The Office meets torture horror (Severance (DVD))

Member Name: vernonpresley

Product:	Severance (DVD)
Date:	20/10/07 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It is quite funny

Disadvantages: There is quite a bit of blood and guts

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THE PLOT
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Weapons Defense are a large weapons-creation company. A group of salesmen and saleswomen who work in the European division are sent on a team-building weekend in Hungary. Their weekend turns into a life-or-death battle against a group of killers who want revenge on the company.

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THE CAST
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An interesting cast, the most recognisable member of which to me was Tim McInnery, who I remember from the BLACKADDER TV series many years ago. McInnery plays the manager of the sales team, and he comes across as a very ineffective manager, much in the mould of David Brent from TV's THE OFFICE.

McInnery's 2nd in command is played by Andy Nyman, and is very much played as a sucking-up character to the boss - he also reminded me very much of Gareth from the original UK version of THE OFFICE. This character is equally ineffective, and comes across as a bit of a twit who it is very difficult to feel any sympathy for - until that is, something VERY horrific happens to him, which I won't spoil here, but which does help to make you care for the character.

The requisite 'hot girl' which is usually required in this kind of movie is an American babe played by Laura Harris. She is the 'nice girl' who all of the guys seem to have the hots for.

Danny Dyer plays the nominal lead character, although this is a bit of a misnomer as this is very much an ensemble piece. Dyer seems to be well known amongst younger male moviegoers, perhaps mainly due to his role in 2004's FOOTBALL FACTORY.

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MY THOUGHTS ON THE FILM
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I would say that this is a fun film to watch, but only if you can cope with blood, guts and gore. It starts off like a big-screen version of THE OFFICE, primarily because of the character types involved. However half-way through the film turns into something very different, and in places made me think of the 'torture' horror films which seem to be quite popular at the moment.

Summary: Well worth a watch on a Friday night with a beer and a pizza.