Severance is a low-budget movie billed as black comedy/ horror. As such it succeeds on some levels and fails on others. Horror fans and fans of dark Brit humor might enjoy this one.

Director Christopher Smith pulls off some real sleight-of-hand moves in this one as he sets up the audience for one thing and then delivers another from scene to scene. Schlocky horror films are part of every horror film buff’s repertoire. To get the good stuff, you have to wade through the bad stuff. Fans have seen so much of the bad stuff and the good stuff that they tend to know how these movies will progress. Deviation from the expected return on investment of time can really tick them off. However, Smith serves up a few twists and turns that work out for the best and leave even the most jaded fans wondering if they know exactly what’s going to happen. Or what the real truth is.

Smith co-wrote the script with James Moran. It’s based on Moran’s original story. The conceit of the story is that seven individuals involved in the production of munitions go on a team-building trip in eastern Germany. The bus ride to their destination reveals that they’re all mismatched.

Steve is a Brit slacker and recreational drug user, and most horror fans would figure him as the guy first to get the ax. Maggie is a no-nonsense type who just wants to get the job done. Harris is the corporate exec voted most likely to promote. Richard is their bumbling boss who is both blind to his own mistakes and unable to make decisions. Billy is another guy who’s just there to get the job done, but wants everybody to get along. Jill is the frigid nerd who wants everything done a certain way. Gordon is the team kiss-up who tries to curry everyone’s favor. There isn’t exactly a survivor among them. Once the killing starts, things look decidedly grim.

Credits roll during a beginning that’s in media res. A man and two women race through the forest while pursued by a machete-wielding guy who looks like he stepped out of a horror film. After the man gets caught in a trap, hoisted in a noose, and dangled upside down, he gets gutted. And that’s just to make sure you were paying attention. The movie changes view and picks up with the principal characters en route on a bus.