'Overlord' Review

On the eve of D-Day, American paratroopers drop behind enemy lines to penetrate the walls of a fortified church and destroy a radio transmitter. As the soldiers approach their target, they soon begin to realize that there's more going on in the Nazi-occupied village than a simple military operation. Making their way to an underground lab, outnumbered men stumble upon a sinister experiment that forces them into a vicious battle against an army of the undead.

Overlord is directed by Julius Avery and written by Mark L. Smith and Billy Ray. Supposedly, it was originally intended to tie into Cloverfield and the corresponding anthology, but alas, Overlord is not another Cloverfield movie. It's actually a fairly grounded, gruesome war flick preceding the Normandy Invasion once the supernatural elements are removed. Though Overlord is set during World War II and features zombies created by Nazi experimentation, I feel I should inform you that it's not quite the cinematic equivalent of the Nazi Zombies game mode from Call of Duty. The zombies were more of a mysterious obstacle sprinkled into the story as opposed to being the primary plot focus. This is a war film first, and a grindhouse-styled B-movie second. Overlord happens to be at its best whenever the genres overlap. 

Easing audiences into the supernatural, Overlord takes its time to unleash its undead entities and instead first focuses on setting the stage for all the insanity to come. Viewers are dropped right into the action as planes full of paratroopers fly over Normandy. Things quickly go awry, but Overlord's seemingly no different than the war movies audiences have grown accustomed to. The characters are painted in broad strokes, but manage to be no less endearing. While their personalities were rather simple, the characters were likable enough for me to at least become invested in their survival. Beyond that, the cast is chocked full of cinematic soldier stereotypes, for better or for worse. 

Otherwise, Overlord proved itself to be more gory and suspenseful than I could have ever imagined, boasting creature effects so excellent that the make-up, prosthetics, and visual effects work was all indistinguishable. Other elements I appreciated included the cinematography from Laurie Rose and Fabian Wagner as well as Jed Kurzel's score.

The ensemble cast of up-and-coming acting talent also demonstrate substantial range in a plethora of physically and emotionally-exhaustive roles. Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Mathilde Ollivier, and Pilou Asbæk each elevate simplistic material to portray larger-than-life personalities befitting of an exploitation flick.

At the end of the day, Overlord wasn't exactly what I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it in all its grindhouse glory. If you're interested in World War II, zombies, or all of the above, you can't afford to Nazi Overlord in theaters.

Film Assessment: B+