I don’t know why, but I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to watch a movie from my college days: The ABCs of Death. The concept is quite cool actually. Twenty-six directors from all of the world are given a letter of the alphabet; they get to choose a word starting with that letter and create a short film about that word. Then they’re all put together in this glorious anthology about death. Over a decade later, I still remember quite a few of these shorts exactly, but it was also fun to remember ones I had forgotten about.
A is for Apocalypse
A woman kills her bedridden husband before succumbing to an unknown global event. We started off strong with gore and the eerily quietness of a death. Great blood and effects, keeps me thinking about what chaos is unfolding outside of their window.
B is for Bigfoot
Blood and titties?! A couple tells the girl they’re babysitting a scary story that ends up coming true. It’s a funny piece about lying to kids to get them to go to bed (I know from experience). We actually see more sex than blood, but that’s OK.
C is for Cycle
A man is trapped in a cycle of death and doppelgängers. A story that leaves you wondering what is going on and how this situation came to be. Will this cycle of death go on forever? Probably.
D is for Dogfight
A man fist-fights his kidnapped dog. More funny than scary, considering the dog is taking punches to the face.
E is for Exterminate
A man attempts to kill a spider and ends in an old wives’ tale. It’s just a man in an apartment and a CGI spider. Spider lays eggs in his face. You can guess what happens next.
F is for Fart
This is by far the funniest thing I have ever seen. A Japanese schoolgirl is in love with her teacher’s farts. it’s uniquely Japanese and very gross, but still somehow belongs perfectly in this movie.
G is for Gravity
A man drowns himself, recorded via GoPro. I didn’t understand this one at first, but looking back, I may have just not been paying attention. Beautiful setting and simple premise, but forgettable.
H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion
Really interesting! A WWII-era anthropomorphic bulldog visits a foxy dancer in a club and finds out she’s a Nazi. The only time furries are acceptable. I liked the story here and especially the setting. Very fun!
I is for Ingrown
A man kills his wife while she thought-monologues to herself. I need a backstory to this one because it is just vicious. To be trapped and killed via injection has to be incredibly scary. It’s rough to watch and the monologue that the wife is saying is incredibly powerful.
J is for Jidai-geki (Samurai Movie)
So great there are memes of it. A samurai makes funny faces. That’s really it.
K is for Klutz
A woman’s poop doesn’t want to be flushed. This animated short is fun to watch. Everything from the drawing style to the story itself is a good time. Plus, the end reminds us that this is still a horror movie.
L is for Libido
Unfortunately one of the ones I distinctly remember. Men are forced to masturbate to increasingly vile acts for fear of being killed. Sex but in a bad way, only getting worse as time goes on (i.e., there are kids involved).
M is for Miscarriage
Short and sweet. A woman flushes remnants of a miscarriage down the toilet. A too-the-point film that makes miscarriages out to be a totally normal thing that happens (which they are).
N is for Nuptials
A talking parrot ruins a wedding proposal. I liked this one a lot because it’s a good time. Funny premise, characters that worked well together. The ending. Awesome!
O is for Orgasm
An artistic look at what an orgasm feels like. It’s definitely out there and artsy, so you may not really understand it until the title shows. I could skip this one.
P is for Pressure
A prostitute will do anything for her children. At first I wasn’t sure where this was going. Was it a sob story about a down-on-her-luck woman? Yes, but it’s also a story of how one’s love for their children can make them look past some seedy stuff. Warning, simulated animal torture in this one.
Q is for Quack
I liked this because it broke the fourth wall somewhat. Directors question what word to focus on for the letter Q before settling on shooting a duck. It’s likely realistic that this happened for some letters (the topic discussion, not the duck-killing). Ends up badly for the directors, but all in good fun.
R is for Removed
A man whose skin can produce rolls of film escapes his confines and starts killing. I didn’t understand this at all. Unfortunately I think this needs to be longer than a short, because… uh, what?
S is for Speed
Car chases and drugs. I can go without this one. It has an unexpected ending, but I don’t think it quite fits in here.
T is for Toilet
Potty training can be deadly. Give me claymation and I will love it with every fiber of my being. It’s crudely made but gets the job done with story and scares. I feel bad for the kid at the end, especially since we’re potty training our own son right now. (For all you worried parents, the kid dies here but is revealed in a sequel to have survived, phew!)
U is for Unearthed
Classic vampire story. I was not expecting a vampire story here and was pleasantly surprised. Pulling out teeth is such a good way to try to stop the killing.
V is for Vagitus (The Cry of a Newborn Baby)
Having babies is illegal and they may have super psychic killing powers. There’s a lot to unpack with this one and it could have used a few extra minutes of storytelling, because why not — I want to know more.
W is for WTF!
I don’t know what to even write about this one so I won’t even try. Just a lot of everything spewed into one short. What the fuck, indeed.
X is for XXL
An overweight woman takes drastic weight loss into her own hands. I felt really bad for this woman and could definitely empathize with the ever-present womanly urge to be thinner. It’s both sad to watch and horrifying. Lots of blood here.
Y is for Youngbuck
I had forgotten about this one but as soon as I saw the main character, I remembered! A boy dressed up in a buck’s mounted head takes revenge on a pedophilic school janitor. Gross to think about but happy to see a “good” ending. Blood was well done and had a gag-inducing moment as well.
Z is for Zetsumetsu (Extinction)
A sort of political satire about US-Japan relations after WWII. Penises, rice, atomic bombs, and “Dr. Strangeluv.” Do with that description what you will.
Overall
Again, it’s amazing how much you remember and how much comes back in a flash. A great time watching a majority of these shorts. The ABCs of Death is still one of the coolest concepts for an anthology I have come across, and I’m really glad they made a sequel… Now to bring it back for another installment!
What did you think of The ABCs of Death? Let us know in the comments!
The ABCs of Death is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Amazing!!! Will have to rewatch myself!!!