Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1502 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-01-08
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Reviews
If a weekend of team building exercises in the woods sounds like your personal idea of torture, spare a thought for the poor pen pushers of Severance. As if the obligatory paintball and trust exercises weren’t enough, there’s a killer lurking outside their cabin--a killer holding a grudge against the unsuspecting employees of Palisade Defense...

Severance is one of the best British horror movies to come out of the last couple of years. It’s smarter than it has any right to be; screenwriter James Moran neatly sidesteps the numerous clichés littering the genre, balancing eye-watering gore with almost surreal humour, while Creep helmer Chris Smith’s assured direction sells even the daftest (and cruellest) moments.

Smith also draws great performances from a talented cast, including Dead Like Me’s Laura Harris, Black Adder’s Darling Tim McInnerny, and Danny Dyer of Mean Machine and The Football Factory.

Horror fans will lap this up; those lacking an iron stomach might watch some scenes from behind laced fingers, but will appreciate the fast-paced action and black humour nonetheless.--Sarah Dobbs

Synopsis
Seven colleagues from Palisade Defence embark on a team-building weekend away in Hungary only to find their holiday being sabotaged by a mysterious enemy. A motley group of employees from the company find themselves abandoned in a spooky forest when their coach driver refuses to continue to their destination. The group includes sycophantic manager Richard (Tim McInnerny, Darling in BLACKADDER), driven supervisor Maggie (Laura Harris, 24), and drug-taking joker Steve (Danny Dyer, THE BUSINESS). The septet quickly get lost. After taking some Mexican magic mushrooms, Steve swears that a balaclava-clad man crept up on him. Maggie dismisses Steve's alarm as a side-effect of the hallucinogenic drugs. The group come across an unwelcoming concrete building and decide to set up base there. When one of the group discovers a room filled with files in Russian and stamped with a logo similar to Palisade's, a number of conspiracy theories are suggested. When members of the group start being tracked down by an enemy intent on violence, the group realise that one of the theories may not be so ludicrous. The first half of SEVERANCE is played as a straight comedy, making an initial impression that the film is trying to be a holiday special of THE OFFICE, albeit with broader characterisation. Much like HOSTEL, the film switches half way through and becomes a bloody and gory horror film. Christopher Smith--who made the terrifying CREEP--has made a film that is not only packed full of humour but also features some inventively nasty scenes of bloodshed.

Customer Reviews

Fails to deliverance
MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!
I'd heard such great things about this film, that I was really looking forward to it. It certainly has enough blood and guts to satisfy most gore hounds, and it is quite funny in parts, but there are reasons why it didnt quite cut the mustard for me.
Mainly this was because I didnt really care what happened to any of the characters. I thought they were all underwritten and underdeveloped. The film could have done with another half an hour to flesh them out a little. I know its only a horror/comedy film, but in the best in either genre, you do genuinly care about the main protagonists.
Secondly, the threat from the masked soldiers was also a bit of a let down. Okay, during an entertaining bit round the kitchen table, where the group swap urban legends with eachother, the possibility of a vendetta against the arms manufacturers is alluded to, and this turns out to be the case, but when we do get to meet the enemy, they really are a one dimensional bunch of sadistic thugs and rapists. Very poorly done, in my opinion.
To sum up, an entertaining enough hour and a half,but I dont think I'll be rushing to watch it again in the forseeable future. A dissapointing 3 out of 5

Snappy horror (lite)
This is billed in the same category as 'Shaun of the Dead', which to me is an mistake. Although there are a couple for laughs in the film, it's not remotely a comedy. In fact it's a straightforward old fashioned horror film. The modern horror fan expects much more gore than is on offer here, so I expect they've marketed it as a comedy to separate it from it's ultra-gory stable mates.

I really enjoyed it, the tension builds nicely and you really get behind your favourite characters (Danny Dyer and Laura Harris basically). It doesn't really hold up to much analysis but it's fast paced with a twist.

On a side note doesn't Laura Harris look like a combination of Kirsten Dunst and Suzanne out of Hear'say - we spent the first 20 mins of the film trying to place her!

Anyway - well worth a look.

Team building in Hungary or is it Romania or maybe Slovakia?
This film is superb, it's got a bit of everything tension, thrills, laughs, a little bit of romance, explosions, fights, armed combat and a little bit of gore too!!

This is a great black comedy/thriller/horror, the humour is spot on, the entire cast are excellent, there's a nice bit of tension, a great atmosphere both of which are assisted by some great music to set the tone perfectly.

What starts off as a light hearted comedy about a group of office workers going on a team building exercise, turns into anything but this, it could have had alot more gore than it has, but it's all done for fun in the end, who'll survive, if anyone?, will anyone get the sack or will they be going home in a bodybag?, you'll have to watch and see, I can't wait to watch it again, British humour at it's best, for me it's right up there with Shaun of the dead.