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.
Severance (2007)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
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
Get This Movie
Reviews for Severance
If you can handle the warts-and-all filmmaking, Severance is definitely worth your time, if not your $9.50. In other words, wait a few months and definitely check it out as a rental.
The strong cast of somewhat familiar faces meshes well, and the film's first half contains some wonderful byplay.
They say, "Dying is easy, comedy is hard," but this cheeky gore fest proves that balancing the two is the trickiest act of all.
... in the final third, the humor peels away, leaving us with a fairly standard-issue fright fest.
It's both very funny and very scary, and never descends to the level of spoof.
The irony is thick, and the deaths are brutal, as horror and humor are spliced with social commentary. The British film sends up scary movies while building characters whose fates matter to the audience.
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.
A Cold War postmortem that shades the triumph of the West with the bloody mess we seem to have inherited.
corporate negligence works for a few laughs, but cuts out way too early for anything more
Disappointingly, Severance strays way too soon into serviceable run-around-screaming scenes, when what we really want are the banal showdowns familiar to fans of The Office.
It's remarkable how much just a modicum of wit can spice up the standard backwoods slice-and-dice. Scaring people with a horror film is easy; entertaining them takes a little skill.
[Inserts] the funniest bits of British comedy into the type of gory slasher flick that will make even the most jaded horror fan giddy.
This failed attempt at a horror comedy is one of those rare movies with virtually nothing to recommend it. I only note it here as a consumer service for those who might be misled into expecting it to be scary or funny, or both. It's not.
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.)
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.
Like a lesser '80s slasher movie, Severance is fine while it lasts, and forgettable once it's over.
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.
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. ![]()
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 ![]()
More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 82% 82% | Paranormal Activity |
| 58% 58% | 9 |
| 44% 44% | Jennifer's Body |
| 58% 58% | A Perfect Getaway |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

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

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

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



