Severance (2006)

Director:

Christopher Smith

Writers:

James Moran (screenplay) and
Christopher Smith (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 August 2006 (Ireland)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Another bloody office outing.

Plot:

A team-building weekend in the mountains of Eastern Europe goes horribly wrong for the sales division...

Plot Keywords:

Eastern Europe | Team Building | Mushroom | Urination | Bus Accident

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Toby Stephens	...	Harris
Claudie Blakley	...	Jill
Andy Nyman	...	Gordon
Babou Ceesay	...	Billy
Tim McInnerny	...	Richard
Laura Harris	...	Maggie
Danny Dyer	...	Steve
David Gilliam	...	George
Juli Drajkó	...	Olga
Judit Viktor	...	Nadia
Sándor Boros	...	Coach Driver
Levente Törköly	...	Lodge Killer
János Oláh	...	Flamethrower Killer
Attila Ferencz	...	Head-squish Killer
Bela Kasi	...	Headbutt Killer

Also Known As:

P45 (UK) (working title)
Severance - Ein blutiger Betriebsausflug (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, drug content and some sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

96 min | Canada:90 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

UK | Germany

Language:

English | Hungarian | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:18 | France:-12 (with warning) | Malaysia:(Banned) | USA:R | Finland:K-18 | Argentina:18 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Italy:VM18 | South Korea:18 | Australia:MA | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | New Zealand:R16 | Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM14 (DVD)

Filming Locations:

Hungary

Company:

Qwerty Films

Trivia:

The actor who plays the irate bus driver, Sándor Boros is a Hungarian stunt driver, and it is he who drives the bus during the crash scene. In the DVD featurette Crashing a Coach (2007) (V), director Christopher Smith goes into detail about how the crash scene was staged, and in it, he points out how the Hungarian stunt team were "less concerned with health and safety issues" than British stunt teams. Smith explains that for the crash scene, the stunt coordinator told Boros to drive at 35mph, but Boros felt this wouldn't produce a good enough scene, so he hit the stunt ramp at 50mph, producing a much more spectacular crash than Smith wanted. As it was a one-time only shot, this newly spectacular crash forced a hasty rewriting of the screenplay, as due to the severity of the crash, the characters now needed to be substantially more injured than was originally planned. Smith was also amazed that the only safety equipment Boros used during the scene was a seat belt and a motorcycle helmet. Indeed, during the stunt, Boros was knocked completely unconscious.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the land-mine that Richard is stepping from explodes you can clearly see that the explosion of it takes place in a completely different place in the forest (tree on the left side of the screen which wasn't there before, the soldiers balancing over the horizontal-tree are completely gone together with the tree from the screen, as well already before the explosion takes place).

Quotes:

Harris: [after Steve finds a tooth in the pie] Bit young to be losing your teeth, Steve.
Steve: It's not my tooth.
Richard: What?
Jill: Could it be the cow's tooth?
Steve: A cow with gold fillings?

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)

Soundtrack:

Itchycoo Park

Fantastic Film!

I saw a screening of this film recently and loved it! It is truly original and one of the best horror/black comedy films I have ever seen.

The story is gripping and the cast is excellent - some of the finest British actors give star performances - in particular a stellar performance from Danny Dyer.

Normally this type of film can be all blood and guts, but Severance manages to combine the horror element (ie enough blood & gore!) with a gripping story line which keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the film.

You will be either clutching the person next to you or howling with laughter as the filmmakers take you on an extreme roller-coaster ride. I will be surprised if this film is not a huge hit!!