The ABCs of Death
A wildly variable alphabet of grotesque death vignettes turns contemporary horror into a global, darkly comic endurance test.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- provocative
- grotesque
- irreverent
- midnight movie marathon
- horror party
What critics said
Critics broadly found the ambitious international anthology concept appealing but judged the 26 segments highly uneven, with a few inventive or scary highlights surrounded by weaker entries.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film contains 26 individually directed chapters, each assigned a letter and centered on a word involving death.
The segments repeatedly juxtapose shocking deaths and disturbing imagery with scatological, absurd, or darkly funny premises.
More than two dozen directors contribute radically different short films, producing major variation in tone, style, and effectiveness.
The production presents directors from around the world as a cross-section of modern genre filmmaking.
Films like The ABCs of Death, and why
Southbound
experimental horror anthology built from sharply contrasting short segments, mixing gore, dark humor, and uneven execution
Theatre of Blood
international horror anthology with varied directors, surreal imagery, grotesque violence, and inconsistent but provocative episodes
V/H/S
transgressive horror anthology whose appeal comes from stylistic variety, black comedy, and extreme subject matter
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
cult anthology horror that alternates between shocking, absurd, and inventive stories rather than sustaining one continuous narrative
Movie Details
- Directors
- Xavier Gens, Andrew Traucki, Nacho Vigalondo, Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, Bruno Forzani, Jason Eisener, Adrián García Bogliano, Marcel Sarmiento, Lee Hardcastle, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Ben Wheatley, Jon Schnepp, Jorge Michel Grau, Timo Tjahjanto, Noboru Iguchi, Srđan Spasojević, Adam Wingard, Angela Bettis, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Simon Rumley, Jake West, Thomas Cappelen Malling, Yudai Yamaguchi, Hélène Cattet, Ti West, Anders Morgenthaler, Kaare Andrews
- Release Date
- 2013-03-08
- Runtime
- 129 min
- Rating
- 4.9 / 10 (642)
Cast
- Ingrid Bolsø Berdal
- Erik Audé
- Iván González
- Kyra Zagorsky
- Peter Pedrero
- Dallas Malloy
- Lee Hardcastle
- Lucy Clements
- Darenzia
- Arisa Nakamura
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The ABCs of Death about?
- A wildly variable alphabet of grotesque death vignettes turns contemporary horror into a global, darkly comic endurance test.
- What is The ABCs of Death like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The ABCs of Death as brisk, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The ABCs of Death violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The ABCs of Death as graphic.
- What did critics think of The ABCs of Death?
- Critics broadly found the ambitious international anthology concept appealing but judged the 26 segments highly uneven, with a few inventive or scary highlights surrounded by weaker entries.
- Which films are like The ABCs of Death?
- Films with a similar feel include Southbound, Theatre of Blood, V/H/S, and Tales from the Darkside: The Movie.
- How long is The ABCs of Death?
- The ABCs of Death runs 129 minutes.
- Where can I watch The ABCs of Death?
- In United States, The ABCs of Death streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
