Mark Reviews Movies: OVERLORD (2018)

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Review by Mark Dujsik | November 9, 2018

Overlord begins like an ordinary war movie. We meet a group of archetypical soldiers, from our green and uncertain protagonist, to the guy with the thick New York accent, to the rough sergeant, to the scrawny guy who doesn't look like he's going to make it, and more. There aren't too many more, of course, because these soldiers are flying into occupied France, several hours ahead of the D-Day invasion. Most of the occupants of the plane won't last the flight. The plane doesn't, either.

The flight is about the only respite the characters and, by extension, we get from the terrors of war and, then, from the unimaginable terrors that the Nazis, through their very real and unspeakable crimes against humanity, have managed to create. The screenplay by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith does such a good job of gradually leading us from a war story to a horror tale that we only briefly question its judgment. Obviously, the film is exploiting Nazi crimes as a means of near-schlocky entertainment. Sometimes, though, the entertainment factor is enough to make us overlook the exploitation.

That's the case with this adept blending of war movie, horror story, science-fiction, and historical speculation. The speculation—that the Nazis have discovered a method of creating super soldiers from a mysterious ooze that previously had remained untapped beneath a church in a small French town—is patently ridiculous. On the other hand, there is at least evidence that this evil regime was looking into matters of the supernatural in order to achieve its goals. That's enough of an excuse, one supposes, to put forth the silly question: What if the Nazis actually found something along those lines and used it for their purposes?

At this point in a discussion of the film, pointing out the eventual developments of this story might be jumping the gun, but then again, there's no real, clear divide in the film's major plot shift. It simply happens without making too big a deal out of the drastic change. One minute, we're watching a top-secret, stealthy mission to destroy a radio-jamming tower in the church, and the next, we're watching as dead bodies are rising and, in their revived state, are capable of doing extraordinary physical feats. Because we buy the setup of the initial story, as well as its broad but defined characters, it's much easier for us to accept the impossible.

The central character is Boyce (Jovan Adepo), a private in the U.S. Army who's aboard the plane heading into France. He's more of a decent man than a good soldier, if his comrades are to be believed. Tibbet (John Magaro), the guy from New York, recalls a story about the time a mouse ended up in their barracks during basic training. Instead of killing the rodent, Boyce caught it and released it into a field, only for it to return again. Most of Boyce's fellow soldiers wonder if he'll be able to kill any Nazis when the time arrives.

There's chaos almost from the start, as Boyce and the soldiers who survive an attack on their plane parachute past artillery fire and exploding aircraft. Director Julius Avery keeps the camera close to Boyce on his sudden jump, which is only the beginning of the terrifying carnage. Boyce, Tibbet, Army journalist Chase (Iain De Caestecker), and explosives expert Ford (Wyatt Russell) survive the jump and a forest filled with German soldiers.

They make their way toward the town with the jamming tower, getting directions from Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier), a woman who lives in the town with her 8-year-old brother Paul (Gianny Taufer). The two have an aunt, who has become ill after being taken to the church by Wafner (Pilou Asbæk), a ruthless SS commander. There are rumors that a German doctor (played by Erich Redman) has been performing "scientific" experiments on the locals. The aunt, with her hacking cough and moldy skin, barely sounds or looks human anymore.

It's obvious foreshadowing, even in the moment, but the film remains invested in the plan to blow up the radio tower. There's some significant tension as some Nazis start investigating the house where the soldiers are hiding and as Boyce disobeys Ford to save Chloe from Wafner. Ford is of the opinion that he and his comrades have to be as cruel as the Nazis to defeat them. Boyce would rather stay above their level. At a certain point, such questions of morality mean nothing. A potential army of undead, super-strong zombies will do that such matters.

This appears to be the thinking of the filmmakers in regards to the question of using abominable matters of reality as a starting point for science-fiction horror. It's extreme enough—this idea of Nazi zombies—that questions of ethical storytelling really don't matter that much.

Once we realize that Ray and Smith have gone far beyond any foundation of reality, it's only a matter of appreciating the film's dedication to claustrophobic atmosphere (Multiple sequences take place in the catacombs beneath the church, where tunnels circle around away and toward some inhuman monster) and over-the-top violence. There's also the slimy and/or gory makeup and visual effects to admire. One zombie snaps its neck backwards, only to have bones jutting out beneath the re-adjusted head, and another has a gaping hole in its face from a bullet wound.

Somehow, the mashup works, because the filmmakers play both sides of its dual plot with an equally straight face. Overlord is absurd, but it's fairly entertaining, too.

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