Overlord review

OVERLORD:

WORLD WAR II ZOMBIE FLICK IS A BLOODY, GREAT TIME!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

On the eve of D-Day, a terrifying discovery was made in Overlord

            A zombie outbreak gets loose on Nazi-occupied France on the eve of D-Day in Overlord, part war drama, part zombie gore-fest, all fun. The film is produced by J.J. Abrams (Cloverfield franchise, Star Trek (2009 trilogy), Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and directed by Julius Avery (Son of a Gun) who bring to the screen a completely absurd concept but unlike a Predator dog being trained by humans or Tom Hardy eating people alive off-screen with forced family-friendly results, this one actually works.

            Overlord goes balls to the wall with extreme violence, grotesque imagery, and an all-out war between American soldiers, Nazis, and the undead. The best I can describe it is, imagine a George A. Romero zombie movie like Dawn of the Dead in a World War II setting, you get the best of both worlds, a thrilling war drama and an over-the-top zombie bloodbath.

            Set in World War II, the film follows a paratrooper squad tasked to destroy a Nazi radio tower in an old church in France. However, their plane is immediately shot down before they had the chance to make their target, leaving only five apparent survivors, Cpl. Ford (Wyatt Russell-22 Jump Street, Everybody Wants Some!!, Ingrid Goes West), Pvt. Ed Boyce (Jovan Adepo-The Leftovers, Fences, Mother!), Tibbet (John Magaro-Not Fade Away, Carol, Marshall), Chase (Iain De Caestecker-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., In Fear, Lost River), and Dawson (Jacob Anderson-The Mimic, Game of Thrones, Offender).

            The soldiers join forces with a young French villager named Chloe (Newcomer, Mathilde Ollivier) to penetrate the church’s walls to take the tower down. Little do they know; the church also houses a secret Nazi laboratory where horrific experiments have taken place.

            Now, with only hours until the deadline when the radio tower must be destroyed, the outnumbered soldiers come face to face with enemies unlike any the world has ever seen.

            The film also stars Pilou Asbaek (Game of Thrones, Lucy, Ghost in the Shell (2017)) as Cpt. Wafner, Bokeem Woodbine (Fargo (TV series), Underground, Spider-Man: Homecoming) as Sgt. Eldson, and Erich Redman (Saving Private Ryan, U-571, The Illusionist) as Dr. Schmidt.

            Overall, Overlord delivers exactly what it advertises, Nazi zombies and a serious body count and in an age where just about every major release is a sequel or remake, it’s a breath of fresh air to see something as original as this. Sure, we’ve seen Nazi zombies before in other movies and especially video games like Call of Duty and Wolfenstein, but this movie plays up the war drama aspect more than the zombie movie part, and surprisingly I’m not complaining.

            At first, I thought the main soldiers were going to be annoying all throughout the movie because apparently film has a habit of making ass-clowns out of American soldiers all the time. But as it went on, I grew to become invested in each of the characters and wanted to see them survive and succeed in their mission, despite mostly consisting of movie soldier stereotypes.

            Even before the zombie attack, this movie is legitimately disturbing and frightening, with an intense sequence with planes being gunned down and blown up in the opening, people being shot, grotesque disfigurements, and a near rape scenario between the Nazi captain and the French villager. This is quite possibly one of the tensest experiences I’ve ever had in a movie theater, and the film warrants its R rating.

            In an age where everything is P.C. and the MPAA gives film ratings with very strict procedures and guidelines, it’s great to see an R-rated movie that’s hardcore. When I watch a movie that was given an R rating for strong violence, I expect things to get grisly and heavy, Overlord delivers in that regard.

            Let’s talk about those zombies, these aren’t the clichéd movie zombies with a taste for brains and flesh, these bad boys are given enhanced strength and healing abilities through a serum created by the Nazis, kind of like a reverse Captain America. The side effects differ depending on the person and you never know what to expect when a character is injected with it.

            Something I would like to make clear about this movie, the trailers and commercials built it up as a zombie apocalypse movie in World War II, there’s really not that many zombies which might turn some people off. The focus of the film is more on the soldiers stopping the Nazis and destroying the radio tower to prevent the apocalypse, would I like to have seen more zombies in the movie? Sure, but for what I got, I still had a fun time.

            I don’t know what else to say, a movie in which soldiers battle Nazis and zombies with an R rating, absurd yet engaging premise, and surprisingly strong character development. If you want to see Dead Snow meets Saving Private Ryan, look no further than Overlord, it’ll give you the right amount of bloody B-movie thrills and effective drama in an already terrifying event in history.