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''Severance'' is a 2006
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
horror film co-written and directed by Christopher Smith. Co-written with James Moran, it stars
Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'', with other notable roles as Mick Carter in EastEnders, Billy the Limpet in '' Mean Machine'' and as Tommy Johns ...
and
Laura Harris Laura Harris is a Canadian actress. Early life Harris is the daughter of schoolteachers. She began acting in radio dramas and animation series when she was five years old. As a child Harris was educated at Crofton House School and attended c ...
. The film tells a story of group of British and Canadian co-workers who go to a remote mountain forest in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, where they become victims of murderous attacks by a group of
poachers Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
. ''Severance'' received mostly positive reviews. In 2009, media interest in the film was revived following the alleged
copycat Copycat refers to a person who copies some aspect of some thing or somebody else. Copycat may also refer to: Intellectual property rights * Copyright infringement, use of another’s ideas or words without permission * Patent infringement, a v ...
murder of a UK teenager. ''The article contains relevant
Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
video.''


Plot

A man named George and two women are running through the woods. The women fall into a large pit trap while George is caught by a
snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle f ...
. As he hangs helplessly, a masked
poacher Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
approaches and disembowels him with a knife. Some days prior, the European Sales division of Palisade Defence military arms corporation are on a bus to a team-building weekend at a lodge in the
Mátra The Mátra ( sk, Matra) is a mountain range in northern Hungary, between the towns Gyöngyös and Eger. The country's highest peak, Kékestető (1014 m), belongs to this mountain range. The Mátra is part of the North Hungarian Mountains ...
Mountains of
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
. When a fallen tree blocking the road halts the bus's progress, the driver refuses to take a dirt road through the woods and, after an argument, drives off, leaving the group to walk the remaining distance to the lodge. The lodge turns out to be old and in serious disrepair, but the manager, Richard, convinces them to enter. Inside, they discover a file cabinet full of cryptic Palisade documents, written in Russian. This leads Harris to relate a story he'd heard about the lodge: the lodge was previously a mental institution, and in the early 20th century a Palisade-made
nerve gas Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that ...
was used to clear it out after the inmates took over. Jill responds with the story she'd heard: the lodge was a "reeducation center" for Russian war criminals and poachers, and after an escape a Palisade-made nerve gas was used to clear escapees out of nearby buildings. Both mention a lone survivor who swore revenge on Palisade. Steve starts to tell his own story about the lodge's past as a clinic staffed by busty nurses when he finds a human tooth in the meat pie the group is eating for dinner. Chastising Gordon for serving a pie he just found in the kitchen, everyone goes to bed. That night Jill sees someone looking into the lodge from the trees. Though nobody is found outside, everyone but Richard agrees that they should leave the lodge. The next morning Richard grudgingly sends Harris and Jill to the top of the hill to call the bus driver back. Reaching the hill, the two find the bus abandoned and the driver dead in a nearby creek. Back at the lodge, Gordon steps into a bear trap. After several failed attempts by Steve and Billy to pry the trap open, Gordon's left leg is cut through completely under the knee. Harris and Jill arrive in the bus, load everyone in and head back for town. On the way, a
spike strip A spike strip (spike belt, traffic spikes, tire shredders, stingers, stop sticks, Stinger or formally known as a tire deflation device) is a device or incident weapon used to impede or stop the movement of wheeled vehicles by puncturing their ti ...
is thrown in front of the bus, which causes it to crash. Harris is thrown clear of the bus in the crash, and is decapitated by a masked poacher with a
machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
. Jill is captured and tied to a tree, gagged, doused with gasoline, and burned alive. The rest discover Harris's body, prompting them to head back to the lodge for the night. Gordon later gets captured. Discovering a newly opened door, the four head into the basement which leads to an underground prison. Through one door, they find the now-dead Gordon with the Palisade logo carved into his torso, and a poacher who fires a shotgun at them. They hide in a nearby cell, where Billy dies from a chest wound. Richard escapes out the back into the woods. While trying to kill the poacher, Maggie falls through the rickety floor. The poacher turns around and takes aim at Maggie, but Steve saves her by killing the attacker. Maggie takes the poacher’s shotgun and shoots him in the head. Believing they are safe, Maggie and Steve exit the lodge, but discover several more armed, Russian-speaking poachers, awaiting them outside. The two run into the woods and encounter Richard, who has stepped on a Palisade-made
land mine A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
and cannot move without detonating it. Richard guides Maggie and Steve through the minefield. Meanwhile, the poachers use a fallen branch to pass over the minefield and torment Richard with insults and stones. Accepting his situation, Richard does his best to save the others and steps off the mine, killing himself as well as two of the poachers. Steve and Maggie come to another building, the ''real'' Palisade lodge. Inside, they find their boss George, who is partying with two escorts Steve ordered earlier. George brings out a prototype missile launcher and fires it at the approaching poachers, but the missile locks on to a passing commercial jet instead, destroying it. The five run into the woods, leading to the events shown in the beginning of the film. Maggie and Steve are left to fight the poachers with what they have at hand. At one point, Maggie breaks her leg, but is saved when one of the escorts, rescued by Steve, arrives and shoots their attacker. Steve, Maggie and the escorts make it to a rowboat, and as they paddle off to safety Steve jokingly quips, " Foursome?"


Cast

*
Laura Harris Laura Harris is a Canadian actress. Early life Harris is the daughter of schoolteachers. She began acting in radio dramas and animation series when she was five years old. As a child Harris was educated at Crofton House School and attended c ...
as Maggie *
Claudie Blakley Claudie Blakley (born 4 January 1974) is an English actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. In 1998, she won the Ian Charleson Award for her performance in ''The Seagull'' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. She is ...
as Jill *
Toby Stephens Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for th ...
as Harris *
Andy Nyman Andrew Nyman (born 13 April 1966) is an English actor, director, writer and magician. Early life and career Nyman was born on 13 April 1966 in Leicester, Leicestershire. His first noteworthy performance was in 2000 as Keith Whitehead in '' Dead ...
as Gordon * Babou Ceesay as Billy *
Tim McInnerny Tim McInnerny ( ; born 18 September 1956) is an English actor. He is known for his many roles on stage and television, including as Lord Percy Percy and Captain Darling in the 1980s British sitcom ''Blackadder''. Early life McInnerny was bor ...
as Richard *
Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'', with other notable roles as Mick Carter in EastEnders, Billy the Limpet in '' Mean Machine'' and as Tommy Johns ...
as Steve *David Gilliam as George *Juli Drajkó as Olga *Judit Viktor as Nadia *Sándor Boros as Coach Driver


Release


Home video

''Severance'' was released in the United Kingdom on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
by
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...
on 8 January 2007. In the United States it was released on DVD by
Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Ma ...
on 27 September 2007. ''Severance'' has also been released on DVD in Australia by
Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...
, in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
by Fox Pathé Europa, in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
by Splendid Film and in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
by Deltamac.


Reception

''Severance'' received generally favorable reviews. The film holds an approval rating of 64% on the film critic site
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The consensus reads: "A twisted and bloody spoof on office life, ''Severance'' nicely balances comedy and nasty horror." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film holds a score of 62 out of 100 sampled from 23 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' commended Smith's "mischievous blending f''
The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...
'' with '' Friday the 13th''", awarding the film three stars out of four.
Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' gave not such a positive review, saying, "It is being billed as ''
Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...
'' meets ''The Office'' – a tellingly misleading description," giving the film only two out of five stars. In 2012, ''
Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched ...
'' ranked it as the 36th best independent horror film of all time.


Connections

Mentioned in the film, the CRM-114 land mine is a reference to the CRM-114 radio discriminator in ''
Dr. Strangelove ''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'', known simply and more commonly as ''Dr. Strangelove'', is a 1964 black comedy film that satirizes the Cold War fears of a nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and t ...
''. ''Severance'' and ''Dr. Strangelove'' both end with the song "
We'll Meet Again "We'll Meet Again" is a 1939 song by English singer Vera Lynn with music and lyrics composed and written by English songwriters Ross Parker and Hughie Charles. The song is one of the most famous of the Second World War era, and resonated with ...
". On 28 April 2009, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
reported that the murder of a 17-year-old student from
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
was allegedly based on a scene from the film. According to the BBC news report, " Norwich Crown Court was told how Simon Everitt, from Great Yarmouth, was tied up and petrol poured down his throat before he was set on fire. Simon's body was found in woodland at
Mautby Mautby is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, in the East Flegg Hundred. The parish comprises a largely rural area along the north bank of the River Bure, and also includes the small villages of Runham and Thrigby. It is ...
in June 2008." Jurors at the trial of Jonathan Clarke and two other co-defendants were played a scene from ''Severance'' and told that, when Mr. Clarke had watched the DVD, "he made a comment to this effect: 'Wouldn't it be wicked if you could actually do that to someone in real life?'" On 29 May 2009, the trio were convicted of Everitt's murder.


See also

*''
Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...
'' * Survival film, about the film genre, with a list of related films


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Severance (Film) 2006 comedy horror films 2006 films 2006 horror films Backwoods slasher films British comedy horror films English-language German films German comedy horror films Films set in Hungary Films directed by Christopher Smith Qwerty Films films UK Film Council films 2006 comedy films Obscenity controversies in film Film controversies in the United Kingdom 2000s British films 2000s German films