"Overlord" Movie Review

I already couldn't imagine the hells that soldiers were put through during World War 2, but until this film, I also never felt like I was there with them. Sure there are great war films such as Saving Private Ryan, Hacksaw Ridge, and Dunkirk and they all excelled at what they were attempting to do. What Overlord did, however, was take real and horrifying situations and infuse them with a different kind of horror. The two colliding genres worked together magnificently, bringing a freshness to both genres.

The film follows a group of soldiers who are deployed to Germany during WWII on a mission to destroy a radio tower. During the mission, Boyce and his small surviving group discovers an experimental lab that turns the dead and gravely injured into seemingly unkillable mutants. This, as we discover, is all an effort by the Germans to create an undefeatable army. When a local French woman's kid brother is abducted by a sinister German commander, Boyce and his team decide to stray from their original mission to save the kid from a grim fate.

Probably the best thing about this film was the cinematography. It was astounding from start to finish, bringing the characters' fears and the surrounding horrors of war to life. The score by Jed Kurzel is haunting, tapping into fear itself during the latter part of the film, especially the final act in the lab.

I loved that the film used mostly unknown actors. People that see this film aren't going for some big-time star, they're going probably for the genre and they'll be introduced to new people who were rather extraordinary in their roles, the two standouts being Jovan Adepo and Mathilde Ollivier. The one star who might be recognizable is Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt Russell. Hopefully this film will launch all three of their careers forward in a good way.

The main issue I had with the film was the editing. There were times when it felt like the film deleted some important story points and glued together what was left. Thankfully it wasn't often, maybe twice out of the whole film.

In conclusion, I had a blast at the theater. Sure, I could see a few of the jumpscares coming, but the film brought something fresh to both the war and horror genres. I give the film a 3.8 out of 4.