Severed Ties

A young scientist is trying to carry on his dead father's work on limb regeneration.His overbearing mother has convinced him that he murdered his own father and is monitoring his progress for her own evil purposes.A young doctor uses reptilian DNA he extracts from a large creature and when his arm is conveniently ripped off a few minutes later,he injects himself with his formula and grows a new murderous arm...Admittedly the special effects in "Severed Ties" are pretty good and grotesque,but the rest of the film is awful.The severed arm is behaving like a snake and kills few people.Big deal.The acting is mediocre and the climax is silly.3 out of 10.

If you like Brain Dead, or The Return of the living dead movies you're in for a ride. This one although a bit light on the gore part features a funny cast and a, although silly, interesting plot. The director and/or writers of this were not aiming for an Oscar by any means. They just wanted to give a funny gore fest, and I for one, appreciate their effort. BTW, the girl that plays the mute girl... Is so freakingly amazing hot... Too bad She hasn't been in anything besides this movie. Does anybody know if there's a DVD version of this film? And if thats the case... Would you happen to know where I could get It? Or maybe Download it, I don't know.. Help me out guys. I am looking for the unedited version if possible.

A young scientist Harry Harrison is continuing his late father's scientific research into limb regeneration with flying colours, but his interferingly dominate mother and her doctor lover want to sell off the serum. When he finds out, there is an accident involving Harry losing an arm. So, he tries out the serum and what eventuates is a genetically deranged arm that has a mind of its own.

Oh we've seen this oh so many times before, but what lifts this very campy and quite rubbery shonky junk is the performance of movie icons Elke Sommer and Oliver Reed. Actually it's not a bad flick by Fangoria films; just there are better ones out there, which are similar in vein. "Servered Ties" simply lacks it own distinctive style. The oddball nature and unpleasant splatter resembled "Re-animator" and even a touch of slapstick stuck out like something from "Evil Dead 2".

The comic story is truly whacked out with it's black humour, but it can get melodramatic and a bit in dry in the fun factor. Surprises do crop up, especially the flick's final outcome. Which is well accepted, as I thought it could have copped out with something more accessible. For a low-budget production the FX makeup can look rigid and very goofy, but there's some grotesque moments that will make you smile than actually cringe. Even a brush of sexual tension streamlines the story, thanks to Elke Sommer's sternly juicy performance as the mother. Oliver Reed is quite humorously deadpan in a wicked sense and he pulls it off extremely well. They were both immensely diverting as the couple you loved to hate. Billy Morrisette is delightful in a erratic performance as Harry. Director Damon Santostefano briskly paces the film and orchestrates some stylish scenes of gripping and bamboozling horror.

Yeah it's juvenile and basically silly nonsense, but you got to hand it to it for some undemanding entertainment.

My review was written in September 1991 after watching the movie at a Times Square screening room.

Lip-smacking performances by Oliver Reed and Elke Sommer lift the horror film "Severed Ties" above the pack of low-budget shockers. Columbia TriStar Home Video should have good results with this third entry from Fangoria's film unit.

Tongue-in-cheek effort has Sommer as an extremely possessive mother who has her son Billy Morrissette imprisoned to work on perfecting the gene-bonding regeneration experiments left unfinished by her late husband.

Morrissette comes up with the solution, but it's imperfect, resulting in a severed arm that becomes a lizard-like creature with a life of its own.

Film fits into the grotesque horror genre dominated by Frank Henenlotter ("Basket Case"). Combo of grotesque gore effects and over-the-top acting is a winning one.

Oliver Reed as Sommer's partner in evil, planning to exp;loit the son's formula, is a superior villain and Morrissette delivers as the young antihero.

I recently watched the Fangoria horror-comedy Severed Ties (1992) on Tubi. The storyline follows a young scientist whose mother sells his lab and experiments to fund her extravagant lifestyle and upcoming marriage. When the company takes over, they brutally attack him, leaving him mutilated and armless. Using his own experiments, he regenerates his arm-but it turns into a lizard arm. Determined to get his life back, he creates an army of mutants like himself to challenge the corporation and his ruthless mother.

Directed by Damon Santostefano (Bring It On: Again), the film stars Oliver Reed (Gladiator), Elke Sommer (The Oscar), Garrett Morris (Cooley High), and Billy Morrissette (Vegas Vacation).

I'm one of the few who really enjoyed this movie-it does a great job of not taking itself too seriously. It reminded me of Re-Animator mixed with Frankenhooker in tone. The costumes, sets, and props are a lot of fun and pull you into its quirky universe. There are some fun reptile transformations, and the arm effects are both hilarious and impressive. The random gore and kill scenes are entertaining, and while the comedic elements are hit-or-miss, there's enough going on to keep you watching. The makeup, creature effects, and kills are all well-delivered, and the cheesy, fun ending is a perfect wrap-up.

In conclusion, Severed Ties is a lighthearted sci-fi horror-comedy that's a fun watch for fans of the genre. I'd rate it a 6/10 and recommend it with the right expectations.