start to hear loud chanting coming from the attic. So they check it out only to find a group of men and a bound girl.

Thinking this is just a joke, their minds soon change when one of the men assaults the girl. While the boys try to save the defenceless young woman, the men that have bound her start being pulled to the ceiling by an unseen force. Now they have freed the young captive, the four costumed lads try to escape the house as more disturbing paranormal events occur. Will they get out alive or will this be their last Halloween?!

The Cast -
Chad Villella as Chad
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin as Matt
Tyler Gillett as Tyler
Paul Natonek as Paul
Nicole Erb as The Girl

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In this collection of stories, we are taken through found footage versions of various horror sub genres, from the slasher films of the ’80s, to the occult and exorcism films of the ’70s, to the more modern torture porn and supernatural tales of the ’00s.

With some really shaky cam work at times, this might be something haters of found footage wouldn't normally go for, but don't let that ruin it for you as this low budget horror is very cleverly put together with some inventive writing.

The acting is convincing, but the one standout performance for me is from Hannah Fierman in Amateur Night. The directing is spot on, bringing more than just scares, it has some real tension too. The SFX are effective for the low budget and the editing is excellent.

My favourites pieces out of the them all are Amateur Night and 10/31/98.

A couple of the stories might leave you wanting more, but overall this is a solid horror anthology that everyone should give a go.

V/H/S gets 7.5/10

Check out the trailer below...

The Innkeepers (2011)

The cast -
Sara Paxton as Claire
Pat Healy as Luke
Kelly McGillis as Leanne Rease-Jones
George Riddle as Old Man

Director & Writer - Ti West


The plot -
During the final days at the Yankee Pedlar Inn, two employees, Claire and Luke, are left on their own to run things while the owner is away on vacation. Now the Inn's three hundred and fifty something rooms are practically empty, with only two guests staying, Leanne Rease-Jones and a mother and her young son, both Claire and Luke are determined to reveal the hotel's haunted past of Madeline O'Malley, with only flash lights and an EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomena) recorder. As an old guests checks in for a stay, they begin to experience more disturbing events than ever before.

As I love all things "Ghost Hunter" related, I was really looking forward to this movie.

The set up was perfect with the creepy old Inn and there hardly being anybody around. The movie starts with old black and white photos of the Inn which all adds to the tone.

We're introduced to the first scene with "Chapter One - The Long Weekend."
It's then set up like a book with two more chapters and an epilogue.

For the first twenty minutes you get to know Claire and Luke as they slack off and have a bit of fun together.

For the next hour we're treated with a lot of tension via well shot scenes, creepy noises and a spine-chilling score. Unlike such movies like Paranormal Activity, where it relied on what you saw, this movie simply delivers the chills by what you don't see and by what you hear.

Even though it's slow in places, the direction and the acting out weigh the pace. The last twenty minutes are predictable, but still gets you on the edge of your seat.

Overall I enjoyed this movie and it even made me jump in one place! Did I think it was as good as I thought it was going to be? No, not quite, but I still wasn't disappointed.

The Innkeepers gets a chilling 7/10

It's available right now on digital VOD platforms and gets a theatrical release in major markets starting February 3rd.

Check out the trailer below...