By the end of British director Christopher Smith’s horror comedy “Severance,” you’ll be impatient to see what he’s got planned for an encore.
It’s not because “Severance” is so good — no, the director needs a little more seasoning. It’s more that Smith is on to something.
Set in an unnamed wooded area in Hungary, “Severance” swats down both the military and corporations with one red-stained hand. Employees from the fictional company Palisade Defense, a British arms manufacturer, travel to Eastern Europe to do some corporate bonding. You know, play paintball, eat meals side by side and pretend to like your detestable boss and the office suck-up.
The plan quickly disintegrates.
The bus taking them to their lodging hits a roadblock, and the lodge itself is a dump with a horrible past. That’s nothing compared with what follows. A group of locals, peeved at how Palisade’s weapons impact their country, start picking off the workers in grisly fashion.
“Severance’s” targets — unctuous bosses and tunnel-visioned executives — could hardly be safer, but the film takes aim with considerable finesse. The horror elements prove nearly as electric, even though the killers lack a distinct personality. Smith takes some creative risks within the story, engaging in clever flash-forward moments and storytelling asides that bespeak a budding confidence. His sly choice of music during a few dramatic sequences is equally astute.
“Severance” is smarter than your average slasher film and funnier than many mainstream comedies. It’s just not as good as the best of either category.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
K 07.13.08 at 9:35 pm
peeved at how Palisade’s weapons impact their country,
Presumably, the locals were all former communist aparatchiks? Or does this take place in Serbia?
Unless Britain declared war on the Czech republic or Hungary recently I’m at a loss to see how Brit weapons have impacted someone in Eastern Europe. Of course, far left story tellers assume that weapons manufacturers are ipso facto purveyors of violence.
Unless, of course, said weapon manufacturers are working for a communist country.
cftoto 07.13.08 at 10:12 pm
K - the main storyline was fairly obvious and one-sided (guess which side?)… but the mix of horror and comedy here is better than in most films. “Shaun of the Dead” remains the recent king of this blend.
K 07.14.08 at 2:26 am
In some respects, having a “non-liberal” mindset must be good for a film critic as it alllows a certain detactment from the politics and presumably a more dispassionate view of the film’s strong points and faults.
cftoto 07.14.08 at 2:40 am
That’s true to a point, K, but I can’t give a pass to the few films that have conservative/traditional values either. Being a right-leaning critic makes me, and a few of my peers, pretty unique. But both right and left leaners should be sure to judge films on their merits first - and point out their ideological axes second.