Movie Review: “Overlord” is a bonkers but entertaining fusion of “Re-Animator” and “Saving Private Ryan”

Movie Review: “Overlord” (R)

If “Re-Animator” and “Saving Private Ryan” got together and produced a love child, it might look a little something like “Overlord,” a wildly entertaining horror/war film hybrid that owes just as much to war movie tropes as it does to the unforgettable gore-fests of the ’80s. What makes this film extra interesting is that it straddles that line between camp and seriousness ever so delicately. In other words, the dramatic element here keeps “Overlord” from turning into something like the zany but high-camp splatterfest that is “Dead Snow.” Not that this flick isn’t bonkers. It certainly is. It just has a surprising amount of heart and gung-ho patriotism to go along with all the gore and intensity.

“Overlord” wastes absolutely no time plunging us into the thick of the action as the film drops us directly into a World War II bomber under attack. Aboard the bomber are a squad of military men preparing to parachute behind enemy line. But before they have an opportunity to voluntarily jump from the plane, their aircraft is hit by enemy fire, all but forcing these men to deploy early.

Once on the ground, the tension only escalates as this core group of men are separated behind enemy lines. Eventually, the squad reunites, and ultimately, a German woman (Mathilde Ollivier) leads them to a village where they hope to hide out. As it turns out, however, this village harbors a dark secret. It seems that in this particular village, villainous Nazis are using unsuspecting individuals as guinea pigs in a series of disturbing human experiments.

“Overlord” could have gone south quickly. But the fact is that this movie is incredibly entertaining throughout. The script by Billy Ray (“Captain Phillips”) and Mark L. Smith (“The Revenant”) is well paced, and for all it’s B-movie bravado, it still offers up characters worth caring about. Likewise, director Julius Avery (“Son of a Gun”) really does set the tone straight away with a terrifyingly well conceived aircraft attack.

This is to say nothing of the disturbing human experiments that make up the crux of the film. Beyond that, though, there’s plenty of humanity to be found in “Overlord” as well, and it goes beyond the righteous protagonist at the center of the movie. There’s also Ollivier’s tough but sympathetic villager and a charming bond between a streetwise soldier and Ollivier’s precocious young brother.

The performances are terrific right across the board with the standouts being Jovan Adepo (“Fences”) as noble soldier Boyce, a man who refuses to let the undeniable horrors of war shake him of his morality, and a wonderfully charismatic Wyatt Russell (son of the great Kurt Russell) as a fierce Ford, the hard-nosed leader of the squad. This man won’t take shit off nobody, least of all a bunch of bottom-feeding Nazis. I have no interest in that long-gestating “Escape From New York” remake we’ve been hearing about for the better part of the last ten years, but if it has to be made, the producers behind it would be positively foolish to not at least have a conversation with Russell Jr. about taking on one of his father’s greatest roles.

Elsewhere, “Overlord” is peppered with a terrific supporting cast, including Ollivier, John Magaro, Iain De Caestecker, Erich Redman, and a scary Pilou Asbaek as the film’s big bad guy, a heartless Nazi called Wafner. Clearly, Asbaek bows at the altar of Michael Shannon. He’s not quite in the same league as the magnetic “Take Shelter” star, but if you’re going to borrow, why not borrow for the best?

Hats off to Bad Robot Productions for this unconventional but gloriously twisted gem of a movie. With little odes to the likes of “Get Out,” “The Thing,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Descent,” “28 Days Later,” “Inglourious Basterds” and nearly every grand war picture you can shake a stick at, the appropriately bonkers “Overlord” emerges as pure delight for genre fans. The set pieces are first rate, the makeup effects are stellar, the characters are appealing, and a dynamic score by “The Babadook” composer Jez Kurzel is the icing on the cake. This may not be a movie for the masses, but if you’re a fan of ’80s gore-fests, war movies, and flicks that features Nazis getting knocked on their asses, this movie is definitely for you.

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