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TADFF Review: ‘Overlord’ is a WWII Action-Horror with a Brass-Knuckle Punch

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Overlord

As Overlord opens, we are shoved into a plane stuffed with anxious paratroopers, waiting to be dropped outside enemy lines the night before D-Day. The men have a crucial mission to destroy a German radio tower in an old church (the success of the seaborne invasion depends on it), and tensions are high as they nervously prepare. We spend brief moments with the men – some barely hiding their anxious terror, others posturing with cocky bravado.

It is here that we are introduced to the first horrors of Overlord. As planes are shot down around them, the men prepare to jump – their chances of survival plummeting with each passing second. Their fear is palpable, and the reality of this scenario is sobering and devastating.

via Paramount Pictures

This is a bold opening that prepares us for the following intensity and sets the tone for each character we’re introduced to on that flight. We’re shown that explosives expert Cpl. Ford (Wyatt Russell – Black Mirror, Lodge 49) is an edgy man-on-a-mission, a lone wolf with nothing to lose; Pvt. Boyce (Jovan Adepo – The Leftovers, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan) is our relatable everyman with a good heart and strong conscience; Tibbet (John Magaro – The Big Short, Carol) is the loudmouth, watch-your-own-ass soldier archetype we so often see in film; and Chase (Iain De Caestecker – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) is way out of his depth in this violent world of war.

As the men prepare to complete their mission and take out the radio tower, Boyce uncovers a horrible secret about the German base; the Nazis have been conducting monstrous experiments on their prisoners.

Now, it’s worth a reminder that – while not quite as fantasy-level nightmarish – this highly unethical scientific experimentation did actually occur during WWII. Overlord stomps on the throttle of this horrific truth to create tragic abominations that will haunt your dreams.

via Paramount Pictures

The cast finds balance in the strong-willed Chloe (Mathilde Ollivier – The Misfortunes of François Jane), a civilian who has witnessed and been subjected to the Nazis’ cruelty during their invasion of her town. Chloe is resourceful, fierce, and capable. She’s not placed in the story as a damsel to be saved or wooed; she’s a key player in the development of the plot with her own skills and motivations.

Pilor Asbæk (Ghost in the Shell, Game of Thrones) plays Dr. Wafner, a villain so perfectly evil it’s almost cartoonish. Writers Billy Ray (Captain Phillips, The Hunger Games) and Mark L. Smith (The Revenant, Vacancy) went all out, checking every single box on the “awful villain” list to ensure that we really hate this guy. When paired with a forceful performance from Asbæk, it works deliciously well. He’s a vile character and the perfect super evil Nazi villain for such an ambitiously violent film.

And yes, there is a ton of violence. Overlord has earned its R rating with vicious brutality and genuinely shocking moments of body horror. Director Julius Avery lovingly delivers the most intense transformation scene that horror audiences have witnessed in a long time. It’s gnarly as hell and incredible to watch.

via Paramount Pictures

Overlord circles a concept that was phrased so eloquently by Winston Churchill; fear is a reaction, courage is a decision. Even when faced with a seemingly unstoppable threat (that truly, effectively feels insurmountable), our soldiers know that failure is not an option. They’re not an elite squad of highly trained professionals – they’re just men who have been thrust into this mission where the stakes are impossibly high.

As an audience, you can get swept away by the big-budget action sequences and visceral gore. Really, really easily, actually. They’re very well done. But Overlord’s base instincts are very human; you feel invested and concerned for our heroes and their mission.

via Paramount Pictures

That said, the J.J. Abrams-produced Overlord certainly has a target audience. Fans of the horror (and action/horror) genre and anyone that has enjoyed the Nazi Zombie maps in Call of Duty will surely have an absolute blast. Those in search of a period piece with a bit more flavor will likely not find this to their taste.

In the ring of action/war movies, Overlord is brass-knuckle boxing. Though the form is surprisingly polished, its hits reverberate with a brutal force that will knock the wind right out of you.

Overlord (recently praised by Stephen King) had its premiere at Fantastic Fest before moving to Toronto After Dark in October.
You can find it in theatres on November 9th, and find the trailer and poster below.

 

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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