Toodles everyone. Dougie was kind enough to send over a review of the UK flick Severance, which apparently isn't so much a horror/comedy as it is a very funny horror film. There's a distinction, yes. The website is pretty funny, and has a little Flash game you can play, in addition to looking at the trailer. This was the first I'd heard of it, but Dougie's pretty hip to it, so read on:
SEVERANCE film review
For those who have seen the trailer for Pathe Films' new flick 'Severance', you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a 'Shaun of The Dead' clone. And although there are similarities, 'Severance' is, first and foremost, a great horror film.
I could rave about the amounts of blood in the film, as it flows freely from almost every cast member. Or I could compliment the prop and make-up team's great work on making the injuries look so believable you find yourself with sympathy pains for amputated legs. But I can't. Horror has been around for so long, the level of quality seen in 'Severance' should be standard for all movies. What really sells a horror film to me is the level of acting. If you've just had a knife shoved into your ass and been made sit down on it, you best look the part. Become a method actor if necessary, but you better sell it to me. This film doesn't disappoint. Every emotion, from fear to rage, is made abundantly clear to the audience, and it takes you into the movie, right there beside it's all-too-familiar characters.
The film focuses on seven colleagues, who work for Palisade Defence, a company who are trying their best to sugar-coat their business; arms dealing. The workers get lost in the woods "somewhere in eastern-europe", and come across an old dilapidated lodge, where the seek sanctuary. Things aren't quite as quiet as they first seem, and soon the office regulars are running for their lives.
Danny Dyer's (The Football Factory) character Steve gets all the best lines, a small selection of which can be heard on the trailer. His character is the party-loving playboy, who's using the team building weekend as an excuse to hire 'professional women' and get wasted on drugs. Even when he's just meandering around in the background, there's something about him that steals every scene.
As I said, 'Severance' is a real horror film (with a good couple jumps), but it's very funny into the bargain. It's a very witty script, and if you pay enough attention, there's clever nudges to 'Night Of The Living Dead', 'Hostel', and the excellent-up-to-the-twist 'Haute Tension', amongst others. The line I remember getting the most laughs from the audience was Steve's, "Have I pissed myself? I feel damp" question to Maggie (Laura Harris - The Faculty).
The story itself fades in and out of importance throughout the film, as if the idea of a plot would somewhat limit the fun they were having shooting the movie. It's sort of forgivable though, as it's miles better than director/writer Christopher Smith's other effort 'Creep'. And everything is wrapped up by the end credits.
I also want to quickly comment on the soundtrack for the film. It's went the route of playing entirely inappropriate music for the scenario. The horrific opening is accompanied by Small Face's tremendoes Itchycoo Park. Whenever a film mismatches the song to the scene for dramatic effect, I'm always taken back to Alex singing and dancing to "Singing in the Rain" in 'A Clockwork Orange'.
I really don't want to spoil this great film for anyone, so I tried my best to give away as little as possible, I give it four mooby's out of five. 'Severance' goes on limited release in the US on March 7, but is confirmed for FantasticFest. The trailer can be found on the official site http://www.severancethemovie.co.uk/
