Overlord (2018)

A small group of American soldiers find horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day.

Review

From Julius Avery (Son of a Gun) comes an interesting gore/war movie. Overlord made quite the splash in the run up to it's release in 2018. The marketing was emblazened with JJ Abrams name, but credited only as a producer, taking it as an Abrams film does a disservice to others involved. This is an Avery film. And damn fine it is too, if not more than a little strange.

Written by Billy Ray (Captain Philips) and Mark L. Smith (The Revenant) the film tells of a group of US soldiers parachuting into German occupied France to take down a radio tower. When there they come across 'Nazi mutation experimentation'. The story itself is not going to break new ground, but the screenplay is good and solid, and it makes for an interesting watch. The dialogue is snappy, witty, and draws a nice ring around the bleakness of the setting.

Star of the show is Jovan Adepo (Mother!) who does a fantastic job with very little big screen experience, especially when on screen with the powerhouse performances from the fantastic Wyatt Russell (22 Jump Street) and the villain of the piece Pilou Asbæk (Ben-Hur).

The film starts with a riveting first act, strongly footed in the reality of war. There's no showy horror outside of that you would see in, say, Saving Private Ryan. Which is no bad thing. The performances are worthy, and the writing and direction on point. It will catch you on the back foot, though, when expecting a war time set horror film. But when it gets there, oh, how does it get there.

Starting the second act off with the living dead, and right off the bat, the gore pumps onto the screen like it may go out of fashion. But don't be fooled, zombie this is not. Both the direction and the writing play the film a little tongue in cheek when it goes full horror movie, so any thoughts of it becoming too akin to Hostel go straight out of the window.

With the cast putting in nothing short of a stunning performance, and with such a simple, yet well executed premise, Overlord is a fantastic experience. Yes, the gore is over the top in places, but the cast are almost gleeful as they bound around it. It's not scary in the end, but some of the earlier scenes in particular aim for a squirming, uncomfortable, feel, which they hit between the eyes.

Certainly in my opinion, this is must see stuff for horror fans. If you aren't a fan of horror, and like gritty war movies, perhaps you'd best give this one a miss.