The ABCs of Death
Magnet Releasing | Release Date: March 8, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
10
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
SalonAndrew O'HehirMar 7, 2013
The ABCs of Death is one-stop shopping for deviant cinema, a Pu Pu platter of perversity. It made me laugh hysterically, shout with outrage, wince with discomfort and yearn to hide under the sofa, all by the halfway mark. Read full review
75
The Playlist Ryan GowlandMar 5, 2013
The end result provides a range of quality, from the inspired and creative to the lazy and insipid, but one that horror fans will certainly devour. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineMar 2, 2013
Tellingly, this horror anthology's finest entries convey how real horror comes in more than shades of red, and how it lives inside us all. Read full review
58
Film.comWilliam GossMar 7, 2013
Even at thirty seconds a piece, 26 shorts would feel, fittingly, like overkill. The ABCs of Death has no shortage of inventive, ironic and gruesome sketches, but the novelty of its successes just barely outweighs its stillborn stuff. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterJustin LoweMar 8, 2013
Stronger in concept than execution. Read full review
50
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisMar 7, 2013
At its best when merging shocks with social commentary, this halting compilation improves significantly as it nears the end of the alphabet. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeEthan GilsdorfMar 7, 2013
Do your tastes delve into the sick, ultra-violent, and disturbing? Then you may find The ABCs of Death, an anthology of about two dozen short films, inventive and funny. Otherwise, as you consume this serving of alphabet soup, “A” may as well stand for “atrocious,” “B” for “bloodbath,” and “C” for “check, please.” Read full review
50
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMar 4, 2013
An instant midnight movie, a morbid mishmash of styles and filmmaking formats – 26 films, 26 filmmakers from the four corners of the horror globe, all making short films about death. It’s not for everyone. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonMar 6, 2013
Many of the shorts are visibly impressive, given their scant budgets, and there’s no end of visual and thematic creativity stretched throughout the anthology; there are, after all, a million horrible, memorable ways to die. Read full review
40
The GuardianCatherine ShoardApr 26, 2013
The most intentional fun comes courtesy of N (for Nuptials). Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenMar 20, 2013
A good concept yields scattershot results in this horror-film anthology. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottMar 8, 2013
There's no sense of pacing here, as would be the case in a single feature-length narrative in which a wise filmmaker would vary the intensity level. Instead, what we get is a ceaseless visual and emotional assault. That makes for an exhausting movie-going experience. This is by no means a feel-good film. This is a feel-bad film -- and at times a feel-icky film. Read full review
40
Time OutJoshua RothkopfMar 5, 2013
Only Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, directors of 2009’s stylish Amer, emerge intact with “O Is for Orgasm,” a surging montage of fluid colors and moans. Read full review
35
NPRIan BuckwalterMar 8, 2013
With 26 films, one for each letter of the alphabet, one might expect enough gems in the mix to make up for any stinkers. That's sadly not the case. Read full review
30
Village VoiceMark HolcombFeb 19, 2013
What's unexpected is how thoroughly The ABCs of Death's ample duds overshadow its treasures, and how uninspired it feels as a whole. Read full review
25
New York PostV.A. MusettoMar 7, 2013
Most are exercises in sickening bad taste, with an emphasis on human bodily functions. The biggest stinkers? “T Is for Toilet” and “F Is for Fart.” Read full review
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