If you liked the movie "Wilderness" I think you'll get a kick out of "Severance." In fact, they are very similar except "Severance" is more fun.
The movie starts with a man and two attractive women running through the woods. The two women fall into a pit and the guy abandoned them there. Obviously, you knew he was going to die after that. Cinema rule #342 states: "Thou shalt not abandon the helpless and live."
After that opening scene it cuts to seven employees of Palisade Defence (sic) company going on a team building retreat somewhere in Hungary. It wasn't long after settling into what they thought was their luxury lodge that they were being hunted. It only made sense; this was a cabin in the woods. Something bad had to happen.
The carnage began with a gnarly bear trap to the leg of a Palisade employee named Gordon (Andy Nyman). It was bad, but I give the nod to "Wilderness" for best bear trap scene. After that, the panic at the disco was on.
We don't get to see any of the perpetrators until the last third of the movie. The last third of the movie is also when the most badass action happens. Our designated female survivor, Maggie (Laura Harris), had a scene in which she shot one of the woodsman psychos while he was trapped. She had one of the best lines you'll hear in a horror movie:
"I don't want to be accused of not killing him when I had the chance."
It was an instant quotable classic.
But, like I said, she was our designated female survivor. It seems very very few scary movies can dispense with that trope. I think it's Cinema rule #24: "There shall always be a female survivor." She was in the bad guys' cross hairs three times and was saved all three times. One particular time was especially eye-rolling. She was caught in a trap hanging upside down and, instead of gutting her like this same guy did to another ensnared victim, he cut her down to, presumably, rape her. That's always a no-no. "Horniness will get you killed": Cinema rule #178. She was able to fight him off and crush his skull with a small boulder.
I don't want to make it sound like she survived alone, the two female escorts trapped in the ditch also survived. In fact, one of them became a deus ex-machina for Maggie again. Three out of the four women of the movie survived while one guy survived. It's not typical for more than one woman to survive, so there's that, but it is typical for just about every dude to get slaughtered.
"Severance" gets points for the setting, the plot, and Maggie's kill & quote. It loses points for the blond-haired, blue-eyed, female survivor and the other cinema tropes. Still a fun watch overall.
The movie starts with a man and two attractive women running through the woods. The two women fall into a pit and the guy abandoned them there. Obviously, you knew he was going to die after that. Cinema rule #342 states: "Thou shalt not abandon the helpless and live."
After that opening scene it cuts to seven employees of Palisade Defence (sic) company going on a team building retreat somewhere in Hungary. It wasn't long after settling into what they thought was their luxury lodge that they were being hunted. It only made sense; this was a cabin in the woods. Something bad had to happen.
The carnage began with a gnarly bear trap to the leg of a Palisade employee named Gordon (Andy Nyman). It was bad, but I give the nod to "Wilderness" for best bear trap scene. After that, the panic at the disco was on.
We don't get to see any of the perpetrators until the last third of the movie. The last third of the movie is also when the most badass action happens. Our designated female survivor, Maggie (Laura Harris), had a scene in which she shot one of the woodsman psychos while he was trapped. She had one of the best lines you'll hear in a horror movie:
"I don't want to be accused of not killing him when I had the chance."
It was an instant quotable classic.
But, like I said, she was our designated female survivor. It seems very very few scary movies can dispense with that trope. I think it's Cinema rule #24: "There shall always be a female survivor." She was in the bad guys' cross hairs three times and was saved all three times. One particular time was especially eye-rolling. She was caught in a trap hanging upside down and, instead of gutting her like this same guy did to another ensnared victim, he cut her down to, presumably, rape her. That's always a no-no. "Horniness will get you killed": Cinema rule #178. She was able to fight him off and crush his skull with a small boulder.
I don't want to make it sound like she survived alone, the two female escorts trapped in the ditch also survived. In fact, one of them became a deus ex-machina for Maggie again. Three out of the four women of the movie survived while one guy survived. It's not typical for more than one woman to survive, so there's that, but it is typical for just about every dude to get slaughtered.
"Severance" gets points for the setting, the plot, and Maggie's kill & quote. It loses points for the blond-haired, blue-eyed, female survivor and the other cinema tropes. Still a fun watch overall.