The ABCs of Death(2013)
2013 · Hélène Cattet & Jorge Michel Grau & Angela Bettis & Thomas Cappelen Malling & Banjong Pisanthanakun & Bruno Forzani & Andrew Traucki & Jason Eisener & Jon Schnepp & Adrián García Bogliano & Nacho Vigalondo & Ti West & Ernesto Díaz Espinoza & Yudai Yamaguchi & Jake West & Yoshihiro Nishimura & Srđan Spasojević & Xavier Gens & Lee Hardcastle & Noboru Iguchi & Simon Rumley & Adam Wingard & Marcel Sarmiento & Ben Wheatley & Timo Tjahjanto & Kaare Andrews & Anders Morgenthaler · 129 min
An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 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.
Horror
4.9641 votes
TMDB score
4/5
Intensity
4/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How The ABCs of Death scares
Watching this feels like flipping through 26 different horror channels in a row, since every few minutes you get handed off to a new director with a totally different idea of what scary means. Some segments are gross-out jokes, some are surreal and weird, some are nasty little gut-punches, and a few are genuinely disturbing body horror that will make you wince. There's no steady build of dread here because the tone resets constantly, swinging between silly, shocking, and mean-spirited. It's best for horror fans who like a grab-bag and don't mind that a handful of segments will land way harder than the rest.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The ABCs of Death rates psychological 2/5, visceral 4/5, gore 4/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 4/5.
- Psychological: 2 of 5
- Visceral: 4 of 5
- Gore: 4 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 4 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 65 of 100 — leans Jump scares
Supernatural vs Real-world: 50 of 100 — balanced
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 60 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A rapid-fire grab bag that jumps between calm oddities and sudden shocks with no steady buildup, staying jagged and unpredictable start to finish.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 3, 4, 2, 5, 3, 2, 4, 3, 5, 2, 4, 3.
How scary is The ABCs of Death?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The ABCs of Death rates 4/5 — one of the more punishing watches in the catalog, delivering its fear through jump scares more than lingering dread. It attacks the body more than the mind — physical, in-your-face horror. Expect it to be heavy on gore and genuinely disturbing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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