Not having seen the original Fangoria horror short compilation, but familiar enough with their feature film output; “Children of the Night,” “One Hell of a Christmas,” “Choking Hazard,” etc., I approached “Blood Drive 2” with not a little trepidation. Fangoria has been a touchstone to horror fans for over 25 years but, let’s face it, their film productions have been about as inspired as their brief foray into horror wrestling in the early ‘80’s. It turns out that “Blood Drive 2” is more than worthy of the Fangoria label. It’s filled with the requisite bloody set pieces, nudity and, surprisingly enough, some genuinely authentic scares.

The first short, “We all Fall Down,” is the most commercial of the eight films showcased here, which doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good. A group of young delinquents in a car decide to torment a young Asian girl. They inadvertently run her over and kill her; quickly hiding her body away in an abandon warehouse. Five years later, just before the building is to be demolished, the killers feel compelled to remove the body from its hiding place. This plan proves to be a bad idea. Jake Kennedy directs this technically efficient J-horror homage with some great effects work and superior cinematography. While the initial set up proves intriguing, if a little cliché, the rest of the film suffers from the spooky old house syndrome. A character wanders through a spooky old (ware)house, yelling the name of a person they think is just around the corner. This character is going to walk through every room, even the scary strobe-lit room because, damn it, that person just HAS to be here! Kennedy conjures up some effective imagery, but his slick execution can’t make up for the fact that there’s nothing new here.

“The Gibbering Horror of Howard Ghormley” is a terrific little film directed by Steve Daniels. It’s the best of the bunch and was appropriately given the award for best short. “Gibbering Horror” is a creepy black and white 8mm meditation on the surreal. It concerns a man on a bicycle who finds a key on a lonely dirt road. He happens upon an old house and is drawn to a locked side door. He uses the key and attempts to open it, but it remains locked. A note is pushed underneath the door that reads: ‘The door will not open.’ The man leaves and upon his return tries the door again, this time another note is pushed through reading: ‘The insects are suffocating.’ Upon his third visit he receives the disturbingly cryptic: ‘He will not stop smiling at me.’ Needless to say, our protagonist eventually does make it inside the house. His trip through the nightmarish landscape is every bit as haunting as Maya Deren’s classic short “Meshes of the Afternoon” from 1943.

“Means to an End,” directed and starring Paul Solet and Jake Hamilton, is a film made to appeal directly to the Fango crowd. It deals with a couple of horror fan/effects artists who are fired from a film and subsequently find it difficult to get work. They decide to make an extreme horror film on their own by literally hacking and slashing at each other – on camera. Gleefully graphic and sporadically amusing, “Means” thinks it’s far smarter than it is, (not unlike a Kevin Smith film). Are “hilarious outtakes” really necessary for a short film? This is basically a goof with two silly, amiable leads and a refreshing exuberance not usually found in independent horror shorts.

Directed by Adam Barnick, “Mainstream” is a freaky little exercise about high tech, painful experiments being performed upon a man strapped to a gurney-like bed. Inside a bright, sterilized environment bizarre medical experiments are performed upon him. He’s stuck with machine-driven syringes and cut open by a humanoid doctor figure whose back is connected to a long flesh-like cord. There’s not much more in terms of plot, but this masterfully- edited set piece makes for an intense viewing experience. Barnick’s bizarre ending also provides a memorably haunting coda. Smart special effects and sound design complement the efficient cinematography; its professional sheen is Sci-Fi Channel promo worthy.

“Disposer,” Directed by SB Furtney, is basically a one-note piece about a lonely guy looking for love on a phone sex line. He hooks up with a woman who has a rather extreme sex fetish. Not to give too much away, but her fetish involves a kitchen sink garbage disposal. Competently photographed, “Disposer” is just short enough to get by on its shocking imagery alone. It’s geared more for those who enjoy the sex and gore subgenre - where breasts smeared with blood are regarded as plot points (no pun intended).

In William Rot’s “The Journal of Edmond Deyers” a diabolical, dreadlocked serial killer is on the loose. He abducts a couple of women, straps them to chairs and does his eccentric serial killer thing. Like all movie serial killers, he’s not satisfied with simply torturing/killing, he’s also got to let a victim live for further “cat and mousing.” Concerned detectives are on the case, staking out the home of the former victim. Will the killer show up again, always moving two steps ahead of the crackerjack law enforcement? Odds are good he will. This convoluted detective story has distracting sound problems and a story line hampered by muddy plotting.

“Sawbones,” a short by filmmaker Brad Palmer, certainly gets points for originality. A military doctor serving during the Civil War slowly begins to lose his grip on reality and ends up making some big mistakes with a bone saw. Inventive photography and smart, minimal set choices give this period piece a tinge of authenticity. Palmer creates some wonderful little surreal moments including a Deliverance-like hand rising from a bloody pail. Solid acting and a quick pace make this one of the stronger shorts in this collection.

“Working Stiff” is Erik A. Candiani’s uneasy mix of office satire and EC horror. An office worker, unhappy with his mundane job, gets to live out a literal version of his hellish corporate existence. Some impressive make-up and efficient camera work highlight this longer than necessary piece. “Working Stiff” contains some inspired sequences, but is ultimately another one-note affair that takes far too long for the “twist” ending. Some great Creepshow-esque cartoon panels give the broadly comedic proceedings a nice visual punch, but it’s not an especially inspired work.

All of the films in “Blood Drive 2” prove superior in either technical or artistic arenas, but the true standout is “Gibbering Horror.” Steve Daniels’ film proudly wears its lovely 8mm film grain like a badge of honor. He’s one of the few short filmmakers to understand and embrace his limitations. He doesn’t try to coax dramatic performances out of novice actors (a true liability in productions such as these) or attempt to comment on or pay homage to classic genre favorites. Its claustrophobic imagery most closely resembles that of David Lynch’s “Eraserhead,” and truly channels the spirit of pioneer filmmaker Maya Deren. However the beautiful, haunting shot compositions, eerie score and artful editing put it in a class by itself.

The “Blood Drive 2” DVD is hosted by a personality named Mistress Juliya who, true to the scream queen archetype, possesses a lot of attitude but little charisma or sense of timing. Her snarky comments preceding the shorts add little value or insight and end up undermining the films themselves. It’s too bad that Fangoria couldn’t have gone the extra mile and had the actual filmmakers introduce their work. The various talented men behind the camera are MIA throughout the DVD. Though the packaging promises commentary with the “Blood Drive creators,” this boast is a bit misleading. Running commentary is provided by Fangoria editor Anthony Timpone and executive producer Tim Hinsley; the “creators” of the compilation. The extras include a Bruce Campbell interview; which at first appears to be a sad attempt to make the tape more attractive to horror fans. It’s actually a very funny, informative interview that mainly deals with Bruce’s exploits working in independent film. There’s also a behind-the-scenes look at the special effects studio KNB EFX that proves to be just as interesting. The sound and picture quality of the shorts varies between each piece. However the Dolby Digital track came in impressively clear during the interactive intros with Mistress Juliya and the two featurettes.

Ultimately, this is a very impressive package from Fangoria Magazine and Koch Vision. The eight shorts highlighted are a mixed bag, but all of them are superior examples of the short horror film genre. Hopefully the producers will re-think the snarky host position - and the exclusion of the filmmakers in the next edition.