NAZI ZOMBIE MASH-UP
OVERLORD DIRECTOR JULIUS AVERY TALKS ABOUT HIS DEBUT EFFORT FOR BAD ROBOT PRODUCTIONS
Fans of sci-fi wizard J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot Productions should be delighted, as Overlord — a movie combining World War II action with zombie horror — hits Thai cinemas this week. Produced by J.J. Abrams and directed by Julius Avery, Overlord was first rumoured to be the fourth instalment of the Cloverfield franchise, but the producer-filmmaker recently clarified that it will not be part of the series. Instead, it will be Bad Robot’s first R-rated film.
Overlord is Julius Avery’s second feature film as director, and stars Jovan Adepo and Wyatt Russell as members of a World War II paratrooper team that drops into France ahead of D-Day in order to take out a signal jammer located atop a church tower. But upon their arrival, the team discovers something so much worse: the Nazis have built a lab beneath the church and are conducting secret experiments on the village’s people, turning them into grotesque, undead monsters. Overlord recently enjoyed its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, and will be opening in local cinemas on Nov 8. We spoke to Australian director Julius Avery over the phone about his latest genre mash-up.
How did you first get involved with Bad Robot and the Overlord project?
It began when one of my films was screening and the Bad Robot crew saw it, and then they invited me in. We spoke about what kind of project I wanted to do next. We came up with some ideas and possibilities, and Overlord was one of them. And I really responded to that particular pitch, because it felt different from what I’ve already done.
How did you first become interested in war films?
I’ve always wanted to do a war film. My first memory from childhood is that my grandfather was in World War II. And he has this amazing photo album of all his adventures [and] he would sit me down and show me these pictures. And ever since then I’ve wanted to make a war movie. So when the script came around, I was immediately drawn to it. My grandfather was in World War II, and he has this amazing photo album of his adventures
We could see a lot of 80s horror elements in Overlord. What kind of idols do you have when it comes to filmmaking and who inspired you to do this kind of film?
Yes, that’s true. I’m a huge fan of John Carpenter’s films, especially The Thing, which was a great mix of action and horror. I watched a lot of his movies when preparing for Overlord.
All the special effects and make-up is very impressive in Overlord.
Oh yes. I believe the only thing that can make the film believable for audiences or even actors themselves is to use real effects with less CGI. All the explosions are real and most action scenes are done in camera, not on the computer. We’ve also got the greatest make-up department we have ever worked with.
Overlord is your second film, following Son Of A Gun, which came out four years ago. How many projects have you done in between, or did you just start working on Overlord right away after that?
Son Of A Gun first came out in both Australia and Canada in 2014, and then showed in the US in 2015. And that’s when I first met up with the Bad Robot team. And the filming process for Over
lord hadn’t started until 2017.
What was it like working with J.J. Abrams?
I’ve always been a big fan of J.J. and Bad Robot. They always manage to do films that are really unexpected. At first when I met J.J. I was really nervous because I’ve seen most of his films and have a respect for him as a filmmaker. But within a few minutes after meeting him, he really put me at ease. It’s really important in the business to have someone who, when you’re starting out, can sort of be there — be a guide through all the craziness.
Is it true that you and J.J. are currently working on a new project together? Can you tell us more about it?
Yes, it’s a superhero-type film movie and it will be called The Heavy. The script of the film was written by Daniel Casey, and it will be equally superhero and horror together. And that’s all I can say at the moment.
What’s your personal most favourite film?
My favourite film of all time has to be At
Close Range by director James Foley and it stars Sean Penn and Christopher Walken. It’s not horror, but a really great based-ona-true-story crime drama.