Office Cut Backs

It's always good to know that National Lottery funding is going towards a worthy cause. Add a promising Director, a good cast and script and you get the very funny Severance.


What's the best way to describe the film? OK, this is sloppy but it's Shaun of the Dead meets The Office meets Deliverance meets Hostel; A Defence company rewards its employees by sending them to Eastern Europe to take part in a team building exercise. On arrival they don't find the luxury accommodation they are expecting and the reception they receive from some of the locals is a bit hostile (to say the least).

Director Christopher Smith's last feature, CREEP, showed that he was good at creating atmosphere and shocks but it was lacking a bit in the dialogue and plot departments. Severance is a much better movie. In the first half you get to know the employees though a succession of great jokes. The mood then changes as they have to fight for survival. Let there be bear traps and blood!

The cast all have great comic timing. Danny Dyer (The Football Factory), Laura Harris (Dead Like Me, 24) and Tim McInnerny (Blackadder) are very good. Hopefully Severance will perform as well in the States as Shaun of the Dead (although it might require a few subtitles for Danny's geezer character).

If you have a taste for very black horror comedies (with a bit of Paintball thrown in) then check it out. Remember, as Tim McInnerny's team leader says, 'I can't spell success without U'.

Official Movie Site and trailer