A few years back, I remember being surprised by the number of people discussing the corporate horror of Severance on social media. For a while there, I honestly thought that folks were somehow rediscovering Christopher Smith’s 2006 horror comedy that I’d been recommending to friends for so long. Naturally, I was quite disappointed when I found out that what internet users were actually talking about was Ben Stiller’s “Severance“ TV show.
However, with Aaron Fisher’s Corporate Retreat releasing in theaters this Friday and exposing audiences to brand new forms of workplace terror – and with Smith’s film celebrating its 20th anniversary this year – I believe that this is the perfect moment to finally look back on the original Severance and explore exactly why it’s such an underrated piece of corporate satire.
With that in mind, I’d advise readers to strap in, as this is going to be one hell of a team-building exercise!
Crafting a Corporate Retreat Nightmare
Christopher Smith had already established himself as a celebrated genre director by the time he became attached to Severance, with the success of his 2004 slasher Creep (another one of his films that was later overshadowed by a different movie with the same name) allowing the filmmaker and his team to secure more funds for a sophomore production. This next project would end up being a satirical horror comedy co-written by Smith and fellow British screenwriter James Moran.
Moran, who some of you may know from his work on Doctor Who and The Borderlands/Final Prayer, documented much of the writing process on his personal blog back in the day. He would often comment on the real-world frustrations that inspired the story and even provided fans with a peek behind the curtain by explaining some of the changes that Smith had to make to the script in order to make it more practical to shoot.
Filming took place in both Hungary and the Isle of Man after an intensive casting process where the filmmakers spent four months trying to find actors who could convincingly make these characters entertaining even in an awful situation. Funnily enough, the actors wound up experiencing the shoot as something of a real-world team-building exercise since they were filming in remote locations with little outside company – at least of the English-speaking variety. Smith was also impressed with the Hungarian stunt team and their tendency to put themselves at risk in order to guarantee a better shot, something that you can see in the film during a thrilling bus crash that was originally scripted to be much less dramatic.
Severance Skewers Corporate Evil with a Unique Sense of Humor
In the finished film, which was released in August of 2006, we follow an ensemble of office workers employed by Palisade Defence as they travel to Hungary for a weekend of team-building exercises at a luxury lodge. Unfortunately for the disgruntled sales team and their bumbling boss (played to irritating perfection by Tim McInnerny), an ill-advised detour leads them to a different and much creepier lodge located in an area said to be stalked by homicidal holdovers from the Soviet Union. As the weekend goes on, the workers soon realize that they really have to learn how to work together if they’re going to survive this business trip from hell.
While this sounds like a great premise for a crowd-pleasing horror comedy, the creativity behind Severance didn’t necessarily translate to box office success. The film garnered something of a cult following over the years, but its peculiar setup (which can be best described as Wrong Turn meets The Office) was a bit too strange for mainstream audiences – especially overseas, where filmgoers expected something more akin to the playful direction of Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead.
However, now that we’re two decades removed from the expectations surrounding British genre films during the mid-2000s, it’s a lot easier to enjoy Smith’s underrated comedy on its own merits. Sure, the overall effectiveness of the flick’s understated sense of humor depends on your tolerance for an unapologetically British kind of comedic timing, but I personally had a blast with all the throwaway conversations that secretly set up ironic deaths and easy-to-miss punchlines. I also appreciate how the movie never loses sight of its initial objective of poking fun at workplace stereotypes and the banality of corporate evil, an idea that’s especially poignant when you remember that these characters work for a weapons company.
Of course, the most impressive element here is just how memorable the ensemble is despite (or perhaps because of) their quirky personalities. You genuinely feel bad for even the worst of them once the horror starts to set in, and while this is partially due to excellent performances by actors like Andy Nyman as the toxically positive Gordon or even Laura Harris as the sensitive designer of “humane mines”, a lot of it comes back to the writing. Moran and Smith know exactly how to develop the group in such a way that you’re aware of their shortcomings (like Danny Dyer’s unreliable slacker persona) while still caring about their workplace crushes and personal feuds.
This attention to detail only makes the horror of the flick stand out more as the team waltzes right into the Eastern European equivalent of The Hills Have Eyes. I especially enjoy the meta-aspect of the genre presentation as our characters recount different versions of the legends surrounding the area (with the Nosferatu-inspired silent film era gag standing out as a highlight of the experience). That being said, I agree with critics who point out how the sadistic Soviet villains feel like they came from a completely different film.
Take it Up with HR If You Don’t Like Gory Kills and Dry Humor
After all, Smith appears to treat the antagonists’ murderous rampage completely seriously, with nearly all of the humor being reserved for our main characters. Despite several jokes about preserving severed legs and watching an annoying boss get his explosive comeuppance, Severance never depicts the villains’ actions as anything less than monstrous. Not only that, but even the most annoying side characters are still treated like vulnerable human beings when the time comes to finally execute them in proper horror movie fashion, a decision that makes these moments more genuinely off-putting rather than “fun”.
I think these frequent and jarring shifts in the story are responsible for the film’s divisive reputation, as I can understand why some audiences would see this as a narrative flaw rather than an intentional choice by the filmmakers. Personally, however, I love how the movie refuses to dilute either its humor or its scares in order to cater to any particular audience. While it makes sense that not everyone can handle this absurd level of tonal whiplash, I think being able to watch coworkers bicker in one scene only to have them being cruelly set on fire in the next is precisely what makes Smith’s film so unique in the first place.
Severance may be something of an acquired taste, with its extremely dry brand of British humor and unflinchingly brutal death scenes making for an unusual combination, but I’d argue that the flick has aged incredibly well. That’s why I’d still recommend this corporate holiday from hell to genre fans who don’t mind it when their horror comedies get a little bit mean-spirited.
Of course, if that bothers you, you can always take it up with HR!
Described as “a gory mix of The Menu and Saw,” Corporate Retreat centers around a group of young executives whose luxury team-building trip descends into a bloody fight for survival against a vengeful retreat leader.
Corporate Retreat releases in theaters this Friday; get tickets now.
