Severance (2006)

Icon are releasing SEVERANCE, the horror comedy Bristol-born film-maker Christopher Smith made in between CREEP (2004) and TRIANGLE (2009), on 4K in a limited edition dual disc UHD and Blu-ray set with extras, a poster and four art cards.

A group of office workers from the Palisade weapons company are off on a team-building weekend in Hungary. They get lost in a forest and end up having to deal with areas filled with landmines, huge mantraps, and psychotic guerrillas armed with flamethrowers, machine guns, and very big knives who have vowed to kill anyone connected with Palisade. 

So far, so we’ve-seen-it-all-before, but SEVERANCE has several things going for it that many of its predecessors in the being-chased-around-the-woods subgenre have lacked. Firstly the acting is very good right across the board. Characters are fleshed out well and quickly endear themselves to the audience. Tim McInnerney does a great job as the unpleasant, ineffectual leader of the group whose exit scène nevertheless elicits genuine sympathy, Laura Harris (probably best known for TV series Dead Like Me and Robert Rodriguez's THE FACULTY) shows she can do more than be the brittle blonde, and Danny Dyer is actually very good as the dope head with a constant supply of spliffs and ecstasy who’s never quite sure if what is happening to him is real or not. 

        The direction is right on the button, which is all the more of an achievement when you take into account that the script veers between hilarity and out and out horror, yet Smith never makes a mistake – this is one of the few films where you will be chortling merrily one minute and then be genuinely horrified the next. And by the time the characters meet their demise you’re truly sorry (and in at least one case really upset) to see them go. 

On its original release SEVERANCE was plugged as another SHAUN OF THE DEAD. It isn't. Whereas Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright’s film was essentially a comedy with gory bits, SEVERANCE is a genuine horror film that manages to seamlessly include bits that really make you laugh. If you're of a disposition to enjoy such things, you'll find your spine tingling quite a few times with the sheer deliciousness of the whole endeavour.

Icon's release comes with a ported over commentary track with the cast and crew (present on both the UHD and Blu-ray disc). Unique to the Blu-ray (and not provided for review) are eight featurettes, behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes and out-takes and two new interviews for this edition - one with director Christopher Smith and the other with star Andy Nyman. 

Christopher Smith's SEVERANCE is out in a limited edition dual format 4K UHD and Blu-ray edition from Icon on Monday 20th October 2025

The Odd Job (1978)

 

Director Peter Medak's late 1970s British comedy starring Graham Chapman and David Jason is getting a Blu-ray release in both the UK and the US from Severin Films. 

Arthur (Chapman) comes home on the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary to discover his wife (Diana Quick) in the midst of leaving him. Distraught, Arthur gets drunk and tries to kill himself. The problems encountered in his attempt to do this by electrocution are possibly solved with the arrival of an Odd Job Man (David Jason) and after some discussion they decide the Man will kill Arthur at a random time when he least expects it. 

Then Arthur's wife returns and Arthur changes his mind. Unfortunately he has told the Odd Job Man that whatever he subsequently says his request should be carried out, which the Man attempts to do. Repeatedly. Killing a number of others in the process. 

A black comedy with suicide as its central theme, it's possible that modern audiences may find things to get upset about in THE ODD JOB, but we're essentially in 'comedy giallo' territory here. Arthur and his wife live in a lovely apartment, and the only major differences between this and the flamboyant Italian murder mysteries of the same decade is that Arthur knows exactly who is trying to kill him and that the other deaths are all by accident.

A cast of familiar faces includes Simon Williams, Carolyn Seymour (Medak's wife at the time), Richard O'Brien, Michael Elphick, Bill Paterson and George Innes. Severin's transfer is a 2K scan taken from Medak's own 35mm print and there's a note at the beginning warning that the quality isn't perfect. For those who may remember THE ODD JOB from its original cinema release (and from its mid-week afternoon 1980s screenings on ITV) it looks absolutely fine for a late 1970s British film, and the parts that are a bit faded won't impair your enjoyment. 

Extras include a two minute introduction from the director which segues nicely into the audio interview with the director which plays as a commentary track for 33 minutes of the movie, culminating in Medak's opinion that on a recent screening he found he now loved the film. David Jason and Peter Medak talk for the first time since the film was made in a 16 minute piece that is as nostalgic as it is touching. 

Writer Bernard McKenna is interviewed in a 20 minute piece about his work, including the Ronnie Barker half hour TV special that was the origin of the movie. Richard O'Brien delivers an excellent 14 minute interview, contextualising 1978 not just in terms of ROCKY HORROR but also Derek Jarman's JUBILEE and what else he was doing at the time. Other interviews include producer Mark Forstater (19 minutes), and stars Carolyn Seymour (8 minutes) and Simon Williams (14 minutes).

        For an obscure late 1970s British comedy like THE ODD JOB Severin have to be highly praised for going the extra mile in getting perhaps every extra they possibly could about this little slice of 1978 British comedy culture. Well done, chaps.

Peter Medak's THE ODD JOB is out on Blu-ray from Severin Films on Monday 25th August 2025