RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Severance
Severance

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Severance (2007)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
65 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:84

Fresh:55

Rotten:29

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: A twisted and bloody spoof on office life, Severance nicely balances comedy and nasty horror.

Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Theatrical Release:Apr 20, 2007 Limited

Box Office: $66,719

Synopsis: A team-building exercise goes horribly wrong in this horror comedy, where HOSTEL meets OFFICE SPACE. A group of Brits (and a single, sexy American blonde played by Laura Harris of DEAD LIKE ME)... A team-building exercise goes horribly wrong in this horror comedy, where HOSTEL meets OFFICE SPACE. A group of Brits (and a single, sexy American blonde played by Laura Harris of DEAD LIKE ME) travels through the forests of Hungary to a remote lodge in order to mix business with pleasure. Led by their manager, Richard (Tim McInnerny, BLACKADDER), the co-workers soon realize that their trip is less about trust falls and rope courses than it is about death and destruction. Someone has targeted the team, and begins to take down the cubemates one by one. SEVERANCE is savvy and sly, but it never lets the comedy override the onscreen horror. Humor may temper the disturbing visuals, but this British comedy isn't SHAUN OF THE DEAD. It's far less flashy and a good deal darker, but it all works to great effect. This film is more in the spirit of DOG SOLDIERS, a movie with bleak gallows humor amid its blood and gore. In addition to its smart satire of office culture, SEVERANCE features stomach-churning scenes that rival the violence in films from the SAW trilogy. This film doesn't rely on A-list stars, with McInnerny vying with Harris and Toby Stephens (DIE ANOTHER DAY) for the position of most recognizable actor. But regardless of its lack of marquee talent, SEVERANCE ably mixes guts and giggles to create an entertaining and gruesome film. [More]

Starring: Danny Dyer, Laura Harris, Tim McInnerny, Toby Stephens

Starring: Danny Dyer, Laura Harris, Tim McInnerny, Toby Stephens, Claudie Blakely, David Gilliam, Andy Nyman, Babou Ceesay

Director: Christopher Smith

Director: Christopher Smith
Screenwriter: James Moran, Christopher Smith
Producer: Jason Newmark
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    First Three Minutes
    >
    Christopher Smith & Laura Harris
    >
1 - 3 of 3

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Nov 30, 1999

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 2
  • Dual Layer
  • Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Subtitles - English
 
 
 
 

Reviews for Severance

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Splatter comedy meets comic splatter in this brash crossover film that puts seven white-collar workers in the scary wilds of Hungary where psycho killer Russian ex-military lurk.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
06/01/07
Bill Stamets
Bill Stamets
Chicago Sun-Times

The cast shows spark and gusto, especially Laura Harris as a vulnerable yet intrepid survivor type and Danny Dyer as a bent druggie who straightens out long enough to fight back.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
06/08/07
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A The Office-style comedy of corporate manners crossed with a Friday the 13th-style slasher movie, with encoded satire on U.S./British foreign policy and birds coming home to roost.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
02/27/07
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Apollo Guide

This is a severance package that may kill you... we nearly died laughing.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
05/31/07
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Full of energy and appealing recklessness even when the jokes are obvious, the movie isn't so tedious as suggested by its opening scene -- big-breasted women running in abject terror from men with guns.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/30/07
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

This is the first shocker in ages where you actually care about what happens to the victims.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
09/16/06
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

...it's not difficult at all to imagine audiences going crazy over some of this stuff (the "bear trap" sequence is an obvious highlight).

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
09/19/06
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

A long way from formula slasher fare.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/16/06
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety

[Inserts] the funniest bits of British comedy into the type of gory slasher flick that will make even the most jaded horror fan giddy.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
05/18/07
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

You'll need a strong stomach, but director Christopher Smith mixes lots of laughs into the gore. Despite its predictable finish, Severance is bloody good fun.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
05/22/07
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

For fans of the genre, this is the film of the year.

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
06/08/07
Eric Lurio
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette

Will surely make you laugh, but the guffaws are few and far between. That's hardly a caveat when you consider the statement made here, though...

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
07/13/07
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

In the sea of blood and gore rolling down theatre aisles nowadays, this cheeky, scary horror farce proves that the comic slasher movie isn't dead yet.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
05/17/07
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
05/19/07
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
Hollywood.com

The result is a cathartic hoot, relishing its own carefully doled out carnage.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
08/11/07
Gianni Truzzi
Gianni Truzzi
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It does possess an enjoyably English gallows humor along with a strong visual style and a knack for making its bloody mayhem both creepy and droll.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
05/29/07
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

Witty slasher pic about weapons dealers who are hoist with their own petard.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
03/28/07
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

For decades horny teens have been the slasher movie's victims of choice, but this darkly funny British import finds more deserving targets: the sales team of an international weapons manufacturer.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/01/07
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader

Christopher Smith's Severance is an odd but entirely welcome duck: a horror spoof that strays into zones of political and ethical consequence, without ever becoming mired in them.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
05/17/07
Jan Stuart
Jan Stuart
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Severance turns a corporate retreat in a Hungarian forest into a bloody game of whack-a-mole. (Team building and paintballing are so last year.)

comment Comment
05/18/07
Jeannette Catsoulis
Jeannette Catsoulis
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

Latest News for Severance

September 18, 2007: RT on DVD: It's Death Proof Time!
If you've been itching for a good rental, you're in luck -- even the gambles this week are near Fresh on the Tomatometer! Tarantino fans already know to look for his Death Proof... More...

September 13, 2007: A comical cautionary tale which ought to trigger a little paranoia in the souls of any advocates of the Military-Industrial Complex. Opens in new window
More...

May 17, 2007: Critical Consensus: Third Time's Not the Charm for "Shrek"
America is going green this week: "Shrek the Third" (featuring the voices of Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and Antonio Banderas) is our single new wide release. Critics... More...

April 28, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
66% 66% Public Enemies
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
75% 75% Julie & Julia
32% 32% Terminator Salvation

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
78% 78% The Hangover
49% 49% Taking Woodstock
26% 26% The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard
47% 47% The Girl From Monaco

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

New clips from the detective reboot!

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

Check out the brand new trailer now!

Awards Tour

Awards Tour

Keep up with latest nominations and awards!

Friday Harvest

Friday Harvest

This week's best pics, vids, and posters!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
  • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
1
  • How Avatar Happened: The Path to Innovation Source: CinemaBlend.com
19
  • Rob Marshall Says Pirates 4 Is Still a Maybe Source: ComingSoon.net
32
  • ET Teases Iron Man 2 Teaser Source: Collider.com
28
  • Tobey Maguire Refutes Hobbit Rumors Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • Prince of Persia Featurette Posted Source: Yahoo! Movies
4
  • Trailer Bulletin: Robin Hood Source: ComingSoon.net
61
  • Mel Gibson Plans a Mexican Vacation Source: Variety
8
  • New Iron Man 2 Clue Posted Source: Screen Rant
26
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: Avatar Is Certified Fresh
169
  • Awards Tour 2009: Golden Globe Noms Here!
145
  • Total Recall: James Cameron Movies
85
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Girlpower Rules Again with Princess at #1
70
  • Awards Tour 2009: Inglourious Basterds Lead Critics Choice Noms
44
  • Awards Tour 2009: SAG Nominations Are In!
39
  • Awards Tour 2009: Avatar Best Picture at NYFCO!
38
  • Awards Tour 2009: The Hurt Locker Dominates Boston Society of Film Critics
18
  • Awards Tour 2009: LAFCA: The Hurt Locker Tops List
12
  • Weekly Ketchup: Bryan Singer Teaches X-Men: First Class
11
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
24
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Severance at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Severance at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
MSN's Year in Review
MSN's Year in Review External Link

Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.

Moviefone's Year End Movie Poll
Moviefone's Year End Movie Poll External Link

What were your favorites? Least favorites? The funniest and scariest? Moviefone wants to know!

Tarantino's Characters
Tarantino's Characters External Link

Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.

Top 10 Movies of 2009
Top 10 Movies of 2009 External Link

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Top 20 of the Decade
Top 20 of the Decade External Link

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.