They say if the teacher is 15 minutes late, to leave… but hopefully a week late didn’t keep you away from talking about Overlord!

Overlord (2018)

• Directed by: Julius Avery
• Written by:  Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith
• Starring:
  • Jovan Adepo
  • Wyatt Russell
  • Mathilde Ollivier
  • Pilou Asbæk
• Streaming Spots:
  • None! (as of writing, it’s in Theaters)
• Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes
• Synopsis: A little squad of American soldiers find horror behind enemy lines on the eve of D-Day.

Scary Thoughts

As of right now, I’m writing this on Veteran’s Day 2018. With so many movies out that I wanted to see, the one that I got a pass for was between Bohemian Rhapsody and this. Thankfully, the Mrs. wants to see Bohemian Rhapsody, and I can’t see it without her, so Overlord it was!

Thank goodness for that! 

I wasn’t completely sure what to expect going into this film. I’d seen the extended trailer a few times and thought it looked interesting enough. It had just the right amount of World War II intrigue to pique my interest. 

The film starts off with us meeting our main character, Boyce (Jovan Adepo), flying on a cargo aircraft on a mission to disable a radio tower the night before the Allied landing on Normandy… D-Day. There we meet some of the supporting characters… but we don’t need to care about them for very long.

What happens next is a thrilling, hectic, cinematic rollercoaster ride…

ACTION

If you’ve seen the trailer, you know what happens. The planes are fired upon and kickstart a bloody, explosive scene that makes it CLEAR that this is a World War II flick. Bullets tear through the body of the plane and also through the bodies of Boyce’s fellow paratroopers. It is an incredible scene and is up there with some of my favorites (Dawn of the Dead remake sticks out).

From there, once on the ground, the film slowly shifts into a bit of horror mystery. Boyce meets up with some of his fellow survivors and plan to destroy the radio tower that’s placed on top of a church. But the characters slowly realize that there’s something darker happening in the small town they hole up in (other than the abundance of Nazi’s).  After finding himself inside the church, Boyce starts to piece together the mystery. By the time the film heads into the third act, two separate but important missions begin to form. This second mission, which I won’t spoil, involves a serum that the Nazi’s are testing on the townspeople and the woman who gave the soldiers shelter. 

The conclusion is a perfect mix of war film and action horror. There are two missions happening side by side and it’s both grounded and horrific. 

Characters

The characters are all played really well. Chloe (Mathilde Olliver) is played with strength, even in the times when, in other films, the character would be far more vulnerable. Her character is a survivor. Wyatt Russell, who plays Ford, is the experienced soldier in charge of the small group. He is both the most practical and pragmatic of the team and leads the way when it comes to being the active leader. The main character, Boyce, is the winner among the protagonists. He is initially played as sort of a pacifist but as the film progresses, we find that he’s willing to act when it’s necessary… and not when it’s convenient. He has the lowest kill count of all the soldiers but the ones he does add are worth it. He’s not a pacifist, but he’s definitely not a murderer.

Now, speaking of murderers… there are ALOT of Nazis in this movie. Thankfully, once the climax of the film rolls around, they get their comeuppance. Of course, there’s a head Nazi (played creepily by Pilou Asbæk). We’re introduced to him toward the end of the first act and he’s there till the very end. The character’s interactions with him initially are fairly onesided and it’s not clear that he’s actually a threat. But, by the time the climax hits, we see that he is, indeed, a force to be reckoned with.

Overall, the film is an excellent War Horror movie (Warror film? meh). It has a plot that makes sense, paces itself logically, and characters that we care about. Do I recommend seeing it? Hell yeah. 

Results

• Body Count:  5/5 – NAZIS
• Blood & Gore: 5/5
• Creep Factor: 3/5
• Favorite Kill: Nazi’s… all of them
• Overall: LOVED It!

Social

Have you seen the movie? Do you agree or disagree with our thoughts? We’d love to hear from you!

Twitter:

Brandon @Stevetheheb