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Overlord (2018), R, ★★★


Ok, zombies are a popular type of monster in the sphere of horror films that directors start to pay more attention as to what the people want than being involved to solely a fairly uninteresting story like Resident Evil. There are not many great zombie films but directors strive to do something different with them than focusing on another zombie outbreak story like 28 Days Later, World War Z or the overlong TV show, The Walking Dead. So, why not combine a World War II with a horror genre? It's been done with alternating with a WWII story with Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. What director Julian Avery achieves here is a balance of gory zombie dread and a grungy war atmosphere that settles into a blend of suspense and fun.

On the eve of D-Day, a paratrooper squad is sent to Germany to destroy a radio tower in a church but their plane is shot down before they reach the target, sparing five survivors: Corporal Ford and soldiers Boyce, Tibbet, Chase and Dawson (Wyatt Russell, Jovan Adept, John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker and Jacob Anderson). The team runs into a French woman named Chloe (Mathilde Oliver) who agrees to take them to the church where the radio tower is being located. Chloe lives with his younger brother, Paul (Gianny Taufer) and their aunt, Simone (Éva Magyar), who is disfigured.

As the soldiers are hiding in their attic, SS Wafner (Pilou Asbæk) is attempting to rape Chloe but Boyce attacks him and he is taken away in captivity. While attempting to reach the rendezvous point, Boyce witnesses the Nazis burning the disfigured residents. Inside the base, Boyce learns that various experiments taken place in the lab, based around a mysterious liquid compound that the Nazis encountered in the church. For research, Boyce takes the serum and escapes but terror is on the loose.



This movie is a surprise because I thought the combination of both a war genre and a horror genre was a bad and risky idea. But, it was a high-risk investment that paid off because both fans of both genre will have a good time with this flick. This movie is a bit familiar as this is a checklist of elements from other better films in the science fiction realm that gets you rooting for the characters especially one that is in tribute to the science fiction horror masterpiece, Alien, which involves a flamethrower which is still bad-ass.

Even though I thought it was a surprise, I should not have the feeling because it is produced by J.J. Abrams who has a keen eye for flavor in genre films that the people want. He is basically a disciple of Steven Spielberg because he understands what the audience wants like Spielberg did in the '70s and '80s. People do not just want one genre that appeals to one certain crowd but a bevy of crowds. Director Avery frames the film with eerie suspense and a jagged edge of near-hard-core gore that it tantalizes you with such tremble but in a positive way. The movie delivers on thrills, chills and some gory spills in its set pieces, especially during the opening scene, thankfully accompanied by a great score by Jed Kurzel and the appealing cinematography by Laurie Rose and Fabian Wagner, that it becomes a fun time at the movies.

***


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