[usr 4.5]
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, the outnumbered men stumble upon a sinister experiment that forces them into a vicious battle against an army of the undead.
Here we are in what was to be the fourth addition to the “Cloververse” established by J.J. Abrams as a testing ground for inventive new genre films to reach theatrical release. Many may not recall, but “Overlord” originally started under the guise of a stealth release accompanying the ongoing saga that is “Cloverfield movies, but not really.” Since it sits fourth on the distribution list it ranks higher than its predecessor (“The Cloverfield Paradox”) and somewhere alongside its grandfather, “10 Cloverfield Lane” but above its great-grandfather, “Cloverfield.” In fact, the movie succeeds so well it doesn’t need the Cloverfield branding and has since drifted from our collective memory of the marketing/filmmaking experiment. Clearly, “Overlord” achieves its goal so strongly we don’t need the association since there is no tie-in and the theatrical release couldn’t be more perfectly timed. Apparently, fighting Nazi Zombies thematically resonates with us today, and this movie more than delivers on its promises of violence, special effects, and horror genre fare.
Let me start off by saying the first thirty minutes of “Overlord” is an auditory and visual treat. We get to know every member of this outfit, their mission, and our protagonist. As their plane flies over French territory, of course, they’re attacked, of course, the plane gets shot down, but that sequence where the plane turns into a hellish landscape of fire and wind… Even though it made my ears bleed I enjoyed every minute of it as my body tensed up, wondering who would survive. If the movie’s opening is thirty minutes of “war is hell,” then they sent a strong message to us saying “more hell will follow.” As we hear the bombs burst, the airplane banks, the deep rhythmic thumping of the soundtrack, the shrieking planes falling, and the panicked gasps of our protagonist we quickly immerse ourselves in a World War II horror movie.
Meet Boyce, a young private in the war played with boyish terror by Jovan Adepo. Boyce, crash landing in the French countryside, reunites with three of his teammates: Tibbet (John Magaro), the loudmouthed New Yorker with little moral conscience, Chase (Iain De Caestecker), the naïve photographer, and the mysterious Ford (Wyatt Russell). During their escape, they encounter local Frenchwoman, Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier). Together the five must invade the local Nazi camp (built on the local cathedral) and destroy the radio tower. Except their journey deep into enemy territory reveals the Nazis work on something much more insidious than bombs. Wafner (Pilou Asbæk), the local Nazi commander, easily threatens all of the men with his knowledge of a serum designed to bring everlasting life – at a cost.
This movie commands excellent scripting, acting, production design, fight choreography, music production, and more. From the handheld, rough action shots of planes exploding to the quieter moments not a second feels wasted (except for this one diversion where they turn one of their own into a zombie – but that counts as world-building in my opinion.) Every second feels harrowing and even though we suspect what may occur we’re still buckled in for the ride.
Top notch to the makeup and prosthetics department. The design of these nightmarish creatures stands above all. With slime covering their bodies, blood pouring out of orifices, and terrifying beady eyes, you cringe just to stare at the monster in front of you. This movie, despite opening like a landing on Omaha beach, is less war movie and much more horror. Jump scares abound and even the finale manages to shock and surprise you. Throughout the film, the protagonist bumps up against moral questions of: What will you do in order to win the war? On one side of the moral spectrum, you have Ford, a monster by all standards willing to torture people, abandon others to savagery, all in the name of completing a mission. It is his story to tell as much as Boyce’s. Boyce, being on the opposite side of that spectrum, questionably navigates the line between murder and war, morality and success, risk and reward. When the Nazis capture a child to experiment on, he’s the one advocating they rescue the child AND blow up the radio tower. Ford would abandon the child.
Ultimately, I enjoyed this movie. It’s unafraid to show off its brutality. Heads explode, limbs chop off, people impale other people. The director’s commitment to blending CGI with practical effects works particularly well. A sound design lends itself to every moment, every bit of tension. Scary Nazi Zombies abound. Charismatic American soldiers each get their arc. By the end, I felt like I’d just finished a particularly satisfying horror video game. I’ve never played “Wolfenstein” but I understand it shares similar themes with “Overlord.” If that’s true, I may have to play because this monster-movie-turned-war-movie felt like a drastic success to me. Equal parts terrifying, gross, and engrossing, I couldn’t turn away, not for a second as American soldiers fight for their lives against Nazi Zombies. I highly recommend people go see this one in theaters. It’s best done that way. Horror aficionados won’t be disappointed!
In theaters Friday, November 9th
