Severance
2006, UK, Directed by Christopher Smith
Colour, Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD, Region 2, Pathe, Video: Anamorphic 1.78:1, Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
A group of Office-style (as in, the British TV series) characters who work for an international arms company are on a coach intending to embark on a team-building mission in the Eastern Europe outback where they’ll be staying at a lodge in the middle of nowhere. Getting stuck thanks to a fallen tree the driver refuses to take them on a detour, rushing off as soon as they’re all off the coach and leaving them to head the rest of the way on foot. Locating what they believe to be the lodge they continue with their increasingly pointless team-building weekend until things start happening - someone or something is picking them off in surprisingly gruesome ways.
An emphasised mix of comedy-horror, Severance tackles a sub-genre that can be difficult to pull off, and hasn’t been successfully accomplished on many occasions in the new millennium. Therefore it’s refreshing and reassuring that someone (Smith) is capable of doing it, not only competently but brilliantly. The set-up is great for character building as they’re people we can warm to thanks to the fact that they’re stereotypes in many ways, i.e. instantly recognisable. The boss (Tim McInnerny) is almost David Brent, but manages it without ripping off Ricky’s famous character, plus there’s a joker, a snob, a nerd, etc. But Smith subverts expectations in so many ways his work can often be described as innovative. For example, a dream sequence (something I’ve come to hate in horror films) is revealed to be such so smartly that you can’t help but overlook the fact that such a thing is an over-used convention. The humour may not appeal to all but I was nearly pissing myself on many occasions, and it’s blended almost seamlessly with tension and outrageous violence/gore. A black-as-hell comedy-horror that functions incredibly well and shows Smith to be a director of note for the future, having significantly improved on his previous outing, the reasonably entertaining Creep.
The disc transfer is a bit softer than it should be for a new film (I suspect that it’s of digital origin rather than film) but looks pretty good, while the 5.1 mix is lively and powerful. The rear of the Pathe box suggests that the film is presented in a 2.35:1 ratio, but it sure looks like 1.78:1 to me. It’s loaded with extras (commentary with director and stars, deleted scenes, etc.) and, if you can take a bit of excessive gore and like this kind of insane humour it’s a film well worth picking up for a great time. A rare slice of smart film-making in an unforgiving genre.