Critic Reviews
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Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle
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.
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Tom Long, Detroit News
For the odd at heart, it will be worth the wait.
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Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
It is wonderfully wry, and contains some great gags.
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Michael Booth, Denver Post
So there's still a smart office-horror movie left to be made. In the meantime, Severance is just another paycheck.
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Rob Salem, Toronto Star
Like Shaun of the Dead, the movie enthusiastically embraces all the grotesque clichés we love and have come to expect from the form -- turning several on their ear.
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John Hartl, Seattle Times
At heart, it's a sophisticated variation on Friday the 13th, a splatter film with a slightly more interesting collection of targets.
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Steve Newton, Georgia Straight
Discriminating horror fans should also note that it's the most exhilarating fright flick to hit theatres since last year's The Descent.
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Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Bloody horror-comedy takes aim at office politics.
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Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper
Severance is a story of terrible things that couldn't have happened to funnier people.
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David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com
Sitting through its increasingly sluggish pace feels like, well, work.
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Sean Axmaker, MSN.com
Director/co-writer Christopher Smith puts an inventive spin on a familiar hunt-and-kill horror genre and fills the edges with sardonic humor and fantasy visions.
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Kam Williams, NewsBlaze
A comical cautionary tale which ought to trigger a little paranoia in the souls of any advocates of the Military-Industrial Complex.
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Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
For the most part, the scary parts are the scary parts, the funny parts are the funny parts, and never the twain meet.
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Gianni Truzzi, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The result is a cathartic hoot, relishing its own carefully doled out carnage.
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Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
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...
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Jason Gorber, Film Scouts
A slasher film with a brain, cleverly constructed with strong performances and storyline....The Office meets Deliverance....
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John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Like a special episode of 'The Office,' scripted by Clive Barker.
Read all 17 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Enjoyable horror film with a good cast, Severance is an interesting horror comedy that though bizarre is very well done. As a low-budget horror comedy outing, Severance is an impressive film that is original and lots of fun from start to finish. The film is not flawless of course, and… More
Enjoyable horror film with a good cast, Severance is an interesting horror comedy that though bizarre is very well done. As a low-budget horror comedy outing, Severance is an impressive film that is original and lots of fun from start to finish. The film is not flawless of course, and the film at times struggles in delivering the material, however for the most part, director Christopher Smith delivers a fun film. I found the plot for this film to be very original, and that Christopher Smith was able to deliver good funny moments, and still have enough momentum to deliver shocking moments.
Severance is a breath of fresh air in the horror genre. It's one of those rare gems that you need to watch if you're a Horror buff. In this one, its riddled with traditional Horror Clichés yet you don't seem to care because the film is so good and so much fun. If you haven't seen this film, do yourself a favour and watch, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Though it's not perfect, Severance is a good time and will definitely please fans of other recent horror comedies. This is a very well acted film with memorable moments and if you enjoy a bloody, gory good time, then this one is definitely worth your time. Christopher Smith is a good director and he directs yet another worthy film with this intriguing horror comedy.
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<i>"Another bloody office outing."</i>
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 when they become the victims of a group of crazed killers who will… More
<i>"Another bloody office outing."</i>
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 when they become the victims of a group of crazed killers who will stop at nothing to see them dead.
<center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center>
A group of white-collar weapons manufacturers go on a "team-building" retreat in Hungary. After their driver abandons them in the middle of the woods, they find a run-down lodge that they assume is their destination. Unfortunately for them, there's something seriously ticked-off hanging out in the woods, ready to pick them off. Holy moly! "Severance" is where it's at. I feel like this is the movie that Eli Roth tried to make with "Cabin Fever" and "Hostel," but didn't quite nail it. It's outrageously funny and ridiculously gory. The thing about this one is that it's a horror/comedy that actually tries to be as scary as it is funny, and it mostly succeeds. It successfully uses 70s and 80s horror movie clichés, yet pokes fun at them at the same time. That makes it a rare gem, in my book. The ensemble cast works well together. American Laura Harris manages to fit in well with her British costars, and Danny Dyer is simultaneously obnoxious and charming as the office flunky. This one's a winner all the way around, and I'm sure most genre fans will find something they like in this one.
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Some employees of an international arms dealer go out into the Hungarian wildeness for a weekend company retreat, only to find themselves menaced by a group of militants who don't like having them around their territory in this modestly budgeted dark comedy/horror film from… More
Some employees of an international arms dealer go out into the Hungarian wildeness for a weekend company retreat, only to find themselves menaced by a group of militants who don't like having them around their territory in this modestly budgeted dark comedy/horror film from Christopher Smith, who also directed Black Death (with Sean Bean).
The film takes the American slasher formula, and plays with it a bit by adding some wry British humor with a dark edge, as well as starting things off in medias res and not completely following convention. Overall, it's not too bad. It's not the best thing in the world, but it is pretty fun and entertaining.
The cast seem to get along with each other quite well, and there's a great sense that this film isn't meant to be taken too sweriously, and that it was probably really fun to make. The make up and effects are well done, and there's some pretty good kill scenes, though in the story department it's a little forgettable and could have been beefed up more.
If you like quirky takes on genre movies, a la Shaun of the Dead, then you'll probably get some enjoyment out of this. It's a nice little take on a well worn genre.
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A wild and enjoyable slasher film. A group of office workers are in Europe for a meeting with arms dealers, when they come across a tree in the road, they get off the bus and the driver leaves them in the middle of no where, they think they will hike to a hostel, wrong, they start… More
A wild and enjoyable slasher film. A group of office workers are in Europe for a meeting with arms dealers, when they come across a tree in the road, they get off the bus and the driver leaves them in the middle of no where, they think they will hike to a hostel, wrong, they start being eliminated one by one. My first 5 Star Slasher film.
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A very funny comedy horror. Danny Dyer was brilliantly cast!
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Its a really good black comedy it kept me entertained and really worth a watch, its got great humour and is really good the way its written and portrayed really worth a watch
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A group of office workers on a team building exercise in the Hungarian woods get lost and end up being stalked by a band of militaristic psychopaths. This British horror comedy has one flaw, but unfortunately, it's a fatal one. It's not that funny. Danny Dyer has a… More
A group of office workers on a team building exercise in the Hungarian woods get lost and end up being stalked by a band of militaristic psychopaths. This British horror comedy has one flaw, but unfortunately, it's a fatal one. It's not that funny. Danny Dyer has a smattering of mildly amusing lines, but otherwise it's just a gory slasher flick, and as such is pretty much plotless, and has little in the way of character development. If anything, the horror side of things is TOO successful. The effects are very good, but the effect is that it's a bit too gruesome to be funny because it's TOO realistic. Evil Dead 2 and Ichi were funny because they were so over the top, and Saun had a tremendously witty script. This is a half way house that can't quite make up it's mind what it's meant to be. Well executed, but ultimately just not funny enough to be successful as a comedy and too lacking in plot to be successful as a thriller.
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Rather poor, not up to how I expected. Wasn't particularly scary, overtly gross (in a mediocre way) and not funny - I never enjoyed The Office style of humour.
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"Another bloody office outing."
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Funny with a hint of hostel but not as gory as you might think.
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A modern horror that delivers all of its promotional promises. This great lil flick builds a consistent world of mishaps and paranoia. Another reason to: Get away from that Saw DVD you poor ignorants!!!!
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This film started out very promising. It has a humouous quality that worked well in several scenes and there were some great characters.
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This UK horror film is like a dangerously cat and mouse in the mountain of Eastern Europe, a bit funny at beginning before it happened to the group found out their holiday hideaway is the subject of an urban legend has become scary. (Disappointed it has no English subtitles)
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This movie has some amazingly effective campy moments. When you start the film it looks like a set up for a very typical horror movie, but it really works at bringing in the humor. Some of it is in your face and some actually quite subtle. I wish they would have pushed it a little… More
This movie has some amazingly effective campy moments. When you start the film it looks like a set up for a very typical horror movie, but it really works at bringing in the humor. Some of it is in your face and some actually quite subtle. I wish they would have pushed it a little harder though. There were times that I was actually in tears I was laughing so hard, but they kind of failed to bring it home. PS-If you like gory...this movie goes for it, but so over the top that it will have you laughing out loud not gagging. Definitely worth a rental.
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Well done British horror/action/comedy and a solid follow-up to Smith's first film, Creep. What I enjoyed about it most is that this is NOT a spoof like so many made today but a genuinely funny horror movie.
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Enjoyable splatter comedy with some fun performances, but never blossoms into the satire of corporate culture that it could have become.
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A great low budget UK comedy/ horror. If you liked Shaun of the Dead you should like this.
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It was funny, gory, nasty, realistic, and silly all wrapped up together. It's a cross-genre horror-comedy classic.
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Steve: Shit, I've left Gordon's foot on the coach... sorry mate.
A good blend of many styles of Horror and Comedy.
A basic way to relate the premise is; what if the cast of 'The Office' (the UK version) were to put into a survival horror situation.
The movie… More
Steve: Shit, I've left Gordon's foot on the coach... sorry mate.
A good blend of many styles of Horror and Comedy.
A basic way to relate the premise is; what if the cast of 'The Office' (the UK version) were to put into a survival horror situation.
The movie pays homage to a few different categories of horror including slasher, survival (a group being trapped in the woods), and the currently popular torture horror. On these parts of the movie, a good job is done at building the suspense along with giving you the characters, all of which are cliche, which is appropriate for the movie.
Then there is the comic half which blends general humor, with over-the-top satire, and dry british humor that amuses me a lot.
This probably wont gain the cult appeal of Shaun of the Dead, but it is still well done, and entertaining.
There are very funny parts in this movie, that can appeal to everyone, as well as a lot of good horror elements, including actual suspense (opposed to pg-13 suspense) and plenty of gore for fans of that, even a little bit of gratuitous nudity. Something for the whole family to enjoy.
Richard: There are no bears in Hungary. Unless we've crossed the border into Romania, in which case there ARE bears. If we're in Serbia, then... I don't know.
Harris: That's really interesting, Richard. Tell me something: are bears required to stop at borders? Is there some sort of, I don't know, passport control for bears?
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This movie was fantastic. Chris Smith is right to be as proud of it as he is. It's one of those rare films that does the horror and comedy equally well. Like Shaun of the Dead, but more on the horror side. The characters in this are all really real and believable, which seems to… More
This movie was fantastic. Chris Smith is right to be as proud of it as he is. It's one of those rare films that does the horror and comedy equally well. Like Shaun of the Dead, but more on the horror side. The characters in this are all really real and believable, which seems to make you more invested in what happens to them. Realistically motivated villains are few and far between as well, so extra props to the filmmakers. I got to meet them and they're really nice. This is not a movie to miss.
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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