2019-03-01_Official_PlayStation_Magazine_-_UK_Edition

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The film’s gore effects are

primarily practical, with a

minimal use of CGI.

O

nce rumoured to be the next

chapter in producer JJ

Abrams’ Cloverfield series,

WW2 horror Overlord has

more in common with

Wolfenstein and COD: Zombies than that

beloved anthology series. Like those

two titans of gaming, it offers ample

B-movie thrills, but isn’t necessarily the

sharpest blade on the weapons bench.

After a tense opening in which a

plane carrying American troops Boyce

(Jovan Adepo) and Ford (Wyatt Russell)

is shot down behind enemy lines, the

pair forge ahead with a critical mission

to disable a Nazi communications tower.

So far, so Private Ryan. But the mission

changes when Boyce discovers a

research facility where a near-invincible

undead army is being created for

Hitler’s Thousand-Year Reich.

WW2/horror movie mashups are

nothing new – the very real horrors of

war sit neatly alongside the imagined

nightmares of the horror genre – and

Overlord is instantly familiar stuff. But

director Julius Avery

knows how to stage a

satisfying, spectacularly

gory set-piece, making

impressive use of

unbroken single takes,

including a staggering

escape from an exploding

network of tunnels.

The cast of characters

are an archetypal bunch,

particularly Pilou

Asbæk’s Nazi git Wafner,

and it slows to a crawl in

the middle as the troops

hole up in the house of a

French local to regroup.

But the gradual

transition from played-

straight war movie to

OTT occult horror is

highly effective, and if it

doesn’t put you in the

mood for shooting Nazi

zombies nothing will.

Jordan Farley

Overlord

COD: Zombies – The Movie

blu-rays

coming soon

THE GRINCH

Minion maker Illumination

is behind this animated

adaptation of the Dr Seuss

story, starring Benedict

Cumberbatch as the guy

who wants to ruin Christmas.

THE HOUSE

THAT JACK

BUILT

There were walkouts at the

Cannes premiere of Lars

von Trier’s controversial

study of a serial killer.

MASTER OF

NONE S1

Don’t have Netflix? Now’s

your chance to catch up

on the first season of Aziz

Ansari’s smart and funny

series about modern dating.

GOOSEBUMPS

2

2015’s Goosebumps was a

fun family-friendly horror

with a great Jack Black

performance as RL Stine.

Sadly, he only cameos here.

HALLOWEEN

A direct sequel

to John Carpenter’s 1978

slasher, Halloween brings

back OG Final Girl Jamie Lee

Curtis. This time she’s ready

for Michael Myers’ return.

DOCTOR WHO:

RESOLUTION

The 13th Doctor’s first

series didn’t feature a single

classic villain... until this New

Year special, which brings

back the Daleks.

JOHNNY

ENGLISH

STRIKES AGAIN

The third entry continues to

be a poor man’s Bond parody,

but there’s no denying

Atkinson’s comedic genius.

SMALLFOOT

The film that

spawned a million Meechee

memes has an imaginative

premise and a heartfelt

message, but is otherwise

as generic as they come.

HUNTER

KILLER

Gerard Butler stars as an

untested submarine captain

in this daft action movie

about US forces saving the

Russian president.

FIRST MAN

It may have taken

50 years for someone to

put the moon landing on film,

but Damien Chazelle’s Neil

Armstrong biopic was well

worth the wait.

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