A..B..C..D..Evil! The ABCs of Death review!

abcsofdeathAbout damn time a way of learning your ABCs by the teaches of death! The ABCs of Death brings together 26 international directors to direct, at their own artistic freedom, their each short film segment. Each director was given a letter and were told to choose a word to title their work with and create a story around that word. The individual segments are not your typical horror thrillers about death and what I mean by that is that you don’t have a vampire segment, a slasher segment, etc. Death can come in any way, shape, or form and is certainly explored every single way in this fatal anthology.

I’d like to start off with my favorite segment which is entitled “D is for Dogfight” directed by Marcel Sarmiento, who you might remember from his direction work on Deadgirl and it’s been a little bit since that project! “D is for Dogfight” simply pits a man versus a vicious dog in an underground “fight club” style face-off. The short film is shot nearly without dialogue and the twist ending will leave you more with a sinister grin rather than a shock on your face. The man versus dog fight is excellent when done in slow motion with every dog punch and every bite to the arm or leg just as real as you would see on any animal attack video on RealTV.

Those Japanese directors again....

Those Japanese directors again….


The worst videos have to come from the Japanese, especially the one entitled “F is for Farts” directed by Noboru Iguchi. Iguchi did Machine Girl which is ultra-violet and just brutally stupid in a good way, but then Iguchi followed up later on with Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead and, well, yeah. By The ABCs of Death title alone, you can tell he hasn’t expanded his horizon’s much further. The whole episode, which lasts no more than four or five minutes, is about stinky, women farts. The comedy element I get, but the death part I do not and nor will I ever. Maybe I’m just not Japanese educated enough to learn the history behind Japan’s wackiness.
CLAYMATION!!!!

CLAYMATION!!!!

There are other really cool segments (Timo’s Tjahjanto’s “L is for Libido”) and other silly toilet humor death segments (Anders Morgenthaler’s “K is for Klutz”). This anthology is unique because you get a taste of everything, of every culture, of every opinion with no restraint and with no influence. Creativity is boundless and that is what is more outstanding here than most of the segments and you won’t get bored which is great! I can’t wait for The ABCs of Death 2 and the anticipation is killing me – wait – that should be in the sequel – “A is for Anticipation.”

The ABCs of Death is distributed by Magnolia Home Entertainment.

Homeless Bum vs Evil! Hobo With A Shotgun review!

Just last night I was sparing with one of my editors for another review horror website about meaning behind the term “grindhouse.”  My editor believes that no such word should exist and the entire meaning behind the term is just a loo to generate business for studios looking to recapture a 70’s ultra-violent culture with in a cinema medium.  Whereas I believe the sleazy retro-fierce genre still lives and breathes today, spanning over 40 years.  Every genre goes dormant for some time; the zombie genre went dormant all through the nineties before making a ridiculous comeback at the turn of the millennium.  Whether me or my editor is right or wrong, the facts are undeniable that violent, exploitive and gruesome movies are still being produced today and being labeled a “grindhouse” film is still up for debatable grabs.  Hobo with a Shotgun is one of those violent, exploitive and gruesome films made in modern day.

A traveling hobo rides the rail into a wretched town filled with homeless exploiters, pedophile Santas, disrespectful murderous punks and a crime lord named The Drake and his two merciless sons Ivan and Slick.  All the Hobo wanted was peace and to gain enough money to buy himself a lawn motor from the local pawn shop  Instead, the town got to him pushing him over the edge causing him to buy a single barrel, pump-action justice delivering shotgun!  Even if you jay-walked, the Hobo took vigilantism one shell at a time.

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