Overlord (2018)

'Overlord', the new film from producer J.J. Abrams and his company Bad Robot seems to be at odds with itself. On the one hand, you have a thrilling action/drama set during World War II and on the other you have a 'Wolfenstein' like take on the zombie horror film and it's this frequent clash that gets in the way of something that could have perfect had the filmmakers leaned one way or the other. The story involves a group of soldiers who must take out a Nazi satellite in order for the Allied troops to receive air support on Normandy beach. Once at the location, they discover hideous genetic experiments being conducted by the local Nazi soldiers and scientists and must put a stop to both. Most of you who know me personally will know that I am an absolute horror movie junkie, watching even the most inane crap that's out there however, I think the horror element is sadly the worst aspect of 'Overlord'. Real-life atrocities and human experimentation was happening during this period by the Nazis and I felt that had the film gone the route of showing true human horrors, then the film would be a solid war film. The zombie/mutated people just instantly drains any reality from the picture and should have been placed in a more appropriate film.

It's not just the tone change that I feel affects it either. We are given no explanation whatsoever as to where this mysterious liquid the Nazis are using has come from, why it was under a church, and what exactly does it do beyond making undead soldiers. It reminds me of 2012's 'Prometheus' in that the film clearly wants to go in one direction, but at the last second it completely derails itself in order to shoehorn in horror elements. It just doesn't work here at all and I'm really disappointed by this because the first two acts of the film are brilliant. We get a amazing opening sequence involving soldiers parachuting out of a damaged plane, some likeable and developed characters and they each have their own unique motives and personalities that keep your attention on the film. The Nazis themselves are shown to be very over the top as one would see in an 'Indiana Jones' film and while that may bother some, the feel I get from the film is that it is trying to be a film from way back when.

The film's final act is where everything sadly goes downhill and quickly at that. It's especially disappointing that the creature effects are mostly done in CGI, which is noticeable and cheap looking for a film from 2018. I've seen smaller budget films this year like 'Suspiria' with better makeup and gore effects than in 'Overlord'. What I do love about the effects is during the big opening sequence and the gunfights which are very well shot and paced and the sound design here is excellent. I came out of 'Overlord' feeling nothing for it, but having waited a day and thinking through it, I don't feel quite as critical about it. It's not unwatchable by any means, but it's a rainy day or rental kind of movie that suffers from tone whiplash and a lackluster final act. I don't exactly recommend it, but if you do give 'Overlord' a shot just be sure to go in without the high expectations I admittedly had.

3/5