There were a few folks who found the first ABCs OF DEATH a bit of a gruelling experience, and not in a good way either. It’s a tough ask to expect attentions to be held across 26 short films in a row, with any investment you manage to have in a story quickly snatched away. Yet the film garnered a big enough fanbase to warrant an immediate greenlight for a cheeky sequel, and now it’s time once again to find the 26th director amongst us lot. Are you a budding filmmaker looking for your break? Well get thinking of the most interesting ways to die that begin with the letter ‘M’! Here’s some free ones: Mummy, Moth, Maniac, M&M, Monster, Merkin, Merman, Monkey, Monkey Merman. You’re welcome. 

Read the full press release from Magnet and Drafthouse Films below, which includes details on not only the above, but the film’s complete roster of talent too (including the excellent Julian Barratt of THE MIGHTY BOOSH fame!)…

Press Release:

Producers Ant Timpson, Tim League, and Magnet Releasing have announced the full lineup of acclaimed directors taking part in ABCs OF DEATH 2, a high-energy sequel to the 2012 hit, which delivers 26 new dark tales from the industry’s most celebrated genre directors. Accompanying the announcement, the production team has revealed the details for the film’s “26th Director Competition”, which, like the original, will place one exceptional fan-made entry in the finished film.

In a significant departure from the first installment, ABCs OF DEATH 2 is expanding beyond horror directors. Joining the sequel’s roster are Julian Barratt of The Mighty Boosh; Todd Rohal (THE CATECHISM CATALYSM); Canada’s king of lo-fi, Steven Kostanski (MANBORG); Cuba’s Alejandro Brugués (JUAN OF THE DEAD); acclaimed UK commercial director Jim Hosking; Japanese monster-maker Hajime Ohata (HENGE); and Canadian short film wizard Chris Nash (SKINFECTIONS).

Previously confirmed filmmakers include Goya Award winner Álex de la Iglesia (THE LAST CIRCUS, DAY OF THE BEAST), ROOM 237 mastermind Rodney Ascher, Academy Award-nominated animator Bill Plympton; Filipino icon – and Director’s Fortnight inductee – Erik Matti (ON THE JOB, MAGIC TEMPLE), Lithuania’s Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper (VANISHING WAVES), Japan’s arthouse provocateur Sion Sono (COLD FISH, SUICIDE CLUB), SPLICE and CUBE’s Vincenzo Natali, indie horror icon Larry Fessenden (THE LAST WINTER, HABIT), THE COLLECTION’s Marcus Dunstan, France’s Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (INSIDE, LIVID), E.L. Katz (director of the SXSW breakout hit CHEAP THRILLS), twin auteurs Jen and Sylvia Soska (AMERICAN MARY, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK), Israel’s Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado (RABIES, BIG BAD WOLVES), A LONELY PLACE TO DIE’s Julian Gilbey, Brazil’s most controversial filmmaker Dennison Ramalho (NINJAS and LOVE FOR MOTHER ONLY), the founder of Nigerian “Nollywood” cinema Lancelot Imasuen, THE LEGEND OF BEAVER DAM and the upcoming STAGEFRIGHT’s Jerome Sable, and animator Robert Morgan – creator of the BAFTA Award nominated short BOBBY YEAH.

The series’ popular “26th Director Competition” also returns, encouraging filmmakers from all over the world to create their own one-to-three minute segment, with the best being placed in the finished film itself.  Where the original film asked fans to create short “T is for…” films (with the winning segment going to Lee Hardcastle’s “T is for Toilet”), the sequel now switches its competition letter to “M”.

Votes for the competition will be tabulated via social media, as well as a jury, which, along with ABCs OF DEATH 2’s numerous other directors, includes producers Tim League and Ant Timpson, Associate Producer Ted Geoghegan, Magnolia Pictures president Eamonn Bowles, Entertainment Weekly Senior Editor Clark Collis, Horror-Movie-A-Day founder and Badass Digest contributor Brian Collins, author Grady Hendrix, and Fangoria Managing Editor Michael Gingold.

Contestants can visit http://26th.abcsofdeathpart2.com for additional details and to enter their films. Entries must be submitted by midnight on October 31, with the winner announced on December 15, 2013. The competition’s official announcement video can be found at http://vimeo.com/72230989

Magnet is planning a 2014 release of the film. ABCs OF DEATH 2 is produced by Ant Timpson and Tim League, in conjunction with associate producers Todd Brown, Marc Walkow, Mitch Davis, and Ted Geoghegan.

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