Severance (2006)

Wow! Such a good movie.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Heading out into the wilderness, members of a corporate team- building retreat in the forest come across a group of deranged hillsmen who doesn't take kindly to their being there and begin to kill them off, forcing the group to work together to get out alive.This here was quite the fun and enjoyable slasher effort. One of the main positives here is the fact that there's plenty of spectacular action throughout here that generates a huge amount of interest here with this one having some absolutely crazy scenes here. The first of the original scenes here is the revelation sequence in black-and- white where they tell of the inmates' revolt and overthrow the society is quite fun, and that carries off into the big paintball battle here which is quite enjoyable with the fine amount of gun-play action and diving amongst the trees which in fact sets up the greatest part of the film where they realize they're being stalked by the killer in the woods when they come face-to-face with the traps set up around them. That leads into the film's best part here as the remaining parts of the film include plenty of utterly fantastic stalking and action scenes throughout the final half which gives that part of the film quite the impressive pacing. This comes into play here with the dynamic crash that strands them in the woods and leads to some great stalking, the house barricading where they learn the killer can access them in the underground tunnels which features some spectacular encounters in the rooms inside which carry on into the great chases at the secluded lodge and finally into the abandoned town that offers up plenty of fun as the battle with the flamethrower and the brawling gives this the kind of action that really works here. Alongside the really fun and graphic gore from the kills and the chilling forest setting, these here give this one quite the grand amount of positives as there's not a lot of flaws here. Strangely, this one was marketed as a horror-comedy, and it wasn't that funny at all. In fact, remove one character completely and this could've easily been a straightforward slasher with a few brief moments of levity to break up the tension. This one works so well as a brutal, intense slasher that not only does it highlight how lame that really is it feels out-of-place here since the final half is played deadly serious. A lot of the jokes and gags are rather weak and somewhat stupid, as there's the insipid inserts of the one member jumping around on the diving board a running gag at the dinner table shouldn't have been there. Just, as a fall-down funny horror-comedy, it wasn't all that great, even though some of it was pretty funny. Likewise, the other flaw here is the group's motivation for killing which seems like a joke motivation for starting a rampage and doesn't seem like a truly plausible explanation for anything to occur. All together these here hold this one down slightly against the positives.Rated R: Extreme Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity and drug use.

Possibly thinking of "Shaun of The Dead", which is truly one of the kind, I finished this film silent with disappointment. A good mix of horror and comedy, for cry out loud! There are indeed a few funny scenes, especially at the beginning, and that's it. Humour never finds its way into the core story, and barely on the periphery. Some viewers may find some crude murders made fun of to be their idea of being funny. Imagine a man hung up-side-down gets slashed slowly and cruelly until his head is covered by the stream of his own blood, with cheerful music in the background. On the horror side, this film is a lot more successful than the comical one. When one must blend a sense of humour to a horrific situation, the story must be satirical, creative, and sharp as Hell. This film is not anywhere near that mark. Usually the little British films do very well in telling a good, quiet story that means a lot more. Christopher Smith should learn from those films. Before "Shaun of The Dead", there have been the likes of "An American Werewolf In London" and "Tremors" to look up to. Even New Zealand's "Black Sheep", which was released in the same year, has a few valuable lessons to offer. People who like this film seem to be anti-establishment at the outset. Killing a snobbish English person seems the delight of their day. So, keep hitting a class you so dislike, a business you so hate, and a country you so mock, it could be funny in some dry lands.

Severance is a gory film with some fairly intense horror but it's also very funny. The actors which include Toby Stephens, Laura Harris, Danny Dyer and Tim Mcinnerny all seem to be enjoying themselves playing memorable roles as work colleagues who find themselves in a desperate situation. This film is a rare comedy/ horror that works as both and can join Shaun of the Dead, Evil Dead 2 and American Werewolf in London for successfully managing to both scare and be funny. Severance is entertaining from beginning to end and very rewatchable.An all-round stimulating thrill ride: gore, thrills, suspense, "whodunnit", laughs and fine acting from all the cast. A rare movie that actually manages to keep its audience interested throughout its duration. You really can't blink or you may miss a laugh or scare! A solid popcorn flick, best watched late at night, lights down.You shall be Entertained!

A team-building weekend in the mountains of Eastern Europe goes horribly wrong for the sales division of the multi-national weapons company Palisade Defence.They become the victims of a group of crazed killers who will stop at nothing to see them dead.....By any standards,this movie is a horror, but my gosh, its laugh out loud funny from beginning to end, and for all the right reasons.Smith has assembled a wonderful cast, and the characters they portray are the stereotypical people you see everyday at work. And this makes the movie all the more worthwhile.Half of the crew are abhorrent, and the other half you root for, so there's no prizes for guessing who survives, it's pretty clear from the beginning who is going to live.While its a funny movie, it's still pretty creepy in places, and the gore is brutal, but used sparingly, which comes as a refreshing surprise.Dyer is excellent, although he plays the same character in literally everything he does, his presence is wonderful in this, and complements the others skills.The rest of the cast are good also, McInnery is wonderful as the jobs worth team leader, and Harris as the girl power stereotype shines to.Its a wonderful alternative to all the gorenography that was released around the same time, and proves that Smith was no one hit wonder with Creep.