This film surprisingly has many good young actors in it. The character development however is awful, and one is left feeling that you just don't "feel" for any of the characters. Decent production is wasted by poor dialogue , and unusually melodramatic lines.I don't mind watching a film that isn't firing on all cylinders, this one doesn't spark most of them. I must admit that I am a fan of Argento, Romero and Fulci and I expected more from this attempt at a zombie film.The formula isn't hard, give us decent acting, lots of tension,of course good effects and you're halfway here.I truly believe that most U.S. horror is being shot for the "MTV generation." At least I feel comfortable knowing that we still have some good editors, and sound production left.The camera work is the very frenetic and hand held stuff that we have been fed lately...please rent a Stedicam! At least.
68 Reviews
The Revenge of the Living Dead Woods
Coventry2 December 2006
Take George A. Romero's immortal horror classic "Day of the Dead"; simply replace the brainless macho military men with brainless macho woodchoppers and, ta-da, you've got "Severed". Oh, and the zombie-virus here is inflicted by genetically altered trees that got injected with a growth serum that clearly doesn't function very well. This is a watchable new horror movie with tons of splatter and a handful of effective filming locations, but it's still miles away from being any good. "Severed" completely lacks originality and tension, and I wonder if writer/director Carl Bessai deliberately endeavored to insert every possible cliché of the genre! Any cliché, you name it and "Severed" has it! From the cowardly scientist over the boisterous team-leader with a heart of gold onto the completely implausible romance sub plot, it's all there! Tyler, the son of a forestry company tycoon, is reluctantly sent to a remote testing area to find out why the tree-cutting business has stopped there. Shortly after his arrival there, he vividly discovers that the company's brand new & unethical invention to make trees grow faster turned the majority of lumberjacks into drooling zombies. Before he properly realizes it, the area is hermetically sealed of with Tyler, the remaining cutters and a handful of tree-huggers still in it. There are hundreds of zombie movies out there, and "Severed" simply isn't very memorable. It gets tedious very quick and just when you think the movie is almost over, director Bessai suddenly comes up with a whole new plot about another community of survivors that spend their days aiming guns at the zombies. The amount of gore and bloodshed is satisfying, though. Since we're dealing with lumberjacks here, the undead opponents are attacked with chainsaws, large industrial band saws and, of course, axes. For some reason, the camera makes wild spastic moves whenever there's a massacre going on and, as to be expected, there are no real shock-moments throughout the entire film. The ending is just stupid, everyone around here seems to agree on that, and the majority of the cast-members shouldn't anticipate successful acting careers. "Severed" is a weak film, but enthusiast fans of nowadays horror-smut might consider it worth the price of a rental.
Not horrible, but could have been better
ssjohnsonusa2 August 2006
I have seen worse in my time, what initially got my attention on this one was on the back of the DVD, it said the special effects were created by the same studio that did the Final Destination FX so I thought at least I would get decent gore fx, well I was disappointed that most of the bloody fx were just a lot of chunky spraying blood in the face kind of stuff, almost all the zombie biting scenes were just them clamping down on odd sections of the body with just a little blood around the mouth, you never actually see them pull off pieces of flesh, there were maybe two shots of the zombies feasting on a body, those ones were okay but the shaky camera made it difficult to see much detail, the overall film isn't bad and it kept me interested and not bored, however it is a "zombie flick" it just lacked in the gore score.
lifeless zombie movie, gets duller and duller
HEFILM22 August 2006
28 Days later in the woods, or in Canada. Good location and interesting lumbering footage at first, then the main character and some of the zombies act rather stupidly, then everything starts to sort of seem like the same scene over and over and you aren't even half way to the end of it all.
Characters are happy to find a truck, try to leave, can't, then go back to call on the radio for help.
Then they find another truck easily even though the first truck was supposed to be the only one. It's stuff like this, the movie perpetuates rather than develops, no one takes any logical approach to trying to save themselves.
Then the whole things grinds to a halt in the middle and suddenly they meet a bunch of new characters so we can have people sit around and talk and talk and wait and wait and wait.
Extremely grainy looking, the highlights on actors faces crawl with grain. Actors are okay, zombies seem very very hungry but the attack scenes all look like someone watched Saving Private Ryan too many times, which is easy to do I suppose.
Zombie fans will know all the rip off moments in this film, none are homages this just doesn't have much to offer after the novelty of the location runs out. Also slowing things down are several, we are so sad we just hacked a zombie to death for 2 minute type of scenes. Great drama this is not, please stop stopping to try to make us feel their pain at killing zombies? Canadian tax shelter dollars again at work, like the old days, result is pretty dam dull. Movie seems really long finally grinds to a halt right at the magic number 93 minutes. One of those shortest lengths a movie can be to be sold as a feature. It's a long ass 93 minutes.
Characters are happy to find a truck, try to leave, can't, then go back to call on the radio for help.
Then they find another truck easily even though the first truck was supposed to be the only one. It's stuff like this, the movie perpetuates rather than develops, no one takes any logical approach to trying to save themselves.
Then the whole things grinds to a halt in the middle and suddenly they meet a bunch of new characters so we can have people sit around and talk and talk and wait and wait and wait.
Extremely grainy looking, the highlights on actors faces crawl with grain. Actors are okay, zombies seem very very hungry but the attack scenes all look like someone watched Saving Private Ryan too many times, which is easy to do I suppose.
Zombie fans will know all the rip off moments in this film, none are homages this just doesn't have much to offer after the novelty of the location runs out. Also slowing things down are several, we are so sad we just hacked a zombie to death for 2 minute type of scenes. Great drama this is not, please stop stopping to try to make us feel their pain at killing zombies? Canadian tax shelter dollars again at work, like the old days, result is pretty dam dull. Movie seems really long finally grinds to a halt right at the magic number 93 minutes. One of those shortest lengths a movie can be to be sold as a feature. It's a long ass 93 minutes.
Nothing New/Nothing Different
santhosh_gvk24 December 2006
Same old story line with a bad ending makes up Severed. If you have not seen a zombie movie before (in very unlikely case) then you might enjoy the suspense and horror. Otherwise one can pretty much say what is going to happen next! But it is not horrible, better than many movies, with different settings Don't except lot from this as you will be little disappointed especially with the ending which was done in a hurry (may be since it is a low budget, there was no more money left!) I find hard to understand that at the end when Zombies try to enter the protected area not even a single soul was put on guard for the gates, with all the weapons they have, everyone was sleeping as if they are in warmth of their home!
Can be tried once and that's about it.3 out of 10 for me
Can be tried once and that's about it.3 out of 10 for me
Great Zombie movie
Doug_Turner15 February 2007
Please disregard most of the negative reviews here. I'm a 35 year-old horror fan, so I've been around the block and back. I LOVE horror and zombie movies... I love Romero, but also understand that Romero isn't the be all and end all (in fact watch "Last Man on Earth" and then try telling me that "Night of the Living Dead" is original ;) ).
Severed is a GREAT film - the ending is unfortunately rushed, probably due to budget, but PLEASE watch this film and enjoy it for what it is... fun, frantic and suspenseful.
The teens dissing this movie probably reckoned there weren't enough sh!t Saw-style death scenes.
Well done, filmmakers... I'll be looking out for your other efforts.
Severed is a GREAT film - the ending is unfortunately rushed, probably due to budget, but PLEASE watch this film and enjoy it for what it is... fun, frantic and suspenseful.
The teens dissing this movie probably reckoned there weren't enough sh!t Saw-style death scenes.
Well done, filmmakers... I'll be looking out for your other efforts.
There are worse B-movies out there
Big S-25 May 2006
I sat down to watch this film not expecting much, but I have to say that despite the Z-list cast and the over-use of the still (unfortunately) fashionable-among-filmmakers "wobblycam" (to the point where at times it's impossible to see what's happening or to whom), this wasn't a bad little zombie flick.
Aside from the aforementioned headache-inducing camera-work, the main weakness of this movie was the ending. It seemed like the scriptwriters suddenly ran out of ideas and just thought "okay we'll just wrap this up here". But the preceding 90 minutes were entertaining enough. If you enjoy the zombie sub-genre, check it out. Though perhaps rent rather than buy this one.
Aside from the aforementioned headache-inducing camera-work, the main weakness of this movie was the ending. It seemed like the scriptwriters suddenly ran out of ideas and just thought "okay we'll just wrap this up here". But the preceding 90 minutes were entertaining enough. If you enjoy the zombie sub-genre, check it out. Though perhaps rent rather than buy this one.
Exquisite scenery
to bad about the bloody mess though.
lost-in-limbo27 October 2007
Bahumbug. After the initial set-up I was thinking that it looked liked it was going to be competent and hopefully amusing low-budget Indie horror effort. My perception changed when the jerky, in-your-face camera work came to the party. Why do that! There's better ways to get the adrenaline pumping. It was like the person behind the camera was having a mental fit, and it did become aggravating and hard to make-out what was happening. And the story just couldn't escape its formulaic staples and messy structure, despite a surprisingly effective conclusion that I didn't see coming. Still I was left unsatisfied. To bad that it sets up one vanilla flavoured, over-used cliché after another and then it drags on. Then when you thought it couldn't get anymore the same, they chuck in another sub-plot that is just as worthless and poorly drawn up. Even the clunky script leaves a lot to be desired about the token characters and their rash reactions. Pretty much the premise goes onto steal ideas from other horror movies. It wants to be serious, but the over-the-top nature of its erratic mayhem and many unintentionally laughable sequences destroy that aspect. The film has a slick look with beautiful location choices, and Carl Bessai's tight direction is dry, but it's undone by the overall execution where it succumbs to repetition and static build-ups. It seemed to want to rely on some extreme blood splashing about, and having everything move so fast. But the shocks are weak, and the suspense is never there. I thought there were some fine-tuned performances amongst the slack-jaw ones though. Nothing great, but adequate. The music surprised because it was one of the few things that clicked with its eerie chimes in a nicely arranged harmonious score.
Nothing original here
mrush4 August 2006
This is just another poorly made zombie movie ripping off the great George A.Romero. And even though the ripping off is bad enough this movie offers nothing original or even very interesting along the way.
While working in a remote logging camp some workers become zombies after being exposed to some sort of experimental tree growth hormone that the logging company is testing.Yeah I know.This may be the silliest reason any zombie movie has ever used to explain why people are turning into zombies.
The writing is about par for a lousy horror movie,some of the actors are decent and some are just awful.The plot is just stupid.This zombie outbreak is very local yet the people in this movie decide to hold up in a rundown shack and later in a fenced compound rather than just hike out of the woods.The special effects are lackluster and unimaginative.Most of the zombie killing is done off screen with blood spraying all over the people doing the zombie slaying.I guess it's easier to spray fake looking blood in someone's face than to fool with showing all the zombie heads being bashed in.Most of the gore in this movie consists of a few bland shots of zombies eating what look to be hunks of Jello off of torsos.People run around and fall in the mud a lot in this movie--I guess the director thought muddy clothes counted as a special effect.
Needless to say this movie is not one to add to your horror collection.It is just another boring and weak horror movie in a long line of such movies.
While working in a remote logging camp some workers become zombies after being exposed to some sort of experimental tree growth hormone that the logging company is testing.Yeah I know.This may be the silliest reason any zombie movie has ever used to explain why people are turning into zombies.
The writing is about par for a lousy horror movie,some of the actors are decent and some are just awful.The plot is just stupid.This zombie outbreak is very local yet the people in this movie decide to hold up in a rundown shack and later in a fenced compound rather than just hike out of the woods.The special effects are lackluster and unimaginative.Most of the zombie killing is done off screen with blood spraying all over the people doing the zombie slaying.I guess it's easier to spray fake looking blood in someone's face than to fool with showing all the zombie heads being bashed in.Most of the gore in this movie consists of a few bland shots of zombies eating what look to be hunks of Jello off of torsos.People run around and fall in the mud a lot in this movie--I guess the director thought muddy clothes counted as a special effect.
Needless to say this movie is not one to add to your horror collection.It is just another boring and weak horror movie in a long line of such movies.
Entertaining Zombie Movie
claudio_carvalho7 May 2008
In a remote Canadian forest, a group of protesters raise a manifestation against the deforesting. When one worker uses his chainsaw to saw a large tree, its sap drops on his body and he immediately becomes a zombie. When the senior management of the company does not receive any information about the production, the owner and chairman sends his son Tyler (Paul Campbell) to the location to investigate what is happening. Tyler sees both the protester's camp and the sawmill completely abandoned and sooner he finds that the area is surrounded by zombies. He meets a group of survivors leaded by the foreman Mac (Paul Campbell), the protester Rita (Sarah Lind) and the coward biologist Carter (JR Bourne), and Carter explains that he was ahead of a genetic project to increase and improve the production of trees in the area, and the experiment unexpectedly had gone wrong transforming human beings into flesh-eater zombies. Their fight for survival begins.
"Severed" is an entertaining zombie movie, with an original and good beginning. The lead characters are well developed along the story, and with exception of Mac and Tyler, the others are basically scum. The plot point is the revelation of Rita that she had spiked the tree, but the movie becomes dull and boring when the survivors meet Anderson's team. The open conclusion is also very frustrating; maybe the intention of the writer is to give a hook for an unnecessary sequel, but it dos not work. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Infectados" ("Infected")
"Severed" is an entertaining zombie movie, with an original and good beginning. The lead characters are well developed along the story, and with exception of Mac and Tyler, the others are basically scum. The plot point is the revelation of Rita that she had spiked the tree, but the movie becomes dull and boring when the survivors meet Anderson's team. The open conclusion is also very frustrating; maybe the intention of the writer is to give a hook for an unnecessary sequel, but it dos not work. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Infectados" ("Infected")
Poor writing and directing, average acting.
andreas_t11 March 2006
Just saw this one, and i must say, i've never seen such a stupid zombie movie, and i've seen a lot. It tries to take itself seriously which is somewhat different from the genre, but completely fails due to rubbish scriptwriting.. This movie takes an all new approach: What if everyone else but the zombies were retarded, how would that work? well there you go.. Also one of the cameramen obviously has Parkinson's! The reason i comment this movie is not to scare people away from watching it, i actually do think it had potential, it just didn't deliver anything. Its an Insult to everyones intelligence, including zombies. 2 stars for the average acting. avoid!
Very Bloody, Very good.
wraith_squadron18 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Here's a little zombie gem with a difference, we know exactly what turns these humans into zombies to start with. A multi - national logging firm is experimenting on a remote island with scientists altering the genetic makeup of trees to produce a faster yield. Our story comes about as a group of protesters booby-trap a tree in the path of a logging crew, and the sap released is highly infectious when mixed into human blood. When all contact is lost with the crew, the CEO of the firm sends his son in to investigate. While his son is finding out what went wrong, the lab finds out the hard way they are responsible for the accident. The story then follows the son as he tries to find what's left of the crew and protesters as flesh easting zombies soon start taking over the island, while the CEO isolates and covers up the whole episode.
This is a very good movie, very gore ridden and back to basics zombie stuff. Our zombies here moan, walk like they have sticks wedged up their butts and are very mindless to the tasks at hand. No-one in particular stands out in the cast as everybody has a good set of strengths and weakness's. If you like your zombie movies bloody, this is for you. The cast doesn't mind wearing blood everywhere as they fight their way out of one dangerous situation to the next. While there are not good close-ups of bodies been torn apart like Romero would have, splatter is everywhere and no-one is spared. The plot is fairly tight and the only real problem I have is the shaken camera used quite often is off-putting. Severed is a nice little movie that doesn't take itself too seriously and will find an audience among the zombie fans out there.
This is a very good movie, very gore ridden and back to basics zombie stuff. Our zombies here moan, walk like they have sticks wedged up their butts and are very mindless to the tasks at hand. No-one in particular stands out in the cast as everybody has a good set of strengths and weakness's. If you like your zombie movies bloody, this is for you. The cast doesn't mind wearing blood everywhere as they fight their way out of one dangerous situation to the next. While there are not good close-ups of bodies been torn apart like Romero would have, splatter is everywhere and no-one is spared. The plot is fairly tight and the only real problem I have is the shaken camera used quite often is off-putting. Severed is a nice little movie that doesn't take itself too seriously and will find an audience among the zombie fans out there.
A Gnarly Twist on Zombie Films
wastebot15 August 2006
It's not the total package like Land of the Dead (2005), and it lacks the horror of Dawn of the Dead (2004) and the FX and sound polish of Resident Evil.
Still, it has far better casting and acting than a lot of the mass produced horror being churned out and provides an interesting plot with a twist to the zombie story that both makes complete sense and keeps you interested.
What hurts it is the old-style jitter-cam FX to make things seem faster. You already know they are slow, lumbering (pun intended) creatures. The result is that gets annoying and does less to scare than the more genuine sneak & surprise situations the film does a much better job on. Despite the visual FX and some errors in the soundtrack, the natural setting helps it feel real.
Still, it has far better casting and acting than a lot of the mass produced horror being churned out and provides an interesting plot with a twist to the zombie story that both makes complete sense and keeps you interested.
What hurts it is the old-style jitter-cam FX to make things seem faster. You already know they are slow, lumbering (pun intended) creatures. The result is that gets annoying and does less to scare than the more genuine sneak & surprise situations the film does a much better job on. Despite the visual FX and some errors in the soundtrack, the natural setting helps it feel real.
Stupid waste of time
Butterdragons3 August 2006
Boring. Predictable. Completely unoriginal. The box said "A must see" and referenced IMDb, so I'm a little angry at whoever said that about this movie. Nothing redeeming about it what so ever. No cute guys. No attractive women. Not enough gore. With half an hour left of the movie, we got so confused that I just shut it off. The "plot" (I loosely call it a plot) was convoluted and they totally ripped of a scene from "Day of the Dead". If you love zombie movies, don't even bother with this one. It is not up to par. It's not even laughable. I can deal with a bad movie if it is entertainingly bad. This one was so bad it made me annoyed that we paid money to rent it.
camping with zombies
wrlang4 August 2006
Another zombie movie with a different twist, tree huggers and lumber jacks join forces protect themselves from the undead and the corporation that put them in the line of fire. The CEO of a lumber company sends his son to check on a camp that mysteriously stopped sending wood out of the deep forest. Tyler is sent out by his father to a lumber camp that is too quiet. Tyler falls upon zombies and some survivors and they try to escape the area while avoiding the bite, and killing zombies. The company then discovers that the zombies were caused by their own experiments to induce faster tree growth. The only question is, who will survive? Camera work much like 28 days later, jerky and too close in during the action scenes. Zombies are a cross between 28 days later and night of the living dead, slow but loud and growly. Many of the cast are solid character actors who help make the movie more palatable. If you don't like zombies, skip this. Otherwise it is worth the time.
lame movie
lilmenso10121 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
this movie happened to be on-demand and i was bored and decided to rent it. That was a big mistake. Not only was this movie lacking in story but also in special effects. The trailer for this movie made it seem so cool and pretty entertaining but i had wished i had stopped there. The ending scene of this movie was perhaps one of the worst i have ever seen. It is way to dark and jumpy to even know who is being killed exactly and doesn't even give you an answer as to what is the outcome of the outbreak. I am a huge fan of the horror movie genre, and i know not to have huge expectations of great movies when watching one but even this movie let me down. I just want people to know it is better left at the preview rather than wasting two hours of your life that you will never get back. Go rent dawn of the dead if you want a zombie movie. I hope this wasn't to leave an opening for a sequel because that would be a great waste of money. 1/10 awful movie
Im going to keep this simple....
rhianwen_llewellyn27 June 2015
There are lots of detailed reviews and info on IMDb so I'll keep it short and sweet. If you're a fan of the genre and can watch this for free on a streaming service or TV channel then go for it. There's gore, some interesting concepts and characters. Its low budget and wont be to everyone's taste but if you accept it for what it is then you'll enjoy. I could pick It to bits but lets be honest this will never be a cult classic (sorry).
It didn't blow my mind but it also didn't make me want to blow my brains out!
Worth a watch for Zombie fans...
It didn't blow my mind but it also didn't make me want to blow my brains out!
Worth a watch for Zombie fans...
Severed:Forest of the Dead
Scarecrow-8812 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
A genetic breakthrough which can produce large trees at a quicker rate has an unfortunate side-effect..the sap, once entered into the human bloodstream, turns humans into flesh-eating zombies, whose bite produces the same effect.
Tyler(Paul Campbell)doesn't wish to follow in his Chairman father's footsteps, but is coerced into going to a logging site whose production has grown silent. Once there, Tyler finds that the workers, and environmentalist protesters, are raving zombies munching on mutilated bodies. Finding a logger, Luke(Michael Teigen), who saves his life, they make for a makeshift shack of temporary safety containing a small motley group of frightened survivors. Rita(Sarah Lind), the mastermind of the major protest against the logging company's cutting down trees, is one of the few who made it to shack, along with fellow protester Stacey(Leanne Adachi). Mac(Julian Christopher, a fatherly, trustworthy, wise, & heroic presence)is the foreman whose men were plagued by the zombie virus thanks to a horrifying chainsaw mishap, caused by a spiked tree(..planted by the protesters), which mixes the genetically enhanced sap into a worker's wounded shoulder. Carter(JR Bourne), is a wimpy, pathetic scientist, working for the company taking samples of the sap, testing it for possible dangers with the results, good or bad, sent back to the research center. Carter perhaps knows what is causing the zombie plague. Together, on foot, Tyler will lead the motley group to his truck hoping to escape with their lives intact. Rita, however, has plans to save her boyfriend, Greg(John Reardon)which separates them temporarily. Problems arise even when they make it to the truck, and the group find themselves, thanks to the board who forces Tyler's father to sign a decree for confinement, trapped in the camp with only a back road as a possible escape route. Things get even worse when those who somehow survive multiple zombie attacks, find themselves in the camp of another logging company, led by the massive, imposing Anderson(Patrick Gallagher)whose presence over the men offers just as much a threat to them as the bloodthirsty undead.
This zombie film is rife with stupid human behavior, particularly by the cowardly scientist Carter, played by JR Bourne as if he were Dr. Smith of LOST IN SPACE. He quivers like a little scared child, always cowering and shaking. He is the type who doesn't help others in need, despite the rescuing he receives(..like when Luke saves him from an attack only to be left by Carter to fend for himself). Tyler makes two really dumb decisions(..one, obviously because without making it there wouldn't be a movie, his leaving the truck as zombies come toward him, opting instead to flee into the forest, and a second, instead of leaving with Rita when escape is possible, decides to try and help Carter who was completely surrounded by zombies with no hope, it seems, of escaping a sinister fate)which will have you screaming at the screen. The film is shot in a frenzy, using grainy stock it seems, never keeping the camera still when the zombies make their appearances. Blood spurts in slow motion, but rarely is the true violence(..like our characters bludgeoning the zombies with weapons)ever shown on screen. The zombie virus works like in the 28 DAYS/WEEKS LATER with those infected convulsing not too long after being bit. They rampage their victims just as feverishly as in Zack Snyder's DAWN OF THE DEAD remake. Actually, this film is shot very similar to Snyder's film, giving those infected little time on screen, instead almost completely focusing on the characters and their plight. This film, despite how the zombie virus starts, isn't really any different than the films that have came before it. I do think many zombie fans will like it..many will be game for zombies in a forest, even if we rarely see true carnage(..there is some flesh-eating, but most of it is more implied than shown in depth). The cast, for the exception of Bourne, who I thought was dreadful, is actually pretty decent. I really thought Christopher, as the foreman who becomes the rock everyone leans on to stay alive, was especially good.
Tyler(Paul Campbell)doesn't wish to follow in his Chairman father's footsteps, but is coerced into going to a logging site whose production has grown silent. Once there, Tyler finds that the workers, and environmentalist protesters, are raving zombies munching on mutilated bodies. Finding a logger, Luke(Michael Teigen), who saves his life, they make for a makeshift shack of temporary safety containing a small motley group of frightened survivors. Rita(Sarah Lind), the mastermind of the major protest against the logging company's cutting down trees, is one of the few who made it to shack, along with fellow protester Stacey(Leanne Adachi). Mac(Julian Christopher, a fatherly, trustworthy, wise, & heroic presence)is the foreman whose men were plagued by the zombie virus thanks to a horrifying chainsaw mishap, caused by a spiked tree(..planted by the protesters), which mixes the genetically enhanced sap into a worker's wounded shoulder. Carter(JR Bourne), is a wimpy, pathetic scientist, working for the company taking samples of the sap, testing it for possible dangers with the results, good or bad, sent back to the research center. Carter perhaps knows what is causing the zombie plague. Together, on foot, Tyler will lead the motley group to his truck hoping to escape with their lives intact. Rita, however, has plans to save her boyfriend, Greg(John Reardon)which separates them temporarily. Problems arise even when they make it to the truck, and the group find themselves, thanks to the board who forces Tyler's father to sign a decree for confinement, trapped in the camp with only a back road as a possible escape route. Things get even worse when those who somehow survive multiple zombie attacks, find themselves in the camp of another logging company, led by the massive, imposing Anderson(Patrick Gallagher)whose presence over the men offers just as much a threat to them as the bloodthirsty undead.
This zombie film is rife with stupid human behavior, particularly by the cowardly scientist Carter, played by JR Bourne as if he were Dr. Smith of LOST IN SPACE. He quivers like a little scared child, always cowering and shaking. He is the type who doesn't help others in need, despite the rescuing he receives(..like when Luke saves him from an attack only to be left by Carter to fend for himself). Tyler makes two really dumb decisions(..one, obviously because without making it there wouldn't be a movie, his leaving the truck as zombies come toward him, opting instead to flee into the forest, and a second, instead of leaving with Rita when escape is possible, decides to try and help Carter who was completely surrounded by zombies with no hope, it seems, of escaping a sinister fate)which will have you screaming at the screen. The film is shot in a frenzy, using grainy stock it seems, never keeping the camera still when the zombies make their appearances. Blood spurts in slow motion, but rarely is the true violence(..like our characters bludgeoning the zombies with weapons)ever shown on screen. The zombie virus works like in the 28 DAYS/WEEKS LATER with those infected convulsing not too long after being bit. They rampage their victims just as feverishly as in Zack Snyder's DAWN OF THE DEAD remake. Actually, this film is shot very similar to Snyder's film, giving those infected little time on screen, instead almost completely focusing on the characters and their plight. This film, despite how the zombie virus starts, isn't really any different than the films that have came before it. I do think many zombie fans will like it..many will be game for zombies in a forest, even if we rarely see true carnage(..there is some flesh-eating, but most of it is more implied than shown in depth). The cast, for the exception of Bourne, who I thought was dreadful, is actually pretty decent. I really thought Christopher, as the foreman who becomes the rock everyone leans on to stay alive, was especially good.
LOUSY ZOMBIE FILM
nogodnomasters13 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This isn't the worst zombie film made in the US, it just tries to be. The movie starts out on an island where there is a battle between loggers and environmentalists. One of the loggers hits a spike while cutting down a tree. The recoil from the chainsaw cuts his shoulder. Some of the sap from the experimental tree gets in the wound and BINGO! You suddenly have a flesh eating zombie.
The scene quickly moves to a board of director scene who haven't heard from the logging camp. There is a long dialogue scene between the owner of the company and his son while they are playing snooker. It is badly written, badly acted, and badly directed, pretty much like the rest of the movie. The owner wants his son to learn the business so he goes out to the camp, which he finds deserted and he is chased by zombies, who at times can run fast, and other times move like they have a broken leg. Go Figure.
Meanwhile back in the lab a clumsy bio-chemist cuts himself and gets some of the evil sap in his blood. He goes on to bite the neck out of his partner. Then we have the lab covered in plastic. A man in protective gear is taking pictures of the scene at the same time two guys in suits are standing there. Dad decides his son is in danger and the decision is made to lock down the logging camp, even though no one really knows what is going on.
Anyway the plot at this point becomes even more pointless. Zombies do not require head shots to kill...so are they really zombies?
The scene quickly moves to a board of director scene who haven't heard from the logging camp. There is a long dialogue scene between the owner of the company and his son while they are playing snooker. It is badly written, badly acted, and badly directed, pretty much like the rest of the movie. The owner wants his son to learn the business so he goes out to the camp, which he finds deserted and he is chased by zombies, who at times can run fast, and other times move like they have a broken leg. Go Figure.
Meanwhile back in the lab a clumsy bio-chemist cuts himself and gets some of the evil sap in his blood. He goes on to bite the neck out of his partner. Then we have the lab covered in plastic. A man in protective gear is taking pictures of the scene at the same time two guys in suits are standing there. Dad decides his son is in danger and the decision is made to lock down the logging camp, even though no one really knows what is going on.
Anyway the plot at this point becomes even more pointless. Zombies do not require head shots to kill...so are they really zombies?
Not bad
Redman6529 September 2006
What makes this movie good is the fact that it's well done on a low budget. In this film we find out WHY there are dead folks whom crave living flesh. These zombies are the, Romero, slow moving breed filmed like the fast paced zombies of the "DoD" 2004 (blurred and jerky).
As for the plot, they give you a reason as to why things go the way they do. Much like in "28 Days" you get to watch environmentalists get eaten. Always fun watching nuts like that get what they deserve. Sure the gore isn't in your face like a lot of movies tend to over do (I guess when you have no story to tell you need to try and make people sick).
The acting is WAAAAAAAY better than you will find in movies like Dead Alive. They pull it off. Which is all you should really expect in a horror movie.
Another good thing is the length of the film, 136 min. Good pace.
If you are a fan of the Romero zombie stuff rather than the "ZOMBIE 5" junk, check it out. I will add SEVERED to my zombie collection. Well done, or should I say RARE done.;)
As for the plot, they give you a reason as to why things go the way they do. Much like in "28 Days" you get to watch environmentalists get eaten. Always fun watching nuts like that get what they deserve. Sure the gore isn't in your face like a lot of movies tend to over do (I guess when you have no story to tell you need to try and make people sick).
The acting is WAAAAAAAY better than you will find in movies like Dead Alive. They pull it off. Which is all you should really expect in a horror movie.
Another good thing is the length of the film, 136 min. Good pace.
If you are a fan of the Romero zombie stuff rather than the "ZOMBIE 5" junk, check it out. I will add SEVERED to my zombie collection. Well done, or should I say RARE done.;)
crappy ending
salt_jane5 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
being a big fan of zombie movies i checked this one out just for pure entertainment...the back story was a tad hard to follow and i mean come on...mutant trees (im sure they wont be responsible for the end of the world). the ending was unclear, you don't really know if the chick survives or not and the zombies were smart...zombies are never smart!they're as dumb as they get but in this movie they seem to be smart enough to be able to jump out and surprise people and jump onto the back of trucks. the acting wasn't too bad but not Oscar-nominate-able (is that a word?) some scenes could have been acted a little better but in the whole it was okay .i guess if you're stuck with nothing to watch this movie is alright but don't expect anything spectacular, but then how good do zombie movies get...ever.
Entertaining and enjoyable effort
kannibalcorpsegrinder25 February 2013
After investigating a strange disappearance at a logging firm, a man finds the camp's survivors and activists being stalked by bloodthirsty zombies mutated from a tree-enhancing chemical and must stop the epidemic before it spreads outside the area.
This was a pretty enjoyable zombie outing, not necessarily the most original but definitely has enough good parts to keep it interesting. Enough gore gags to make for some entertaining and original kills, giving it some nice bloodshed as well, and the large number of encounters makes for some high-intensity action scenes, and coupled with the initiation of the epidemic early on, gives it a really great pace which makes for a really invigorating watch. Still, the tendency to shake and rotate the camera during every single action scene to the point of being unable to discern a single item in the frame makes for some extreme annoyance and irritability, as it's only on those scenes where you want to watch what's going on yet the filming technique makes it impossible. The rationale for unleashing the zombie epidemic is also a little weak, being a small blurb that doesn't really have any weight to it and makes no sense, but beyond those two minor gripes, it's not all that bad.
Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
This was a pretty enjoyable zombie outing, not necessarily the most original but definitely has enough good parts to keep it interesting. Enough gore gags to make for some entertaining and original kills, giving it some nice bloodshed as well, and the large number of encounters makes for some high-intensity action scenes, and coupled with the initiation of the epidemic early on, gives it a really great pace which makes for a really invigorating watch. Still, the tendency to shake and rotate the camera during every single action scene to the point of being unable to discern a single item in the frame makes for some extreme annoyance and irritability, as it's only on those scenes where you want to watch what's going on yet the filming technique makes it impossible. The rationale for unleashing the zombie epidemic is also a little weak, being a small blurb that doesn't really have any weight to it and makes no sense, but beyond those two minor gripes, it's not all that bad.
Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
Technical Marvel? No......Entertaining...Yes
Marty-9126 March 2006
Let's face it...It's a zombie flick so I don't usually expect much. But this film was better than I expected. I'm a big fan of the genre and found this to be quite entertaining. I'm also a SciFi fan and with the majority of the actors having previous or current work on Battlestar Gallactica (2005) and the SG1 series, I was glad to see them in a feature length motion picture. As for the movie, there were some continuity issues and some forced scenes but I enjoyed the overall story and the characters...plus the acting was acceptable. A little more time in post production to keep the story moving would have helped. So if you're a fan of the genre, I recommend seeing this one. You could certainly do A LOT worse.
You gotta be kidding
bernie-12215 July 2006
Don't be taken in by the first review of this turkey. What's wrong with it? OK, let's see... Rotten acting. Raggeddy, patchwork story. Virtually no gore. Wobbly (intentional) camera. Terrible editing. Did I say ridiculous plot? Well, I suppose nothing too much should be expected from any zombie movie, but I at least anticipated a couple of scares. How else could it be from a movie titled "Severed"? What should have been scary scenes turned out to be nothing, because instead of severed heads or whatever, all we see is spraying blood. And time after time we see a character with completely blood-drenched face, then a few seconds later is almost all cleaned up. Jumpy editing.
Some reviewers here thought this was great. I'm at a loss to understand how anybody could not see through this as the low-budget, ineptly directed trash that it is.
If you haven't seen this yet, then here's what to do: Go find "Sean of the Dead" and watch that instead. It's taking the *piss* out of all the zombie movies and it's really funny.
Some reviewers here thought this was great. I'm at a loss to understand how anybody could not see through this as the low-budget, ineptly directed trash that it is.
If you haven't seen this yet, then here's what to do: Go find "Sean of the Dead" and watch that instead. It's taking the *piss* out of all the zombie movies and it's really funny.
Zombiemovie so low-budget, they couldn't afford make-up or gore.
blandteknik1 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I love zombie movies. Even the cheap ones. This film however, is a total disappointment. If, as a film maker, you realize you cannot afford any proper zombie make-up (white foundation and red contacts just don't cut it) or any splatter or gore, why bother? Every time they kill a zombie in this film, you see the actor swinging an axe, but never ever the impact. Just a lot of blood spraying into the cameras field of view. For a movie called "Severed" I find that pathetic. They were on such a shoestring budget, they couldn't even afford to film a car running into a ditch. They retorted to the trick of swishing a hand- held camera and then cutting to the car stuck in the ditch. This camera-swish is used with tedious repetition throughout the whole movie. The only reason for proceeding making the film anyway would be if the screenplay is amazing with intense and/or shocking plot-twists. It's not. The script lacks any semblance of drama (they couldn't even come up with an ending) and is completely without ingenuity. The photography is OK. The acting competent. The visual effects non-existent. The directing desperate. Don't bother watching this film, it's a total waste of time. It's just some silly people running around in a forest.
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