Overlord is a 2018 American alternate history action horror film[4][5][6] directed by Julius Avery and written by Billy Ray and Mark L. Smith.
It stars Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, John Magaro, Gianny Taufer, Pilou Asbæk, Bokeem Woodbine and Iain De Caestecker.
[8][9] The plot follows several American soldiers who are dropped behind enemy lines the day before D-Day and discover terrifying Nazi experiments.
[12][13][14][11][15][16][17][18] On the eve of D-Day in an alternate 1940s where Executive Order 9981 is signed in 1944, a paratrooper squad, most of them in an integrated unit, is sent to destroy a German radio-jamming tower in an old church.
After Tibbet and Chase depart to check the scheduled rendezvous site, a Nazi patrol led by SS Hauptsturmführer Wafner visits Chloe.
Attempting to reach the rendezvous point to look for Tibbet and Chase, Boyce witnesses Nazis burning disfigured villagers.
Sneaking out of the truck, Boyce discovers an underground base that houses a radio operating room and a laboratory where the Germans perform experiments on the villagers involving a serum and a pit of black tar.
Splitting up, Rosenfeld and Tibbet launch a frontal assault as a distraction, while Ford, Boyce, and Chloe enter the base using the sewers.
As he begins to mutate, Ford orders Boyce to leave him behind and detonate the explosives, believing neither side should possess the serum.
Boyce complies, and escapes as the church and jamming tower collapse behind him, killing Ford, Wafner, and the test subjects.
In May 2017, Mathilde Ollivier, John Magaro, Gianny Taufer, Pilou Asbæk, and Bokeem Woodbine were cast in supporting roles.
[22][23] Visual effects for the film were provided by Industrial Light & Magic, Image Engine, Rodeo FX, Pixomondo, Mr X, Southbay and Nzviage.
Mark Bakowski, Julian Foddy, Dan Seddon, Stefano Trivelli and Pauline Duvall served as visual effects supervisors.
[3] In the United States and Canada, Overlord was released alongside The Girl in the Spider's Web and The Grinch, and was projected to gross $8–13 million from 2,859 theaters in its opening weekend.
[11] Amy Nicholson of Variety wrote "Even at its most suspenseful, when Jed Kurzel's cello score stabs at the eardrums, Overlord feels familiar, a collage of cinematic nightmares checking off its influences: a woman wielding a flamethrower like Ripley in Aliens, a cruel SS officer (the terrifically hissable Pilou Asbæk) who grins like a Batman villain, and enough of a Castle Wolfenstein video-game vibe that its fans may find themselves reaching for the controls out of habit.
"[15] John DeFoe of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing: "As the team moves in on the laboratory and the radio tower above it, Avery balances the truly disgusting with more comic-book-like action...Still, the movie's tone holds together, with the lurid colors of opening scenes (the cinematic equivalent of a gory, pre-code war comic book) setting the stage for heightened action to come.
"[17] Corey Plante of Inverse addressed the film's reluctance to “lean into stereotypes or depict racism for the sake of historical accuracy” with an interview with star Jovan Adepo.
“We’re not trying to make a historical movie,” Adepo said, “casting was less about race and more about who has those characteristics that help put together the strongest cast possible.” [18] Fabian Wagner David Brin's science fiction short story, "Thor Meets Captain America", contains a similar premise, though it in addition features deities of the Norse pantheon, which are not present in this film's story.