OVERLORD review
(Reviewed by Melody Werner)
Overlord is a 2018 suspense movie directed by Julius Avery. Starring Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilda Ollivier, and John Magaro, it was released by Paramount and JJ Abrams's Bad Robot Productions. It was met with mixed reception and wasn't the biggest hit at the box office. Despite being billed as a horror, it really isn't; owing more to the suspense genre than horror. I say that as someone who avoids horror films but was interested in Overlord as it didn't sound like a horror flick. And I'm glad I didn't skip this one--because Overlord rocks.
Despite some minor glitches, Overlord is for the most part a very polished film. The sets are convincing, and there's a nice attention to detail in them too. You don't have moments where corpses might disappear from one spot if they were in an earlier scene, or anything amateurish like that. Cloaked in viscera, it wrings quite a bit of body horror in some scenes, though I'd obviously hesitate to call that a major component of the film. The action scenes are in no way the spectacle you might find in such films as John Wick, Equilibrium, or Upgrade. Rather, they are entertaining thanks to the coolness of the things that the characters do to one another--and a good dose of gore. The music is solid, if unspectacular. Overlord's performances are pretty good across the board, with Magaro doing a great job chewing up the scenery towards the end.
What's most cool about Overlord is how it is able to effectively build a sense of mounting tension and paranoia, daring you to chicken out, before tugging at the audience's cheek and saying "Not yet." It does so for the bulk of the picture, leading to its high octane finale. While its story isn't the most unique, it gets away with that by crafting an ultra-satisfying one which uses structure to great effect. Adhering to the principle of Chekov's gun, it sows seeds early on which we eventually come back to, and the fruit of these seeds lead to much of the narrative satisfaction. Something I particularly appreciate is how this is not the "everyone dies" story you'd expect it to be. In fact, the preconceptions you might initially have for "Nazi zombies" should probably be discarded if you want to come in knowing what's up. Because this isn't the tongue in cheek pulp that seems inherent to such a premise. Though the dialogue is fairly workmanlike for the most part, there are some terrific lines scattered throughout.
This is not to say that Overlord is this perfect or transcendent film per se. While it is a tremendously compelling viewing experience, it didn't keep me at the edge of my seat the whole time and it's the kind of flick you wouldn't mind stepping away from to do something else for a bit. While most of the characters are likeable or hateable enough, the main character is pretty weak. Not Adepo, who does an admirable job in his portrayal, but how his character is written. Even though he acts pretty reasonably given his circumstances (though at times he does make some glaringly bad decisions), his character development isn't handled the best. He kinda goes all over the spectrum without much attention paid to his personality changes.
Overlord is a rollicking good time. Harrowing, engrossing, crowd-pleasing. If you're the kind who's still listening after hearing "Nazi zombies," and continue sticking around after "And it's not too pulpy or self aware," then I suggest you give it a look. I sure foresee me rewatching it again. Overlord gets a 9/10.
Awesome
Summary:
It might not be what you're expecting, but Overlord is a damn clever and enjoyable watch. Insert a glib, trite "It's better than it has a ny right to be" remark.
Overlord is a 2018 suspense movie directed by Julius Avery. Starring Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilda Ollivier, and John Magaro, it was released by Paramount and JJ Abrams's Bad Robot Productions. It was met with mixed reception and wasn't the biggest hit at the box office. Despite being billed as a horror, it really isn't; owing more to the suspense genre than horror. I say that as someone who avoids horror films but was interested in Overlord as it didn't sound like a horror flick. And I'm glad I didn't skip this one--because Overlord rocks.
Despite some minor glitches, Overlord is for the most part a very polished film. The sets are convincing, and there's a nice attention to detail in them too. You don't have moments where corpses might disappear from one spot if they were in an earlier scene, or anything amateurish like that. Cloaked in viscera, it wrings quite a bit of body horror in some scenes, though I'd obviously hesitate to call that a major component of the film. The action scenes are in no way the spectacle you might find in such films as John Wick, Equilibrium, or Upgrade. Rather, they are entertaining thanks to the coolness of the things that the characters do to one another--and a good dose of gore. The music is solid, if unspectacular. Overlord's performances are pretty good across the board, with Magaro doing a great job chewing up the scenery towards the end.
What's most cool about Overlord is how it is able to effectively build a sense of mounting tension and paranoia, daring you to chicken out, before tugging at the audience's cheek and saying "Not yet." It does so for the bulk of the picture, leading to its high octane finale. While its story isn't the most unique, it gets away with that by crafting an ultra-satisfying one which uses structure to great effect. Adhering to the principle of Chekov's gun, it sows seeds early on which we eventually come back to, and the fruit of these seeds lead to much of the narrative satisfaction. Something I particularly appreciate is how this is not the "everyone dies" story you'd expect it to be. In fact, the preconceptions you might initially have for "Nazi zombies" should probably be discarded if you want to come in knowing what's up. Because this isn't the tongue in cheek pulp that seems inherent to such a premise. Though the dialogue is fairly workmanlike for the most part, there are some terrific lines scattered throughout.
This is not to say that Overlord is this perfect or transcendent film per se. While it is a tremendously compelling viewing experience, it didn't keep me at the edge of my seat the whole time and it's the kind of flick you wouldn't mind stepping away from to do something else for a bit. While most of the characters are likeable or hateable enough, the main character is pretty weak. Not Adepo, who does an admirable job in his portrayal, but how his character is written. Even though he acts pretty reasonably given his circumstances (though at times he does make some glaringly bad decisions), his character development isn't handled the best. He kinda goes all over the spectrum without much attention paid to his personality changes.
Overlord is a rollicking good time. Harrowing, engrossing, crowd-pleasing. If you're the kind who's still listening after hearing "Nazi zombies," and continue sticking around after "And it's not too pulpy or self aware," then I suggest you give it a look. I sure foresee me rewatching it again. Overlord gets a 9/10.
Awesome
Summary:
It might not be what you're expecting, but Overlord is a damn clever and enjoyable watch. Insert a glib, trite "It's better than it has a ny right to be" remark.
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