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Movies / On DVD / Severance
Severance

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Severance (2007)

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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

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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

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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The strong cast of somewhat familiar faces meshes well, and the film's first half contains some wonderful byplay.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/24/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Like a special episode of 'The Office,' scripted by Clive Barker.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
06/19/07
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

A motley group of employees from an international weapons company find themselves hilariously at the business end of their own products in Christopher Smith's razor-sharp comedy horror film.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
09/13/06
Ray Bennett
Ray Bennett
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The pacing is uneven, leading to a bumpy road where laughter and gore sometimes complement each other and sometimes are at odds. This makes Severance more of a mixed bag than an unqualified success.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
05/17/07
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

So there's still a smart office-horror movie left to be made. In the meantime, Severance is just another paycheck.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
06/08/07
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is being billed as 'Deliverance meets The Office' -- a tellingly misleading description.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
09/16/06
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]

Severance is a bit of British fear-mongering that pulls you in with a nifty mix of black humour and white-knuckle scares.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/01/07
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

For the most part, the scary parts are the scary parts, the funny parts are the funny parts, and never the twain meet.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment Comment
09/12/07
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

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

The Brits have been coming up with some creative horror films, both serious and humorous. Severance continues this push of the creative.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
06/01/07
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

An entertaining mix of raucous humour and outrageous gore. Plus an intriguingly strong (and unsubtle) political message.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
09/16/06
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Sitting through its increasingly sluggish pace feels like, well, work.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/03/07
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

Every clash of tones that worked in Shaun of the Dead goes haywire here.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
05/31/07
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

[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

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]

A long way from formula slasher fare.

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

The most outrageous and exhilarating moments of Severance zip by like Apocalypto on whippets, gory but hilarious.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
05/16/07
Jurgen Fauth
Jurgen Fauth
About.com

If anyone involved in this sloppy, inexplicable slasher flick had a notion of what they were doing or why, they've kept it to themselves.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
04/20/07
Bruce Feld
Bruce Feld
Film Journal International

Blending fierce horror and sly humour, Christopher Smith’s confident follow-up to the more generic Creep marks a quantum leap forward for the young British filmmaker.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
09/16/06
Nigel Floyd
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
 
 
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