Continuing our ongoing coverage of The ABCs Of Death 2, we have a special guest entry from the director of “S is for Split,” Juan Martinez Moreno. Since the whole concept of Drafthouse Films’ horror anthology revolves around creating a single death sequence out of whichever letter each filmmaker is given, the directors were also asked to write about their favorite on-screen death. Picking a beautiful scene from an equally beautiful movie, here’s what Moreno had to say about his favorite cinematic death:
Juan Martinez Moreno: It’s impossible to choose just one death, but I’ll chose one that really shocked me in the last years: the pool attack in the Let The Right One In (the Swedish one), specifically the shot of the kid under the water with the hand of the bully pushing his head down. There are a myriad of reasons why this scene works so well. It’s a great example of how horror can be elegant and subtle. The timing is absolutely perfect, working like a Swiss watch. I wouldn’t add or subtract a single frame. The scene also asks you as a view to work, using your imagination to create a picture of the chaos that’s unfolding outside of the pool. And we all know that our imagination can be much more cruel than anything else. And most critically, it’s a great ending for a great movie. This may sound obvious, but it’s not. Lots of horror movies fuck it up in the resolution. They stick the landing here in a way that leaves you in awe at an incredible story, creatively told.
As a little added bonus, Drafthouse Films also shared a video that cuts together all the favorite death scenes of each director in one evil highlight reel of insanity. Check it out below!
If you haven’t seen The ABCs Of Death 2 yet, what are you waiting for? It’s already available on VOD platforms, but if you’re more of a theater person, pray your local cinema is one of the lucky ones to screen The ABCs Of Death 2 when it opens to a Limited Release on October 31st!
