The ABCs of Death

A sequel to this year's gigantic horror anthology, The ABCs of Death, is in the works.  

The first film brought together 26 directors to tackle 26 tales of death.  Ben Wheatley, Ti West, Nacho Vigolando and Adam Wingard were just some of the helmers that contributed to the endeavor.

This morning, we have learned Magnet Releasing - distributor of the first film - is working with Timpson Films and Drafthouse Films to produce a sequel.

The ABCs of Death.  26 directors, 26 tales...26 interviews.  Today, Magnet released the mammoth horror anthology on VOD and ShockTillYouDrop.com was one of 26 sites that took part in a string of interviews with the directors involved.  (You'll find all of the interviews at this Tumblr page.) 

We scored a brief e-mail chat with Xavier Gens (Frontiere(s), The Divide), the man responsible for tackling the letter "X."  You see, directors involved in The ABCs of Death were assigned a letter and asked to tell a "tale of death" around that letter.

Gens delivered the deliciously bloody and perhaps melancholic (depending on how you look at it) "X is for XXL," about a bullied overweight woman who decides to shed some extra pounds.

Winter officially begins December 21st and we're thrilled to see that the season is going to be jam-packed with horror releases!

What was once a dumping ground (some might argue it still is) for genre titles is now prime real estate (The Devil Inside raked in big bucks in its debut at the start of 2012).

ShockTillYouDrop.com breaks down the films you can expect to see later this month through March 19th, when winter concludes.  As usual, we weigh in with our thoughts on what is to come and provide you with links to photos and trailers (if available).

Use our comment boards below to sound off on what you are looking forward to!

The horror anthology The ABCs of Death is a massive endeavor, collecting 26 tales from 26 directors in the world of horror.  And, today, a trailer has been released - you can view it inside.

The film is hitting VOD on January 31st before opening in select theaters on March 8th.  ShockTillYouDrop.com spied a cut at Fantastic Fest two months ago, you can read our early review right here.

Here's the synopsis: Twenty-six directors. Twenty-six ways to die. The ABCs of Death is perhaps the most ambitious anthology film ever conceived with productions spanning fifteen countries and featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children’s educational books, the motion picture is comprised of twenty-six individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.

We've added two new images to the gallery, as well.

With V/H/S opening this Friday, October 5th, Magnet is offering a special sneak peek at “D is for Dogfight,” a visceral short from another anticipated horror anthology, The ABCs of Death.  Directed by Marcel Sarmiento (Deadgirl), “D is for Dogfight” is one of the 26 shorts from 26 international genre filmmakers that comprise the horror anthology, an ambitious film that features a way to meet your maker for every letter of the alphabet.

“D is for Dogfight” - which I considered one of the best of the 26 stories - will be shown before theatrical showings of V/H/S at the following Landmark theaters...

As Fantastic Fest winds down in Austin, Texas, it's time to play a bit of catch up.  

Shock Till You Drop caught quite a few films at the event and while you can find many of my reviews at this spot, I felt it was time to present some capsule reviews of the other films (plus it will just allow me to get ahead of the festival coverage work load, to be frank).

After the jump, I weigh in on Tim Burton's Frankenweenie, the horror anthology The ABCs of Death and Here Comes the Devil which garnered multiple awards at the fest.

Could the horror genre finally be seeing an anthology horror film resurgence?  The format - long thought of a bad news by the Hollywood studio system - is making a comeback with titles like V/H/S and The ABCs of Death.  Chiller TV has commissioned an anthology film of its own entitled Chilling Visions: 5 Senses of Fear and THR scored a breakdown of the filmmakers involved.

This is the year of Argentinian filmmaker Adrian Garcia Bogliano.

This week saw the American DVD release of his latest effort Penumbra.  Last January yielded the DVD release of Cold Sweat, further, he's making headlines here on Shock with his forthcoming film Here Comes the Devil and his contribution to The ABCs of Death (both playing at Fantastic Fest next month).  Not too shabby.

Bogliano is clearly on the rise in horror and Shock Till You Drop had the pleasure of picking his brain.  We discussed the origins of Penumbra, his love for David Mamet, his disdain for Paranormal Activity and his upcoming projects.

Midnight Madness - part of the Toronto International Film Festival program - is welcoming the world premiere of the anthology The ABC's to Death this year and four new images have been revealed.

The impressive line-up of directors contributing to this film collection include Kaare Andrews, Angela Bettis, Adrián García Bogliano, Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet, Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, Jason Eisener, Xavier Gens, Jorge Michel Grau, Lee Hardcastle, Noboru Iguchi, Thomas Cappelen Malling, Anders Morgenthaler, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Simon Rumley, Marcel Sarmiento, Jon Schnepp, Srdjan Spasojevic, Timo Tjahjanto, Andrew Traucki, Nacho Vigalondo, Jake West, Ti West, Ben Wheatley, Adam Wingard, and Yûdai Yamaguchi.

Synopsis: Twenty-six directors… 26 ways to die! The ABCs Of Death is perhaps the most ambitious anthology film ever conceived, featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world’s leading talents in contemporary genre film. With each director assigned a letter of the alphabet, they were then given free rein in choosing a word to create a story involving a tale of mortality. It’s an alphabetical arsenal of destruction orchestrated by some of the most exciting names in global horror.

The official one-sheet for The ABC's of Death is now online, thanks to EW and you can check it out after the break.

The project,  produced by Ant Timpson & Tim League, the 26 participating directors include talent like Nacho Vigalando (TimeCrimes), Ti West (The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers), Srdjan Spasojevic (A Serbian Film) and many, many more.

A lot of filmmakers have commenced shooting their segement of the genre anthology The ABCs of Death.  If you recall, this is the Drafthouse Films and Magnet Pictures effort that calls upon 26 directors to tackle the alphabet. 

The directors were given free reign to choose a word to represent a form of death based on their letter.  This weekend, contributing director Xavier Gens revealed an image from his contribution.