Overlord (2018)

Directed by: Julius Avery | 110 minutes | action, adventure | Actors: Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, Pilou Asbæk, John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Jacob Anderson, Dominic Applewhite, Gianny Taufer, Joseph Quinn, Bokeem Woodbine, Erich Redman, Mark McKenna, Hayley Carmichael

Nazis and Zombies: A match made in hell! ‘Overlord’ also proves that a crossover between living corpses and Germanic ghouls has a right to exist. What makes this film special is the generous budget. Normally, this type of pulp is made for an apple and an egg. The JJ Abrams-supported ‘Overlord’ had quite a few millions and that made it into a big budget horror film.

Overlord is set during D-Day. In 1944, a plane full of paratroopers is shot out of the sky. These men end up in a thickly wooded Normandy where they end up from one horrific situation to another. This journey to hell gets even more intense when the Allies discover that the Nazis are engaged in dubious experiments. By bringing the dead back to life, the villains hope to make their dreamed Millennial Kingdom a reality.

A film in which Nazis and zombies pass by should not be taken too seriously. The tastelessness oozes from it. Still, ‘Overlord’ starts off surprisingly intense. The opening scene in an airplane is already good, and so is the crash in a meadow. Then follows a fragment in which a number of soldiers walk through a minefield, which is also quite oppressive. Before the first zombie comes into view, you have already seen a lot of gory violence and a tension has been worked on. No one is safe.

The acting is – certainly for the genre – more than decent. The African-American Wyatt Russell portrays an empathetic (read: fearful) hero. In fact, this actor is the beating heart of the film and makes you feel involved with these soldiers. The other allies are unfortunately less interesting and consist of clichés. The foul-mouthed American with Italian roots, the scrawny marksman and the enigmatic, taciturn outsider: you know them.

The Nazis are nice and thick and without exception filthy bastards. Exactly as it should. Also in terms of gore ‘Overlord’ is more than okay. The blood flows abundantly and bullet impacts are nicely graphically depicted. Genre fans who want to see a big budget version of this horror niche should definitely check this film out!