 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Severance
- Review Date: September 24, 2007
- R
- Genre: Horror
- 2007
Common Sense Media says
Bloody horror-comedy takes aim at office politics.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this bloody horror-comedy isn't for kids. It's full of explicit, grotesque violence and outrageous injuries (decapitation, a severed leg); weapons range from knives, guns, and ropes to missiles, hatchets, and bear traps. Also watch out for naked breasts (and one naked male bottom) and some brief-but-boisterous sex play when the boss cavorts with sex workers. Foul language includes "f--k" and "s--t," and characters smoke (one thin woman who's concerned about her weight opts for cigarettes instead of food) and use drugs, including Ecstasy, mushrooms, and pot.
What's the story?
Traveling by bus to a retreat in the Eastern European woods, the Palisade Defence sales team cheers their latest pitch for "anti-personnel devices you can rely on" and looks forward to their chance to "find out about ourselves." Just then, they're abandoned by their driver, who's spooked by the scary woods. Resourceful in spite of their designer suits and Yuppie suitcases, the team members make their way to their appointed lodge. Not expecting to have to endure anything worse than a game of paintball, they soon learn they're under attack by someone using real weapons. The masked, looming, implacable assailants remain unidentified (possibilities include escaped asylum inmates and war criminals), but the sales team ends up bonding under their extreme duress. Although team leader Richard (Tim McInnerny) does his best to keep his troops motivated, they're soon wobbling between fear and despair, until at last they're inspired by desperation.
Is it any good?
A rowdy horror-comedy combo, SEVERANCE takes dual aim at global arms dealing and mundane office politics. Director Chris Smith's movie is at once gleeful and graphic (the joke extends to a mock Web site extolling the firm's motto: "We're hitting a home run for freedom and giving terrorism a time out!"). No one on the team looks a likely hero: Steve (Danny Dyer) gets high on mushrooms, social-minded Jill (Claudie Blakley) seems like a poor fit for the company, and executive assistant Billy (Babou Ceesay) is African American --- and thus, according to the rules of this spoofy genre picture, doomed.
Though she initially looks wan and self-interested, it's Maggie (Laura Harris, the sweet-looking blond terrorist from Season 2 of 24) who ultimately proves angry and resilient, exhorting her colleagues to fight back ... even when one loses his leg in a bear trap, another is burned alive by a flamethrower, and others are subjected to horrific torture. While the survivors begin to show gumption, the killers remain dark, lurking, cartoonish incarnations of existential payback for the arms dealers' crass profiteering. The point may not be subtle, but it is fairly satisfying (arms dealers are, after all, pretty easy to hate). Although Severance's lost-in-the-woods terror is a familiar plot premise, it offers clever dialogue, sharp performances, and some outrageous gross-out humor. And while it's not for the faint of heart, it is, in the end, strangely heartening.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about whether this is a comedy, a horror movie, or both. What is it making fun of? What makes those topics good material for a black comedy? Can you think of other movies and TV shows that mock office politics? What about other movies that combine humor and violence? Is it OK to laugh at bloody wounds and brutal killings?
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AGE
PERFECT FOR 15+!
To be honest
i really like this movie...
it has few good jokes and few scary scenes
its a nice horror movie for mature audiences
it has few disturbing scenes
like the one where man loses his leg on bear trap or the scene where woman gets burned only disgusting ones however its no hostel or saw. worth of money watch
not for teens but for mature audiences 15+
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AGE
Bloody and violent=Good,but not for kids.
I admit I have watched this when I was 10 on DVD on special edition but since I see far worse than this I could handle it,but just 15 minutes of this was enough to let me know it was a bad film.A time waster with lots of bloody violence,sex and slapstick comedy .Nuff said.
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| Studio: | Magnolia Pictures |
| Director: | Christopher Smith |
| Cast: | Claudie Blakely, Danny Dyer, Toby Stephens |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Run time: | 96 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | May 17, 2007 |
| DVD release date: | September 18, 2007 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | strong bloody violence, language, drug content and some sexuality/nudity. |
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