Severance
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: May 18, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
4
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
I prefer my horror with a chaser of wit, and Severance, a modest but very lively British import, serves it up in harsh but high style. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerGianni Truzzi
The result is a cathartic hoot, relishing its own carefully doled out carnage. Read full review
80
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
What's more refreshing about Severance is how the movie's humor offsets the violence, and even that is pretty restrained (at least by modern standards). Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Director and co-writer Christopher Smith, mischievously blending "The Office" with "Friday the 13th," keeps things fierce and funny enough to give Steve Carell ideas. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
Severance still seems a few rewrites away from living up to its potential, but it's remarkable how much just a modicum of wit can spice up the standard backwoods slice-and-dice. Scaring people with a horror film is easy; entertaining them takes a little skill. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It's both very funny and very scary, and never descends to the level of spoof. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Compared with the recent spate of blockbuster sellouts, Severance is a worthy package, and fair compensation for time spent. Best to watch on the big screen, of course. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Suffice to say it's got plenty to do with corporate karma. And the word severance is more than just a double play on words - it's a triple whammy. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderMeredith Brody
For horror fans who crave a few laughs along with their ritual decapitations and limb severings. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterRay Bennett
A winning combination of laughs and genuine shocks. Read full review
70
VarietyDerek Elley
Escalating blend of black humor and grisly goings-on in the wilds of Hungary fully delivers in its latter half. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette Catsoulis
A lively romp through terrain less traveled than you might think. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesGary Goldstein
Along with lots of pitch-dark humor, James Moran's often clever script is peppered with winks and nudges about the war on terror that helps distinguish the film from the recent spate of torture flicks. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
The chintzy characters, hair-raising deaths, and one spectacular rocket-launcher joke aren't enough to give "Hostel" a run for its blood. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
It's modestly effective at creating a mood and at critiquing both business place mores and the evils of Western hubris. But, chiefly, it's about gory scares and sniffling laughs. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Manages to mix in a few good gags with the requisite gore. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
You'll need a strong stomach, but director Christopher Smith mixes lots of laughs into the gore. Despite its predictable finish, Severance is bloody good fun. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Half hearted in its mockery of corporate culture and schlock. The filmmakers want to have it both ways -- the funny and the sadistic -- but rarely do so at the same time with any success. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Definitely worth your time, if not your $9.50. In other words, wait a few months and definitely check it out as a rental. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Severance is a British horror-comedy that, from the get-go, has two distracting strikes against it. Read full review
40
Village VoiceScott Foundas
When Smith's Grand Guignol tableaux are strung together, they lack any forward momentum. Some take inspired comic flight. The rest crash to the ground and, like so much else in Severance, go splat. Read full review
40
Washington PostStephen Hunter
None of the killings has any suspense, and the capital I irony -- that these people make their living selling death in small mechanical packages and munitions to the world and are now being hunted down by the same devices -- never begins to produce any results. Put it on a level with a mid-series "Halloween." Read full review
38
New York PostV.A. Musetto
There are a few scares, but not enough to make up for the murky script. Read full review
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