Movie Rewind - Severance
August 22nd 2007 08:19
Severance is a rare slasher film that overcomes its clichés with style, wit and a sense of fun about itself. This one may not please genre purists, as the film progresses into being something more than a straight horror film, but those that enjoyed the cheeky attitude of Shaun of the Dead will probably find themselves similarly attracted to the "don't take it seriously attitude" (although far milder in execution than Shaun) that writer-director Christopher Smith maintains throughout the entirety of this compact but entertaining outing.
The film starts with a team building retreat for the newer members of anti-terrorist weapons manufacturer, Palisade Defense, out in the wooded forests of Eastern Europe When a fallen tree prevents them from advancing, the employees must hoof it the rest of the way, only to discover the luxury hotel they've all been promised is really a rundown, abandoned building without much food or accommodations. The experience doesn't really allow them to bind, until they slowly discover that there is someone out there watching them, and that someone is going to start killing them in savage ways, one by one. Without a vehicle, and with the surrounding woods booby trapped, getting out will be a test of their survival skills, and their ability to finally work together as a team.(net sourced)
The Telecom 31st Christchurch International Film Festival
This August, the Rialto cinema on Moorehouse Avenue hosted the Telecom 31st Christchurch International Film Festival, showing documentaries, short films, feature movies and animation from around the world. The programme included almost 90 different presentations. I was lucky enough to get to see three of them.
Severance (2006)
Another bloody office outing
Directed and co-written by rising star Christopher Smith, Severance is a UK/German co-production in the comedy/horror/thriller genre.
If you liked Shaun of the Dead (recently reviewed by Hal), you’ll love this. It has the comedy and the horror of that movie, but in spades. Severance tells the story of a team-building weekend gone terribly, terribly wrong. Palisade Defence rewards their European Sales Division with a weekend in a lodge in an unspecified Eastern European country. Not only does the ill-assorted and often quarrelsome group have to contend with one another, but with backswood manias wielding not only axes but flame-throwers too. From the opening shots of a man running for his life, crashing slap-stick into a tree before being gutted, you won’t know whether to be frightened or to laugh out loud. The audience were doubled up through most of the film, but at the same time there were some genuinely jump-out-of-your-seat moments too. The characters ranged from Tim McInnery’s weak but ultimately heroic manager to Toby Stephens’ flawed drug-taking anti-hero. They were all fully-rounded and well-acted, and I had a special soft-spot for Babou Ceesay who played the kind-hearted lynchpin of the group.
Some of the humour was pretty off-beat, and there was plenty of gore, too, so don’t take your maiden aunt, but this was one of the funniest and scariest films I’ve seen in years.
Reviewer Michele Clark
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