Severance (2006): Collector's Edition (Australian Import)

Severance, written and directed by Christopher Smith, has been described as The Office meets Deliverance. And while that’s technically accurate, it reminds me of Smith’s ability to take a germ of an idea and blow it up into a feature-length film. With his previous film, Creep, it feels like an extended riff on the “werewolf in the subway” scene in An American Werewolf in London. Severance feels like the “paintballers get killed by Jason” scene in Friday the 13th VI exaggerated and then taken to its logical conclusion.

A team of coworkers for the Palisade Defense sales division head out for a weekend of team-building in the mountains of Hungary. One by one, they are separated, isolated and killed in a gruesome fashion–beheadings, disembowelings and death by flamethrower, just to name a few. Like Christopher Smith’s Triangle, the story itself isn’t anything spectacular, it’s what he does with it and how he subverts and audiences familiarity with common storytelling tropes. 

Smith’s first three films, Creep, Severance and Triangle make an interesting trilogy to see the filmmaker’s evolution in technique. Creep is the most no-nonsense of the three. It takes a simple setup and runs wild with it. Triangle is the most insane. It's a time-and-mind-bending film that disguises itself as a slasher and loops reality backward on top of itself. Nothing we’ve come to believe is what it seems. Severance, nestled neatly between the two, marry Creep’s more traditional plotting with Triangle’s ability to take a simple setup and turn it on its head. 

What I like about Smith’s films is that he’s not merely content making the same kind of film again and again. Unlike Creep and Triangle, Severance is the most comedic of three. Not to say that the other two are humorless slogs, or overly serious films, but Severance is clearly the most comedic of the three. It’s admirable that Smith was able to find success in Severance’s more comedic tone and didn’t set out to replicate that with each outing. Each film he makes has its own style and tone, unique unto itself. 

Standing apart from Creep and Triangle, again, is that Severance is an ensemble picture, built up of a large cast. Each member of the case brings something to the overall picture. Smith’s other two films are very character-specific to one lead. Yes, there are other characters, but we’re focused on one specific character’s story, to watch them grow as the events of the story unfold. With Severance it’s clearly Maggie’s story (played by Laura Harris), but she shares it with Steve (Danny Dyer). In a lesser film, Steve would be relegated to a one-off gag and dispatched in some silly, horrific way. In Severance, he’s a fully-formed character. He’s the comedic relief, the druggy with a neverending supply of joints, ‘shrooms and pills, but he’s also brave and conjures up courage when he has to.

Severance is a blast. A comedy horror that’s equal parts funny and terrifying–not an easy act to pull off. The comedy-horror is a tricky beast: Lean too much this way and it’s toothless, too much that way and it’s a cynical, glib work that doesn’t take itself seriously. Severance understands this and commits itself wholly to succeeding on both fronts. This is the kind of movie to watch in a packed house and watch the audience be manipulated by the masterful way it sets something up, then tricks us with a payoff we never saw coming.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

Severance, from Umbrella Entertainment, hacks and slashes its way onto Blu-ray in both a standard edition and collector’s edition. Both versions include the film, plus supplemental features, on a single-disc release in a standard case with classic artwork from previous releases, with a removable slipcover containing brand-new artwork from Mutant Design. The collector’s edition includes a rigid case (also from Mutant Design), a 48-page book with behind-the-scenes, experiences and art, eight art cards, and an A3 reversible poster.

Severance was shot digitally using a Sony CineAlta HDW-F900 and, for the most part, the results are fantastic. It has a real filmic look with wonderful color realization, sharp details and excellent contrast. There are just a few lowlight sequences where the ISO is cranked high and the shadows pulsate with a gray noise. Mostly, however, Severance looks great. It’s presented in 1080p high-definition for this disc’s release. The cinematography itself is a bit unremarkable, but there’s a deceptiveness to its simplicity. It’s shot in simple set-ups so that we feel more at ease watching the action and are more susceptible to the shocks when they hit us.

Viewers have two options available: A 5.1 surround mix and a 2.0 stereo mix, both encoded in DTS-HD MA. For the purpose of this review, I toggled back and forth during a few key sequences and both options are just terrific, depending on what equipment you have and what your tastes are. The stereo option, for viewers with two-channel soundbars or using their TV speakers, is expertly mixed, balancing atmospheric effects, a thundering musical score and hack-and-slash stings without ever losing sight of the dialogue. The 5.1 surround mix, for viewers with systems with rear speakers, is a work of art. Rear speaker activity is at a near-constant level, through atmospheric effects, the musical score or even extended gags, like an off-screen urine stream splashing its way to the rear of the sound stage and back and forth between the two rear speakers. The design on the surround option is so much fun and all of the effects pack an absolute punch where they need to, loud in all the right places, and frequent LFEs will give your subwoofer a workout.

Like the other Christopher Smith films that have gotten the deluxe treatment from Umbrella Entertainment, Severance is no slouch in the special features department. With new features and legacy features from previous relases compiled on this disc, there are literal hours of making-of tidbits and glimpses into how the creative sausage is made.

• Audio Commentary - Christopher Smith, Danny Dyer, Tim McInnerny, John Frankish, Andy Nyman, Babou Ceesay and James Moran
• 2024 Interview with Writer/Director Christopher Smith (HD 16:26)
• 2024 Interview with Actor Andy Nyman (HD 14:02)
• “The Making of Severance” Featurette (SD 35:15)
• "Being Danny Dyer" Featurette (SD 5:53)
• "The Genesis of Severance" Featurette (SD 5:09) 
• "Danny Fight Scene" Featurette (SD 2:08)
• Deleted Scenes (SD 8:11) - With optional audio commentary 
• Outtakes (SD 1:41)
• "Crashing a Coach" Featurette (SD 8:32)
• "Palisade Corporate Video" Featurette (SD 1:45) 
• "Not So Special Effects" Featurette (SD 4:59)
• Alternate Ending (SD 0:46)
• "Lodge Incident: Fact Finding Interviews" Featurette (SD 6:51)
• Trailer

Severance is plain, flat-out fun. It’s a comedy-horror that’s both funny and scary, without leaning too heavily into one or the other, or leaving the other in the dust. Christopher Smith shows his skills as a storyteller are evolving and he’s having almost too much fun playing with his audience’s expectations and understanding of media literacy, so he turns a lot of tropes back on the viewer. This set offers a great A/V experience with a massive collection of excellent on-disc bonus content on top of the great printed materials. Umbrella Entertainment’s release of Severance, in both standard and collector’s editions, comes Highly Recommended.