Overlord follows Private Boyce (Jovan Adepo) as he is part of the invading force on D-Day. Boyce’s plane is shot down as they get ready to jump and scattered across the French countryside. What’s left of the platoon, led by Corporal Ford (Wyatt Russell), is caught behind enemy lines with the entire invasion relying on the success of their mission to take out a Nazi radio tower. However, what they find under the tower is more horrifying than they ever could’ve imagined.
Boyce ends up inside the compound and finds that the Nazis are experimenting on the people of a small French village. Among the things found are a talking head without a body, a room of bodies being harvested for blood, and a serum that brings the dead back to life. After the brother of a sympathetic woman in the village gets captured Boyce and Ford change their mission plan to destroy the compound from the inside.
Overlord has about 5 minutes at the beginning of the movie before things get crazy. After that, the film doesn’t take its foot off the gas until the end. The action sequences are some of the best of the year and the opening airdrop is one of the most harrowing war scenes put to the screen. Beyond that, Overlord really sets itself apart from other action and war films with the over-the-top gore and horror influences.
The balls-to-the-wall action is a high point of Overlord but the horror elements are the moments where it really shines. It tweaks common clichés and has some of the best body horror scares of the decade. At one point a resurrected soldier’s head bends backward and I legitimately covered my eyes from shock. Both the practical and special effects used to accomplish moments like this are really where the film shines. The ridiculous gore is sold by how legitimate it looks.
It’s not all good things for Overlord though as many horror beats feel borrowed. The clichéd nature of some of these moments undercut the intended scare factor but it never fully detracts from the narrative. Another major problem with the film isn’t huge but somewhat disappointing. I feel like I saw at least one shot from every scene in the trailers. It never ruined the experience but caused none of the film to feel truly unpredictable.
Overlord masquerades early as a true war film but after the first act, the film leans into more action/horror clichés that make the experience a predictable one. That predictability doesn’t hurt the film as the over-the-top gore, action/horror combo, and tight script are enough to overcome it.
All in all, Overlord gives a unique twist on the war genre with action/horror elements. The movie stars Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, and Pilou Asbæk. It was produced by J.J. Abrams via Bad Robot Productions. It was directed by Julius Avery and written by Billy Ray.
Overlord is in theaters now.
