FAQ for
Severance (2006) Plus avec IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries contain major spoilers. Spoiler tags have not been used in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Severance can be found here.

The film is set in the Eastern European country of Hungary (revealed when Richard (Tim McInnerny) is speculating about the possibility of encountering a bear and points out that "There are no bears in Hungary").

The film was shot in 14 different forest locations split between the Isle of Man and Hungary.

In The Making of 'Severance', screenwriter/director Christopher Smith specifically points out that the backstory to the film is unimportant, that it doesn't really matter who the killers are, where they come from, or why they want to kill everyone.

Nevertheless, certain clues are provided throughout the film as to their identity. The most important scene in the film as regards backstory is found just after the Palisade people arrive at the lodge. There is a scene where Harris (Toby Stephens), Jill (Claudie Blakley) and Steve (Danny Dyer) all give different accounts of the history of the lodge; Harris says it was a mental institution where the patients took over and Palisade were sent in to restore order, Jill says that it housed war criminals who held a vendetta against Palisade for arming their enemies, and Steve says that it was sanitarium for the elderly run by an all female staff. The film seems to imply that elements of both Harris and Jill's narrations are true. For example, when Steve, Maggie (Laura Harris) and Billy (Babou Ceesay) go down into the basement, they find the cells described (and seen) in Harris' story. On the other hand, just before the Flamethrower Killer (János Oláh) kills Jill he clearly says the word 'Palisade' to her, implying a vendetta of some sort. Similarly, when Maggie finds the old army base, it would seem to corroborate some of Jill's story.

In the end though, no definitive answers are provided as to the identity or motives of the killers.

The R2 UK DVD released by Pathé! in 2006 contains the following special features:

A feature length commentary with director/screenwriter Christopher Smith, writer James Moran, production designer John Frankish and actors Danny Dyer, Tim McInnerny, Andy Nyman and Babou Ceesay.

'The Making of 'Severance''; a 34 minute making-of featurette.

'Being Danny Dyer'; a 5 minute featurette looking at a day on set for actor Danny Dyer.

'The Genesis of 'Severance'', a 5 minute featurette looking at the composition of the screenplay.

'Crashing a Coach'; an 8 minute featurette looking at the shooting of the bus crash scene.

'Not So Special Effects'; a 5 minute featurette looking at the special effects for the film.

7 deleted scenes, with optional audio commentary from director Christopher Smith (see below for more information on these scenes).

Outtakes and bloopers (2 minutes)

'Palisade Corporate Video', the full version of the video seen briefly in the film (2 minutes).

Behind-the-scenes footage of Danny Dyer training for and shooting his fight scene (2 minutes).

Alternate ending storyboard sequence (1 minute).

The UK theatrical trailer.

Animatic of the opening scene (3 minutes).

Easter Egg: Go to the second page of extras, select "The Coach", press 'Right' and some blood splatters on the pie will illuminate. Then press 'Enter' to access 'Lodge Incident: Fact Finding Interviews', a 7 minute spoof interview with Nadia (Judit Viktor) and Olga (Juli Drajkó).

NOTE: There are several different DVD versions of this film available. See here for more details.

There are 7 deleted scenes on the DVD:

1. 'Bickering in the woods': After being abandoned by the bus driver, there is a scene as the group make their way to the cabin, with Harris and Maggie getting on each others nerves and insulting one another.

2. 'Who's for a singsong?': As they continue to make their way to the cabin, Gordon (Andy Nyman) tries to start a sing-along, but it fails miserably. Harris then tells him he should kill himself.

3. 'Steve tripping in the woods': After the group has reached the cabin, Steve wanders off into the woods where he encounters a talking deer who chastises him for using drugs. The visual effects for this scene were never completed.

4. 'Talking beer': During the paint-ball game, there is a scene between Billy and Steve, where they quote dialogue from The Deer Hunter (1978) and Platoon (1986) whilst wandering through the woods.

5. 'Jill and Harris bond': The morning after arriving, Harris and Jill head back along the trail towards where the bus dropped them off, and they discuss whether Harris is a nice guy or not.

6. 'Richard spliff scene': After the surviving members of the group have barricaded themselves in the cabin, there is a short scene where Richard asks Steve for some of his cannabis.

7. 'Lottery': After Gordon has taken drugs, he is sitting beside Maggie mumbling about how he has to do the lottery.