solace in cinema : A vast wasteland of movies

Severance Charity premier, Leicester Square, unoffical opening to Frightfest.

I conducted an interview with the writer of Severance, James Moran, a couple of days ago (my first real interview) and if you read it you'll see he was a very cool guy. So I'm really glad I liked the film as much as I did, otherwise I’d have to email him and tell him it sucked, something I wouldn't enjoy doing to someone with such appreciation for John Carpenter's 'The Thing', the film 'Freaks' and the 'Preacher' comics.

OK, it's big talk to say ‘Severance’ is the best horror/comedy since ‘Shaun of the Dead’. But fuck you, I’m saying it. I'm not even sure how many horror/comedies there have been since SOTD, but since I can't remember any, maybe it's better to rephrase my comparison; Severance is awesome. If you get the chance, see it, because the sooner you do, the sooner you can tell your friends and act like the 'man/woman in the know'. Being that person is cool.

The plot of Severance is relatively straight forward; six people, who work for a weapons manufacturer, are on their way to a 'Luxury Lodge' in Eastern Europe for a team building weekend. When they arrive, at what they think is their destination, they discover there are some grim looking ex-army/facially scarred dudes waiting to hunt them down. Why? Well, I think they had an axe to grind with the Weapons Company (I might have missed that part of the plot).. The point is they're eastern European soldiers and they're crazy; they don't need a reason.

The office workers running for their lives include some actors that I’ve rarely seen before, but after this would like to see more of. There's Toby Steven's perfectly studied 'office asshole'. Tim McInnery ('Captain Darling' from Blackadder) as the team leader who perfectly portrays the kind of guy that would have one of those 'Inspiration' posters on his office wall. There’s Laura Harris as the innocent, yet sassy American that everyone's secretly in love with. And finally Danny Dyer, who plays the young drug-taking wideboy of the group, turning in some of the most convincing 'Shroom' acting ever committed to film

I've been vocal on this site before about liking Chris Smith's directorial debut 'Creep', a film which was never shown a massive amount of love. Re-watching it the other day I can see why, the film has it’s faults. There's some ropey acting by Franka Potente and some weird plot twists stopping the film in its tracks in places where all you want it to do is pick up speed. Smith has stepped up his game since Creep and I think the guy will finally get the credit he deserves.

I know from my interview (and from the Q&A they gave after the screening I attended) that Smith and Moran worked closely on the script, getting it as tight as possible, before turning on the cameras. This work is obvious on the screen. The script is not only well paced, but has razor sharp wit when needs be. It’s sad and poignant when called for, then horrific and gory when you least expect it. Smith and Moran obviously worked hard to tie all the loose ends together , and yet keep the plot driving ahead at the same time.

Some famous architect dude once said: ‘God is in the details’, and these guys have observed that beautifully. There are many jokes in the film that are set up at an early stage, left alone, only to be later used as comic pay-offs; one great example being Toby Steven’s character ‘Harris’ arguing that the guillotine was no more humane than modern weapons, as heads are still conscious for two minutes once they’re removed from the body. Of course when Harris inevitably meets his end, no need to spell it out, the scene ends with his knowing ‘I was right’ smile.

The film handles the horror element well, with gore that is implied more than it is shown on screen. A visual and tonal decision that not only shows that Smith has grown as a director but that will also serve the film well in (hopefully) gaining a wider audience.

The music within the film is also deftly handled, with low brooding pieces of score that serve well to build tension in the right places but not over shadow or giveaway what is about to happen (or what you think might happen) on screen.

I enjoyed the trailer I had seen online, but if I’m honest, I went in with low expectations. I’ve been let down by too many films like ‘The Wilderness’ (a movie I will hopefully write up my review for later this week), so I always go into movies like Severance with my guard up. I’ve rarely been served up with such a pleasant surprise. It’s the attention to detail and seamless blending of horror, laughs and tragedy that make Severance shine. A cast of believable characters who make you care about what happens to them, accompanied by sharp dialogue and a plot that kept me gripped from start to finish.

I can almost guarantee when this is released in the states sites like AICN and Dark Horizons will be raving about ‘Severance’ just as they were about ‘Shaun of the Dead’ a couple of years ago.

I can’t wait to see what Christopher Smith and James Moran serve up next; together, or as individuals, but let’s hope whatever it is, it’s as good if not better than Severance. If it is better, this time I’m taking my trousers off before I enter the cinema.

Severance is released nationwide Today (Friday, August the 25^th)

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 25th, 2006 at 2:32 am and is filed under Reviews, Festival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.