Whether you liked The ABCs Of Death or not, it was pretty hard to believe a franchise wasn’t being born in the same way V/H/S took off. The formula is simple: give 26 different directors one letter from the alphabet each, give them a $5,000 budget, and let them create a short film centering around a death. While the process of putting everything together is grueling I’m sure, the effort for our directors is rather minimal compared to feature filmmaking, and it’s pretty safe to say one of these films can be churned out every year.
Now that everyone’s had a chance to see The ABCs Of Death, producers Ant Timpson and Tim League are already gearing fans up for The ABCs Of Death 2, releasing the entire list of directorial participants for their upcoming sequel. I know, I feel like I just watched the first one yesterday, but like I said, some of these shorts can be shot in a day (looking at you Ti West) – why not strike while the iron is hot?
Looking at the new crop of death dealers, there’s just as many notable names and interesting choices for horror fans to debate, and of course there will be one lucky contestant winner who gets his film included for whatever letter is offered up. Last year’s winner was Lee Hardcastle, who created one of the stronger shorts in “T is for Toilet” – a claymation look into one child’s terrifying encounter with potty training. Who will this year’s Lee Hardcastle be? Maybe you?! Why don’t you enter the contest and find out!
As for our selected directors, let’s start with the names who have me intrigued because of their minimal participation in the horror genre. Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh) brings his comedic background, Todd Rohal (The Catechism Catalysm) is mostly known for hard independent filmmaking, Steven Kostanski (Manborg) is best known for ridiculous B-Movies, and Jim Hosking is only known for his commercial work. In no way are any of these bad choices, but these are the wild cards worth keeping a curious eye on.
There are definitely some names that have me instantly excited though. Alejandro Brugués won me over last year with his Cuban zombie comedy Juan Of The Dead, Álex de la Iglesia did much of the same with his clown-centric genre bender The Last Circus, Larry Fessenden (Habit) I’m sure will once again prove he’s just as strong a writer/director as an actor, Sion Sono had me hooked through every single minute of his sick tale of revenge in Cold Fish, Vincenzo Natali (Splice/Cube) is a tremendously gifted sci-fi/horror mixer, and while I wasn’t a fan of the Soska Sister’s film American Mary, their creativity seems like a perfect fit for The ABCs Of Death 2.
Alright, I could go on for paragraphs about the accomplishments of each director and why they’ll be a fantastic fit for this budding horror anthology franchise, but to save you time and long-winded explanations, be sure to check out the full list of directors below.
While the jump from V/H/S to V/H/S/2 showed a massive step forward in production and overall creative insanity, I’m not sure The ABCs Of Death 2 will necessarily be any more bat-shit insane because The ABCs Of Death was as crazy as I could have imagined. Segments like “F as in Fart,” “L as in Libido,” “X as in XXL, and “Z is for Zetsumetsu” absolutely kicked things into overdrive from square one, so my only hope is that Ant Timpson and Tim League’s sequel can match what was originally produced. Personally, I rather liked The ABCs Of Death, so I couldn’t be happier to glance at these directors and know I’ve got 26 more shorts to look forward to.
Julian Barratt (THE MIGHTY BOOSH)
Todd Rohal (THE CATECHISM CATALYSM)
Steven Kostanski (MANBORG)
Alejandro Brugués (JUAN OF THE DEAD)
Jim Hosking (commercial director)
Hajime Ohata (HENGE)
Chris Nash (SKINFECTIONS)
Álex de la Iglesia (THE LAST CIRCUS, DAY OF THE BEAST)
Rodney Ascher (ROOM 237)
Bill Plympton (Animator)
Erik Matti (ON THE JOB, MAGIC TEMPLE)
Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper (VANISHING WAVES)
Sion Sono (COLD FISH, SUICIDE CLUB)
Vincenzo Natali (SPLICE, CUBE)
Larry Fessenden (THE LAST WINTER, HABIT)
Marcus Dunstan (THE COLLECTION)
Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (INSIDE, LIVID)
E.L. Katz (CHEAP THRILLS)
Jen and Sylvia Soska (AMERICAN MARY, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK)
Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (RABIES, BIG BAD WOLVES)
Julian Gilbey (A LONELY PLACE TO DIE)
Dennison Ramalho (NINJAS and LOVE FOR MOTHER ONLY)
Lancelot Imasuen (Nollywood director)
Jerome Sable (THE LEGEND OF BEAVER DAM, STAGEFRIGHT)
Robert Morgan (BOBBY YEAH)
So what do you guys think of this list of directors? Actually, more importantly, what do you think about a sequel to The ABCs Of Death?