I recently watched Severance, which I put in my netflix queue based on a preview from another Magnolia Pictures movie.

Awash in blood and black humor, director Christopher Smith’s inventive horror flick follows a sales group — employed by an international weapons company — as they head for a team-building retreat at a remote lodge in Hungary. Before you can say “mayhem,” a band of vengeful, psychotic commandos turns the tables and puts the merchants on the wrong end of their wares. Toby Stephens, Laura Harris and Danny Dyer star.

I’m not really well acquainted with the genre of horror or slasher films, but this isn’t a straight horror movie or slasher film. Its more of a comedy-horror movie. An intelligent black comedy based on the slasher genre. The characters display depth and growth over the course of the movie, well at least before they die. Don’t get me wrong, the intellectualness doesn’t take away from the horror. There was still enough suspense to get me to turn an extra light on as I was walking to the bathroom in the middle of the movie.

There are also several substantial extras that go behind the scenes with the director and actors. I enjoyed the movie, but I enjoyed it even more after being able to get inside the head of the director and see how the movie evolved over time from its initial conception.

This post is tagged