Severance

A team of seven employees from a global weapons firm heads to a newly built luxury spa lodge for a weekend of team building and bonding. They expect a gleaming, carefree escape, but the trip quickly spirals as the organizers' plan unravels and an unseen threat sabotages everything. The cheerful exercises turn sour as trusted colleagues become suspects and hidden motives emerge. What starts as a glossy corporate retreat becomes a fight for survival as the lodge turns into a maze of traps and misdirection. Tension escalates with each claustrophobic encounter, forcing the survivors to question who they can trust and how far someone will go to win. As the night wears on, the danger expands beyond the lodge and seems tied to long buried corporate rivalries within the company.

Directed by Christopher Smith from an original screenplay by James Moran, Severance arrived in 2006 as a sharp blend of horror and dark comedy, showcasing Smith's talent for turning corporate satire into visceral thrills. The film leverages a small but biting cast to keep the tension tight and the humor blistering as the retreat spirals into a deadly game.

Critical response was mixed, with some praising the brisk pace and the way it weds gore with satire, while others found the tonal shifts uneven. The film probes corporate greed, loyalty under pressure, and the moral cost of winning in a ruthless game.

Among horror fans Severance has a modest cult footprint thanks to its claustrophobic lodge setup, practical effects, and strong ensemble turns from Danny Dyer, Tim McInnerny, and Laura Harris. The movie is cited in conversations about British genre cinema from the mid 2000s and remembered for its humor under pressure.

The film did not secure major nominations, but it helped establish Christopher Smith as a director who blends horror and humor without sacrificing stakes. It stands as a notable, if niche, entry in British horror cinema and remains a cult touchstone for fans of offbeat horror cinema.