Many people thought Overlord was going to be the fourth installment in the Cloverfield movies. J.J. Abrams set the rumors straight before its cinematic release on October 26th, 2018. It has nothing to do with Cloverfield. The film originally premiered at Fantastic Fest in September that same year. Finally, the Overlord movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray. Check out your streaming options below the trailer for Overlord at the end of this review.
Who Was Involved in Making the Overlord Movie?
- Directed by Julius Avery and written by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith, Overlord movie tells the story of some American paratroopers on D-Day 1944.
- Surprisingly, this is only Avery’s second feature-length movie. He had some minor success with Son of a Gun in 2014, in which he also wrote the story. You’ll have heard of Billy Ray’s stuff if you’re a fan of The Hunger Games (2012), Flightplan (2005), or Shattered Glass (2003.)
- Smith, mind you is no lightweight either, he wrote for The Revenant (2015), and Martyrs (2015.) It’s safe to say with heavyweight producers on the Overlord team, this film was never going to be a complete failure.
- Bad Robot took the production reigns for this one, and Overlord became its first R-rated film. Paramount Pictures got the distribution rights.
- With a budget of $38 million, I guess you would call this one a bit of a flop as it only returned $42 million worldwide.
Is Overlord a Zombie Movie? Is there an Outbreak?
Overlord is set during World War II, 1944 where a group of American paratroopers heads over to Germany to infiltrate a secret underground lab. These zombies are unstoppable and they will give Arnie from Terminator a run for their money. Less of an outbreak movie and more about science gone very wrong.
The opening sequence could rival any action war film. Add to that some instantly likable characters and I loved Overlord as much as I thought. Many war films start with awesome action scenes. I read that in making that very first sequence for Overlord, they used a real explosion. When the soldiers are first seen jumping from the plane as it burns, the effects are done using a rigged-up plane. They tilted it and blew it up which sent the stuntmen to fall through real actual fire. How cool is that?
Practical Effects Over CGI in Overlord Movie
Between that and the use of practical over CGI so that the actors could react more realistically, you can appreciate why this method is chosen by those who know how to do it well.
Once they reach the ground, it doesn’t take long for our hero’s to stumble across a weird-looking animal on their travels to safety. For more than the first 20 minutes of Overlord, though there’s not a zombie to be seen. Wait? Did she say, zombie? Ok, ok you got me. I thought this movie was about zombies. Depending on how you look at it though, it kind of is.
Overlord from Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot
Overlord keeps you in a state of rigid fascination and, you could cut the tension with a knife. While I anticipated a few of the more grand impact jump-surprises (instead of jump-scares) it was still really well done. All of the effects in this film are top-notch. The whole thing flows like a well-rehearsed dance. The setup for Overlord had me relaxed enough to fully enjoy what this action and horror movie has to offer.
So I bet you’re thinking Overlord is getting full marks? Well no, there were a few mild irritations of course, but really not a lot to quibble about. I hate it when people stop for a chat mid-action. Bullets are spraying and people are dying but let’s stop and have a brief conversation. Chloe running from her foe but given dialogue staggers the pacing and ruins the flow. If she hadn’t picked up that flame thrower just to be super cool, I would have choked. And why are we burning 1000 year soldiers anyway? Does that really stop them? Hmmm.
Overall, however, the Overlord movie is kick-ass. Sure it slows down in places for some “what’s the plan?” diatribe, but that minor complaint doesn’t undo the rest of the film.
I give Overlord
4 practical special effects snapped necks out of 5
Overlord Trailer & Where to Watch
More Zombies and Virus Films Like Overlord
Overlord Movie [Underated Zombie Films] - Mother of Movies
Director: Julius Avery
Date Created: 2022-09-22 18:59
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