‘Overlord’s’ Nazi-trouncing catharsis

Jovan Adepo (left) and Wyatt Russell

Filmmaker-producer JJ Abrams clarified months ago that the gory war-monster flick “Overlord” is unrelated to the “Cloverfield” franchise, and that a fourth film directly connecting to the 2008 science-fiction film is actually in the works.

Be that as it may, “Overlord,” set in World War II shortly before D-Day in France, delivers with gritty and straightforward storytelling, even if it offers little else in terms of surprises. It could easily be part of the “Cloverfield” cinematic universe, but it stands on its own quite admirably.

Julius Avery’s film follows a couple of paratroopers tasked with destroying a German radio tower in France. The few who survive a massive aerial onslaught find themselves in a peril-fraught forest.

Soon, a chance meeting with a defiant young woman, Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier), gives them focus. Sensing their sincerity and supporting their mission, she stealthily leads these new allies to her Nazi-occupied village.

The American paratroopers, led by Cpl. Ford (Wyatt Russell), are mostly inexperienced young recruits, including Boyce (Jovan Adepo), Tibbet (John Magaro) and Chase (Iain De Caestecker). They hide in Chloe’s house, where she lives with her little brother (Gianny Taufer) and a disfigured aunt (Eva Magyar).

Iain De Caestecker in “Overlord”

The soldiers’ mission is temporarily sidetracked when a Nazi officer (Pilou Asbaek) visits the house and threatens Chloe and her family. But Boyce discovers a Nazi lab, where inhumane and horrific experiments are being performed. Left unchallenged, they could seal the fate of the innocent villagers—and the rest of the free world.

“Overlord” fiercely presents a tension-filled war movie, while incorporating a horror/sci-fi storyline that could be a plot straight out of “Hellboy.” That’s a potent combination, and it works, due to Avery’s tight handling of suspense.

While the mechanics and origin of the scientific process that transforms humans to nearly unstoppable killing machines aren’t really expounded on, there is no real need to, although it would’ve been interesting if an explanation had been given on the backstory of a monster-making serum.

In any case, the traumatized soldiers provide credible vantage points for viewers, their blood-soaked Nazi-trouncing a precarious rite of passage. And, despite its formulaic development, “Overlord” is still an exceedingly cathartic tale of survival and sacrifice.

Mathilde Ollivier