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Review

Zombies are back and they are better than ever. No, zombie films have never fully disappeared from the cinematic consciousness, but after a nearly 20-year lull, there has been a major new wave of good movies about the undead for the past few years. Add the wonderful Severed to the list of cool Zombie films like 28 Days Later and the Dawn Of The Dead remake. Handsomely produced, well-shot, written, directed and acted, Severed is wildly entertaining, surprisingly intelligent and, believe it or not, often moving. Lumberjacks working in an experimental genetically modified forest clash with earnest environmentalists who later need to join forces when the “Franken-sap” starts infecting those who come in contact with it, resulting in serious Zombification. Reminiscent of disaster movies and the one that really started it all, Night Of The Living Dead, this film sticks characters from opposite ends of society together and watches philosophies clash. Severed not only emphasizes suspense and tension rather than gratuitous gore but it stresses the nature of the human element — living or undead, for better or worse.

 -- David Greenberg