A World War II-set zombie film from producer J.J. Abrams and the director of Son of a Gun? Yes, please! Overlord is a balls-to-the-wall, blast of a movie that cracks the genre film milieu on its head in the most joyous of bombastic ways. Julius Avery’s thrill fest is out now on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download formats and is a must-see for every soul who considers themselves a fan of horror, thrillers, war movies or frankly—movies that are wickedly smart and keenly aware of what they’re achieving through every frame.
From the get-go Overlord announces itself in the most visually stunning of manners. We’ve got an army of U.S. servicemen heading into the European theater to battle the Nazis and as they get close, the silent hum of the planes’ motor is eclipsed by all hell breaking lose in the form of enemy anti-aircraft fire that turns this parade of U.S. air might into utter chaos as our paratroopers leap off a crashing plane and into the riveting reality of war.
If that hell wasn’t enough, what our ensemble of fighters encounters next ought to cause nightmares until the end of time. After landing across France in various forms of disarray, our crew comes together and stumbles on a secret Nazi facility that they must take down. Why? There are some seriously odd experiments going on in this place with the Germans playing G-d in a manner that was never meant for humans to dally in.
The ensemble is top notch, led by Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Pilou Asbaek, John Magaro, Bokeem Woodbine and Mathilde Ollivier. Typical of an Abrams-produced sci-fi tinged drama with horrific overtones, each thespian loses themselves in their roles and as such, not one soul stands out. It’s an impressive cast who knows that they aren’t “the stars” of the film, the zombies and evil-doers who create them are more the ones gaining the spotlight in this endeavor and as such, we the audience can collectively cheer on our heroes to do what they must—and sacrifice the ultimate sacrifice—in order to ensure that whatever is being created in this hell of a landscape, doesn’t escape into the world at large.
Think you know what Overlord is about? Think again, as it zigzags and crisscrosses through a variety of brash cinematic charms to deliver one of the more original films that you will witness in the last several years. Kudos to all involved for that achievement. For more on the film itself, don’t miss my theatrical Overlord review.
The bonus features arrive with a six-part featurette. The Horrors of War is its title and it is broken down in a sextet of behind-the-scenes awesomeness.
Creation starts us off with a stellar look that goes truly deep. The featurette focuses on the themes of the film that lies beneath all that action, special effects and moviemaking wizardry that compels us so richly in Overlord. Also discussed is Billy Ray’s story (he also co-wrote the screenplay with Mark L. Smith) and its wicked originality. Avery’s helming gets an inside look, as well as details on the production design, the ensemble casting and the influence of Abrams.
Death Above takes us behind the “Oz curtain,” so to speak and reveals how that mind-blowing opening sequence was achieved. As we stated earlier in this review, that thing grabs you by the lapels and shakes you to your core. Having a featurette devoted to how that was achieved is a stroke of genius. I wanted to know and I’m sure millions of other souls will feel the say way.
Death on the Ground is an almost ten-minute featurette that explores the entire first act, Ollivier’s riveting richness as Chloe, the character of Wafner and how Asbæk’s performance elevated what was on the page. There are chats about prosthetics as well that are surprisingly enlightening.
We’ve head death above, death on the ground and now… you guessed it—Death Below. For those who want to hear folks discussing that brilliant melding of war and horror genres will get their wishes fulfilled as well as entertaining looks at some of the film’s important set locales and how production design provided a priceless aide to filmmakers and actors equally in terms of realization of the horror potential that lay at the heart of the script.
Death No More shines the spotlight brilliantly on a diverse behind-the-scenes cast of characters—from costume designers to those who gave us those bloody brilliant practical effects and even some insight into the weapons utilized by our heroes as they combat the unthinkable in a World War II setting.
Although too short at just over five minutes, Brothers in Arms is a celebration of the chilling creative genius of the titanic talent tandem that is Avery and Abrams.
Film grade: B+
Bonus features: B+