40
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.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
70
Escalating blend of black humor and grisly goings-on in the wilds of Hungary fully delivers in its latter half.
63
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Manages to mix in a few good gags with the requisite gore.
70
The New York Times by Jeannette Catsoulis
A lively romp through terrain less traveled than you might think.
67
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
The chintzy characters, hair-raising deaths, and one spectacular rocket-launcher joke aren't enough to give "Hostel" a run for its blood.
80
Film Threat by Pete 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).
75
Rolling Stone by Peter 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.
70
The Hollywood Reporter by Ray Bennett
A winning combination of laughs and genuine shocks.
75
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.