Just like they did back in 2011 with the first ABCs of Death, Magnet Releasing, Timpson Films and Drafthouse Films recently put together a competition designed to find the 26th director for the upcoming sequel ABCs of Death 2. Well-known as well as up-and-coming horror filmmakers were each given a letter of the alphabet and tasked with making a short film centering around a word that begins with that letter, with fans encouraged to submit their own films for the unclaimed letter M.
Since the launch of the contest in August, well over 500 short films were submitted from over 40 different countries, and the top twelve finalists have just been announced – six were decided by a jury while the other six made the cut based on votes from other fans.
We’ve compiled all twelve of the shorts for you below, which should only take you about a half an hour to get through. I can think of no better way to spend your lunch break today, so dig in to learn all the different ways that the letter M can kill ya!
M IS FOR MAILBOX – DANTE VESCIO & RODRIGO GASPARINI
The blood flows and a young vampire sucks it all up in this creepy Halloween-set short that reminds us to never underestimate kids… or badass old dudes. A fun twist at the end makes this one a clever spin on an iconic monster tale!
M IS FOR MAKE BELIEVE – SUMMER JOHNSON
Life was just so innocent and magical when you were a kid, wasn’t it? In this highly disturbing entry, two young girls come across a bloodied man who is barely clinging onto life, and attempt to make it all better with a little glitter and kindness. Ah, to be a kid again!
M IS FOR MARAUDER – STEVE DANIELS
Road Warrior meets Mario Kart, by way of Troma, in this humorous and highly gory submission that depicts one woman’s quest to become a member of a particularly badass biker gang. Does she make the cut? Watch it to find out!
M IS FOR MASTICATE – ROBERT BOOCHECK
Taking heavy influence from Zombieland’s awesome opening credits sequence, this ripped from the headlines slow-mo short centers around a man that’s as hungry as he is hairy… and he’s very, very hairy. Is he a zombie? Well, you’re just going to have to find out for yourself!
M IS FOR MATCHMAKER – SEAN TRETTA
Scream queen Tiffany Shepis stars as the titular matchmaker in this one from indie horror filmmaker Sean Tretta. But it’s not exactly dates that she’s trying to set people up on, as you’ll soon discover in this clever short that features another familiar face!
M IS FOR MEAT – WOLFGANG MATZL
This year’s submissions don’t get much creepier than this surreal bit of puppetry from Austria. If I wasn’t already a vegetarian, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t need to see much more than this short to make me never want to eat meat again!
M IS FOR MIND MELD – BC GLASSBERG
A human lab experiment gets increasingly bizarre and brutal in this entry, which packs the gory torture of a film like Hostel into only three minutes. As you might expect, it’s a violent assault on the senses, packed with a twist that makes things all the more horrific.
M IS FOR MIRACLE – ALVARO NUNEZ
Just as he’s about to commit suicide, and jump to his death, a man is presented with a package labeled ‘Miracle Box.’ Inside is a cute little bunny, and a couple of carrots. A happy ending to his once suicidal day, right? Well, it depends on how you look at it, as this submission from Spain shows.
M IS FOR MISDIRECTION – ANTONIO PADOVAN
Helen Rogers from the V/H/S segment The Sick Thing That Happened To Emily When She Was Younger stars in this one as a magician’s assistant. We’ve all seen that trick wherein a magician puts a beautiful lady in a box and sticks swords through it, only to have her come out of the box unscathed, but the finale to this particular magic trick is anything but predictable. The swords may not kill her, but that doesn’t mean she’s in the clear!
M IS FOR MUFF – MIA’KATE RUSSELL
There’s nothing safe for work about this short that showcases the dangers of extramarital sex. All is going well for a horny old man when a prostitute arrives in his hotel room to give him a thrill for the night, a night that ends with the bed sheets being covered with a bit of a different kind of bodily fluid than planned. The old man isn’t this unlucky prostitute's only fan, I’ll say that much!
M IS FOR MULTIVERSE APATHY – SANTI GONZALEZ
Toilet humor was big in the first ABCs of Death, a trend that will continue if this entry wins the big prize. In it, a very bizarre apocalyptic event has overtaken the world. It’s not zombies. It’s not sharknados. It’s poop. It’s raining poop. There’s an idea for ya, Syfy!
M IS FOR MUNGING – JASON KOCH & CLINT KELLY
We end things on a highly disturbing note with this last finalist, which leaves behind a taste in the mouth that you probably aren’t going to be able to get rid of all day. If you want to know what you’re in store for, look up the term Munging on Urban Dictionary. And then proceed with caution… or don’t proceed at all. You have been warned!
These top twelve finalists will be screened at select Alamo Drafthouse locations on December 15th, at which point the winner will be announced. The winning entry will appear in ABCs of Death 2, with the winning filmmaker also receiving a $5,000 cash prize. You can see all of the other entries over on the ABCs of Death 2 website.
Which of the top twelve finalists are your personal favorites? Sound off below!