Hello everyone! As some of you may know, I am writing for the website COMICONVERSE. I have been covering the current comic books from Marvel Comics and BOOM! Studiossuch as Doctor Strange and Kong of Skull Island. And really anything I want to review.
For myself and anyone else interested I am documenting each of my articles here at Blood Work.
If you haven't checked out this latest article here you go!
Look at that cover! My gosh, that is a Man-Thing of beauty!
So, we're three issues in and I am in heaven! Sleepwalker is a longtime favorite of mine (since I was a kid) and a longtime neglected character by Marvel. Writers Chad Bowers and Chris Sims are now heroes of mine for championing such favorites of mine like Death's Head, Darkhawk, and Sleepwalker. And they have some crazy awesome ideas they're employing here.
Once upon a time a writer by the name of Jim Starlin first brought all the Infinity Stones together. And one stone in particular became a great focus for him: the Soul Stone. The Soul Stone's primary keeper has been Adam Warlock, a Starlin favorite. Starlin revealed that a whole other world existed within the Soul Gem, a place naturally referred to as "Soul World." Logic dictates that the other Infinity Gems would also have worlds within them as well, right? Well, no writer has ever delved into such a story... until now.
This book is revealing loads about the Infinity Gems that have never been explored. Sleepwalker and a host of handpicked companions are traveling through the six worlds of the Infinity Stones, five of which have never been shown in a comic before. In short, I'm loving it. It's totally cosmic and crazy and perfectly tailored for Sleepwalker (who, if you recall, took part in the original Infinity Trilogy. He even took on fairly significant roles in Infinity War and Infinity Crusade).
This book is incredibly special and I hope Marvel sees that and makes moves to continue it in some form or another. My choice: keep the same writers and artists on this book and give them a team book consisting of Sleepwalker, Darkhawk, Death's Head, and Nova. Hell, let's throw in Death's Head II and his partner Tuck as well. And let's keep Man-Thing Thang Thoom too. And bring Manny's friend Jennifer Kale along too. Okay, now I'm done.
I'm begging you, Marvel. Do this for me!
Check out my full review by clicking on the link above
Check out my other articles for ComiConverse linked below!
Castlevania is probably my all-time favorite video game franchise. It was the first horror video game series I ever played and it captured my imagination unlike any other. Every single monster you can think of all inside one game, one single story? Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy, Medusa, Death, and even the Minotaur and Gill Man? THIS IS AMAZING! Castlevania became an obsession with me from an early age, not merely collecting and playing all of the games, but studying the story, the lore, the characters, the music (oh, how I love the music), the artwork, and more.
And while I absolutely love the monsters (and I think Dracula's greatest incarnation ever across all mediums is his Castlevania rendition) it is the heroes and their saga that has fascinated me more than anything else in the series. Admittedly the heroes get way more attention and development than the villains (obviously as they have to carry the game and the story on their shoulders). Dracula and the monsters don't change in personality too often (their evolution happens more gradually) and really they don't have to change. But the heroes are almost constantly changing (with a few exceptions here and there).
Every great villain needs an equally great hero to oppose them (and the Castlevania version of Dracula I feel is one of the greatest villains of them all).
Suffice it to say, I LOVE CASTLEVANIA'S HEROES!
When I was a kid I used to pretend I was a Belmont on the playground destroying monsters (no wonder I didn't have any friends). In my head I imagined what these characters would look like in real life or in a live action movie. The early games were somewhat sparse on story details (I mean, c'mon, how much story did an NES game need really?) so taking what story elements were there, I'd fill in the gaps in my head with fan theories, drawing conclusions with what evidence Konami did give us. All this is just further evidence that I am a hopeless nerd and think the world of these characters.
As I love nearly all of the heroes from the series there are of course characters I prefer more than others. These are my personal top favorites. Some are my favorites to play as. Some are my favorites for their story too. And some I love for their design. They have to have been playable characters but not necessarily the stars of the game. Some supporting heroes I prefer over some leading heroes.
Without further pointless pontificating from me, here are my favorite Castlevania heroes!
THE BONUS
#11
ERIC LECARDE
Series Appearance: Castlevania Bloodlines
Eric LeCarde is a small footnote in the Castlevania series but nonetheless worth remembering. He stands as the only spear/lance user in the franchise and offers a completely unique playing experience for the series. There literally is no one else in the series like him. Castlevania Bloodlines is an underrated and wonderful game in all aspects. And for a change the plot has very little to do with the heroes and more to do with Elizabeth Bathory (Bartley in the game) trying to resurrect Dracula.
Of the numerous characters and protagonists in the series, Eric LeCarde stands unique and is very fun to play through the game with. It's too bad no one thought to continue LeCarde's play style in a legacy character later on.
THE TOP TEN
#10
HECTOR
Series Appearance: Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Curse of Darkness is such a cool approach to the series as well as a novel approach to the story. There was a greater battle being fought during the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, details of the story the game never touched on. Hector is a Devil Forge Master or Devilforger and was previously in service to Dracula. The Devilforgers are the people who create Dracula's monsters and armies of undead. Three years after Trevor, Alucard, Grant, and Sypha defeated Dracula, Hector and Dracula's other Devil Forge Master, Isaac, have come to blows. Hector switches allegiances and battles his former allies.
Hector plays the game forging monsters to help him as well as creating magic items and weapons. The game plays nothing like a traditional Castlevania game and that is why it is my favorite of the 3D platform Castlevania games. Hector receives a wicked cool design courtesy of Castlevania's resident artistic genius, Ayami Kojima and he's a lot of fun to play as. And he's one of the few male characters that relies heavily on magic in the series.
#9
MARIA RENARD
Series Appearances: Castlevania: Dracula X a.k.a. Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Maria is the second female playable character in the Castlevania franchise and is an active character in the narrative. In Rondo of Blood she is a twelve year old girl, a part of a group of women abducted by Dracula's hordes. Once she is freed from her prison by Richter Belmont the story splits into two narrative threads depending on which you choose. You can either continue on as Richter or follow Maria as your new protagonist (both stories occurring parallel to each other). While Richter storms the castle one way, Maria traverses the structure another way. They meet up in the end and together take down Dracula.
Possessing a mysterious innate rapport with animals and earthen magics, Maria calls upon animals to help her in her fight against Dracula's hordes as well as summoning forth the Shijin ~ the four guardian spirits of Japanese mythology. In Symphony of the Night Maria has grown into a young woman and her powers have grown as well. With Richter's disappearance she sets out to find him and finds the newly resurrected Castle Dracula instead. Interestingly in the Sega Saturn version of Symphony Maria is a playable character with levels and stages unique to her playthrough. She also takes a more active role by actually battling Alucard at one point.
(Note: The Sega Saturn version was only available in Japan and remains one of the "Holy Grails" of Castlevania fandom. My hope is that one day we will receive a "Complete Uncut" version of the game with these levels and Maria's playability fully restored)
The Castlevania series seems to always push boundaries or break new ground for the series whenever a new female character is introduced. As a result the series has a remarkable amount of solid female characters, Maria being one of the best on my opinion.
#8
SYPHA BELNADES
Series Appearances: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (cameo)
Sypha was the first female protagonist of the Castlevania series (albeit a secondary protagonist to Trevor). Once you rescue her from the cyclops she becomes playable, if you so choose, you can play nearly the entire game as just her. I thought she was one of the better characters in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, offering a completely new way of playing through Castlevania. Sypha has a physical attack, swinging her wand (which is VERY weak), and then she has an array of magic attacks which kick major monster ass. Seriously, we're talking boss killers here. Using magic like that had never been featured in a Castlevania game prior nor had there ever been a character like her.
Sypha would establish an archetype for female characters of the series going forward i.e. women are the magic users (note: this archetype would only be broken once by my favorite female Castlevania character). A doppelganger of her appears in Symphony of the Night providing a further showing of Sypha's abilities such as flight. Her descendants appear in later games such as Castlevania 64 and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.
And I have to say that I love her depiction in Netflix's Castlevania animated series. I always liked her but the Netflix show brought her to life in an incredibly awesome way.
#7
SOMA CRUZ
Series Appearances: Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Soma Cruz is fresh and cool protagonist for the series. The hero of two Castlevania games, Soma's story takes place in the near future (2035 to be precise) and are the latest chapters in the saga according to the series in-game chronology. Soma is a Japanese student who finds himself mystically transported to Dracula's newly restored castle. There he meets Yoko Belnades (Sypha's descendant), Julius Belmont, and Genya Arikado (SPOILER ALERT! Genya is Alucard in disguise).
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!
Soma learns he's Dracula reincarnated. Forces align to slay him and also ensure his ascension to becoming the dark lord. How cool is that? You get to play as Dracula (well, Dracula's vessel for resurrection technically). He uses a mix of weapons based play and then pure magic attacks. SOme is an amazing blend of the two major character archetypes in Castlevania.
Soma offers a completely unique take on Castlevania and the playing experience. I keep hoping that Soma will receive a third game in his storyline thereby giving him a proper trilogy. Doubtful being as everyone but Konami is interested in Castlevania nowadays. Let's still hope though 😉
#6
SHANOA
Series Appearance: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
I knew I would like Shanoa the moment I saw her wicked awesome character design. Knowing nothing else about her I thought she was amazing. She also brings a new way to play Castlevania (or rather a cool reinvention of tried and true ideas). Shanoa uses a system of glyphs (tattoos) that are placed on her body allowing her to perform new abilities. Wing glyphs on her back enable her to fly and so forth. Combining glyphs results in devastating magic attacks. I don't own a Nintendo DS but luckily I was able to play as this incredible character in the Network game Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. And Shanoa has a cool story too.
After the events of Symphony of the Night, the Belmonts disappeared. With no clue as to their whereabouts or how to contact them, several organizations appeared to take on the mission of guarding the world against Dracula. The Order of Ecclesia, a group of three magic users, Barlowe, Albus, and Shanoa created three magic glyphs based on Dracula's dark arts. Shanoa is chosen by the elder Barlowe to receive the glyphs. When the glyphs are stolen by Albus, Shanoa must follow him. What she learns is that Albus had a reason for stealing the glyphs and the Order of Ecclesia isn't what Shanoa believed it to be.
If you know your Stephen King you can see what's coming
All in all I absolutely love Shanoa's design and she's a unique and totally awesome character.
#5
TREVOR BELMONT
Series Appearances: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (cameo), Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was the first game in the series not to follow Simon Belmont and to actually go back 200 years in the past. The original Castlevania was completely linear. Castlevania II: Simon's Quest was so non-linear and cryptic that without a walkthrough you might never beat it! The approach to Castlevania III was to offer a Castlevania that was the best of both worlds. You were given the option of multiple paths to choose from leading you to different and unique areas of the game. And even better you were given the option of four different potential protagonists to choose from. Trevor was your main character that you always had in your party and then you could choose to have one other accompany you. Sypha, Grant, and Alucard were the other heroes. Once you acquired a new hero you no longer had to play as Trevor ever again in the game, if you wanted.
In all honesty I never thought much of Trevor Belmont. While Castlevania III is one of the best Castlevania games ever made, Trevor was merely a place holder for Simon. He had nothing new or unique to add to the whip wielder archetype (he even lacked capabilities that Simon possessed in Castlevania II). Sypha and Grant were the best characters to play as in that game. Trevor first became interesting to me with Castlevania Legends where his parentage was hinted at as well as the context for Castlevania III. Later he grew more interesting when he appeared in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. In that game he received the Ayami Kojima redesign and we actually got to see what his personality was like thanks to cinematics and voice acting. And then he became a playable character after defeating the game with Hector.
Trevor became infinitely more endearing with the Netflix animated series Castlevania, voiced by the perfectly cast Richard Armitage. I have to admit that the Netflix Castlevania series has greatly improved my love for Trevor Belmont. I just hope when or if the animated series eventually gets to Simon and Richter's stories that they are done their due justice as well.
#4
SONIA BELMONT
Series Appearance: Castlevania Legends, and Castlevania Resurrection (the unreleased Castlevania game set for the Sega Dreamcast)
The retconned hero of Castlevania and the "first" Belmont to wage war against Dracula. Sonia Belmont was the first female main protagonist of a Castlevania game and she's one badass character in her own right. Castlevania Legends was the third and final Castlevania on the original Gameboy. I really enjoyed the game and fell in love with Sonia in the fun gameplay and the intriguing story of the game. The game played smoother than the previous classic Gameboy Castlevania's and Sonia handled very well. She also had a unique special weapons array called "Soul" powers which allowed her to freeze enemies, cast energy attacks, and even heal herself. She was far more nimble and dexterous than most Belmonts too. And then she had her most powerful ability: Burning Mode (which made her invincible for a brief time). Combine Burning Mode with a fully upgraded fire whip and Sonia is a one woman army!
The story took place 26 years before Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. Wallachia is overrun by demons and monsters. Sonia, who was in a relationship with Alucard, sets out with the sacred Vampire Killer whip to stop Dracula. Alucard tries to stop her, to save her from a horrible death, but she defeats him. Sonia forges ahead and, drenching herself in Holy Water, battles and defeats Dracula. In the game's ending you see Sonia holding a child (Alucard's child?).
There have been several things I've always been curious about in Castlevania's story. I always wondered how ordinary people like the Belmonts were able to defeat such an awesome foe like Dracula and how they gained such seemingly supernatural powers. And I always wondered who's grave Trevor was kneeling by at the beginning of Castlevania III. The game doesn't implicitly tell you the answers but they allude to them.
Here's what I've always believed: Trevor is Alucard's son and Dracula's first act after regaining power in Castlevania III is killing Sonia. Trevor is kneeling at Sonia's grave at the beginning of Castlevania III. Also, Trevor being Alucard's son imbues the Belmont bloodline with more power. And when Trevor and Sypha have a child together her magics further strengthen the bloodline until we get such powerful heroes like Simon and Richter. And while Leon Belmont may be the first Belmont to battle the supernatural, he never fought Dracula. Sonia was the first Belmont to actually fight Dracula.
However, the man who made Symphony of the Night, Koji Igarashi, who went on to shepherd the series after Symphony, apparently didn't like Castlevania Legends and had it retconned from continuity. He claimed he removed it because it didn't work with the story he wanted to tell. But Igarashi never made a prequel that made Castlevania Legends incontinuitous. And as I just detailed above... IT COULD STILL FIT PERFECTLY WITH THE STORY!
Being the first lead female of the series I feel Sonia deserves her due respect. She is the only female character in the series (as of 2018) that is nearly all sheer physical force and athletic skill. All other women in the series are relegated to "magic users" save Sonia (which is a huge reason why she is SO COOL!). Of the Belmonts on the original Gameboy she is by far the better character and her game actually furthered and enriched the Castlevania lore.
Props to the first lady of vampire hunters and the one and only female Belmont hero in the entire series (can you believe that?)!
#3
ALUCARD
Series Appearances: Castlevania Legends, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night,Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow,Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
It's always been assumed that Castlevania was inspired by the VAMPIRE HUNTER D novels and animated film (and after reading the first novel and watching the first anime there's little doubt of the direct influence). There is a medieval clad whip wielding character in that first Vampire Hunter D story but the protagonist was the son of Dracula, a half human half vampire named D.
With Castlevania III and the introduction of Alucard the Castlevania series finally had their own "D" analog. But if I'm being honest, Alucard was the worst of the four protagonists in Castlevania III. He received a full redesign for Symphony of the Night and became a video game icon after. Of all the Castlevania games Symphony of the Night exists in the minds of most as the definitive Castlevania, a legend among video gaming. And it is, no argument here. And the game was anchored by it's great and wonderful hero.
Alucard, as a character, is compelling and enthralling. His story, that of the son battling the father, is timeless and captivating. Then there's his amazing redesign by Ayami Kojima for Symphony, beautifully Gothic and Victorian. What made Alucard an even greater protagonist for Symphony was that he was already anchored in the franchise's past, already a part of the lore.
And he's so incredibly different from the Belmonts. He's not a whip wielding hero nor rough and grizzled. He's elegant, beautiful, graceful, and battles his way through the game using a completely different set of weapons and skills (some abilities inherited from his father!). And one of the coolest aspects (I feel) is that even though Konami saw how incredibly popular he was, they didn't over use him. He remained a rather novel character even though he was perhaps the most universally beloved character in the franchise.
Oh man, I haven't even touched on the amazing experience that is playing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night! The game is incredibly vast and you play as Alucard through an epic adventure unlike any other Castlevania before it. I'll jabber on about how amazing Symphony is in another post. But suffice it to say, there are many great reasons by Symphony and Alucard have the reputations they do.
#2
RICHTER BELMONT
Series Appearances: Castlevania: Dracula X a.k.a. Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (guest appearance)
Richter Belmont is a force to be reckoned with. Of all the Belmonts, Richter is the most powerful. In terms of sheer physical strength and super human abilities, he's the Belmont that Dracula should be scared of. Not only does he have all the signature weapons and moves of the previous Belmonts but he has a slide dash, backflip, should charge, super punch/jump, and the most powerful of all: the Item Crash. The man is a beast!
This is my preferred design for Richter, his original Dracula X look.
I was first introduced to Richter Belmont on the Super Nintendo with Castlevania: Dracula X. This particular game is notable for being the prequel to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and for being HARD! My god, Castlevania: Dracula X for the SNES is mean. This game was a bastardized port of Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (a game hailed as one of the greatest Castlevania's ever made). The SNES version took away almost all of Richter's moves save the standard attacks and the backflip. Thankfully it kept the screen clearing power of the Item Crash. It also truncated the game greatly and cut Maria out completely save for a mention in the story.
The first epic video game conquest I ever made was defeating Castlevania: Dracula X. Coming from the beautifully smooth and somewhat easy Super Castlevania IV and the incredibly fun Castlevania: Bloodlines for the Sega Genesis to SNES' Castlevania: Dracula X was like crashing into a brick wall. So for months every day after school I sat down and played Dracula X for 45 minutes. Richter and I's friendship was forged under fire and brimstone. Eventually Richter and I were an unstoppable team, beating the game time and time again, and just once and only once we beat it without dying. After that I set the controller down and took a well deserved victory breather.
Then I played Richter at the opening of Symphony of the Night, a fully realized Richter Belmont as he was intended, and discovered how truly awesome Richter really was. But even without his full arsenal I still love the guy. His redesign by Ayami Kojima for Symphony is pretty cool but I will always prefer his Dracula X anime inspired design.
#1
SIMON BELMONT
Castlevania artist Ayami Kojima's reimagining of Simon Belmont
Series Appearances: Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, Super Castlevania IV, Castlevania Chronicles
Simon Belmont is the hero with which I was first introduced to the series and it was the games starring Simon Belmont that made me love the Castlevania franchise. He is the original hero of the series but it wasn't the original game that endeared the character to me (the original Castlevania is not among my favorite games in the series). Castlevania II: Simon's Quest was the first Castlevania game I was introduced to and one of the games I continually revisit. And then there's Super Castlevania IV for the Super Nintendo (a remake of the original game), the game that made me a life long fan of the series. Super Castlevania IV is AMAZING.
Simon is the hero most featured throughout the series but all of those games (with the exception of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest) are all remakes of the same game and the same chapter in the saga. His design seems to change with each game going from a scantily clad medieval knight, to a fully clothed crusader, to a completely rugged red-headed fur-bearing barbarian. You're guess is as good as mine on what he really looks like. To me, Simon has the reputation of being one of the strongest members of the Belmont lineage, defeating Dracula all on his own without any outside help. He even defeated Dracula while a curse slowly killed him. Very few of the Belmonts or any other heroes in the series could handle Dracula all on their own, including Alucard.
In short, Simon Belmont has a mythic quality around him, both storywise as well as his place in video game history. Narratively speaking he's not the most compelling character but it was his games and playing as him that made me the Castlevania fanatic I am today.
This is so COOL!!!! My two favorite Castlevania heroes!
And there you have it! My top favorite Castlevania heroes.
Which are your favorites? Leave a list in the comments below!
And for more Castlevania posts and Top Ten Lists check out the posts below!
And tweet Konami to get off their butts and restart the series the way it should be, i.e. as a side-scrolling platformer! And keep it in original series continuity! And reinstate Castlevania Legends!
Hello everyone! As some of you may know, I am writing for the website COMICONVERSE. I have been covering the current comic books from Marvel Comics and BOOM! Studiossuch as Doctor Strange and Kong of Skull Island. And really anything I want to review.
For myself and anyone else interested I am documenting each of my articles here at Blood Work.
If you haven't checked out this latest article here you go!
The second chapter of Jim Starlin's final Thanos story has come. In case you didn't know, Jim Starlin has cut ties with Marvel Comics. Basically he had given Marvel the details of this current Thanos trilogy and then Marvel green lighted another Thanos story by a different writer which contained many big parallels. And as it would happen, this other Thanos story would debut before Starlin's. Basically Marvel undercut Jim Starlin big time. So I can't blame him being pissed and severing ties with Marvel, but I am very sad that we won't be getting any more Thanos stories by Thanos' creator and primary architect of 45 years.
45 YEARS, PEOPLE!
No one writes Thanos like Jim Starlin. Starlin imbues Thanos with depth and complexity. There are subtleties of character that went unnoticed by a younger me and became apparent when I reread the stories as an adult. It's one of the reasons why I love the character as much as I do. The more I dig into Thanos' character the more I find. Sadly most other writers miss these aspects of the Mad Titan rendering him rather one-dimensional. I still enjoy those stories too (some of them are among my favorite Thanos stories) but when a new story from Jim Starlin surfaces my excitement is tenfold.
The Infinity Conflict is no exception. Starlin displays Thanos like never before: a slave unable to exert his own will or control his actions. The character is further evolved along with Adam Warlock and others in this story. And it parallels elements from one of my favorite Marvel cosmic stories, QUASAR: COSMOS IN COLLISION by Mark Gruenwald and Greg Capullo. Not to mention Starlin's signature esoteric and totally cosmic style.
In short, I am loving it. But as this is the second part of a trilogy, a lot is now riding on the finale. When the third part arrives I really hope it delivers.
Check out my full review by clicking on the link above
Check out my other articles for ComiConverse linked below!
Finally our voices can be heard... again. Now live is the second episode of Blood Work's very own podcast! Just like our blog here, the
podcast is dedicated to celebrating all things horror and cinematic
bloodletting in all its facets. Listen to the Blood Work staffers gush
about our favorite horror movies, new horror movies, and basically
whatever we want.
Episode #2 is, of course, about David Gordon Green's HALLOWEEN (2018).
Listen as we talk about the different aspects of the film that we liked and didn't like, how the film honors not just the original film but the sequels as well. Hopefully you've seen the movie already and let us know in the comments what you liked and didn't like about the movie too!
Follow us so you can catch every new episode as they drop and comment with your thoughts!
The horror of war is real and terrible and something I'd never wish for anyone to experience. But some battles are worth fighting for and those who face such horrors and evils of the world are the real heroes. Combine the horrors of war with the horrors of occultism and supernatural forces and what you have is fertile grounds for a gripping horror story. War Horror movies are few and far between. High quality War Horror films are even fewer. One of my all-time favorites is the 1999 film RAVENOUS set against the backdrop of the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. Then there's the Michael Mann directed epic THE KEEP (a blu ray release of The Keep is desperately needed!). Both of these films are criminally underrated.
And now we have Julius Avery's OVERLORD. With stellar reviews and a wicked looking red band trailer that was released months ago, it seemed as if this horror film was poised to be a smashing success! And it is in terms of film quality, not so much financially however, which is a shame. Zombie Nazi movies are a relatively small subgenre of horror. Most of them are low budget of varying quality. The DEAD SNOW films are amazing zombie Nazi movies and BLOOD CREEK and SHOCK WAVES are pretty good too.
Overlord may be one of the best.
THE PLOT
In 1944 a small company of American soldiers parachute into German occupied France with the mission to destroy a key Nazi command post. The American troops are utterly decimated, only five soldiers surviving to complete the mission. When the soldiers arrive in the small French village they discover a Nazi fortress far more sinister than a mere command post. The medieval church at the heart of the village serves as Nazi occult science base, the locals being experimented on for the Nazi scientists' bizarre tests. The mission for these five hopelessly outnumbered soldiers grows far more dire as the dead begin to rise.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
From the red band trailers everything seemed to indicate that Overlord was going to be one intensely graphic film. There were shades of the video game series WOLFENSTEIN (particularly Wolfenstein 3D from 1992 which introduced undead mutated Nazi soldiers to the series) all over the trailer. By all intents Overlord appeared to be more than the average horror film. And it delivered on the promise set in those trailers. What results is a film that's one half INGLORIOUS BASTARDS and one half RE-ANIMATOR. It is a horror film unlike most being made today by major studios.
And it is wonderful.
This film feels akin to the wild horror concepts of the 1980's and in that niche the film flourishes. What made the 1980's horror films so special were how crazy and far afield the concepts were and the lengths of gore and onscreen insanity on display. If Overlord had been made in the 1980's it's not hard to imagine John Carpenter or Tobe Hooper's name attached to it. It also feels like a welcomed call back to the films a decade ago under the banner of a Rodriguez/Tarantino GRINDHOUSE flick. To me these catalogs of film are among my favorites.
Notably Overlord is following in the footsteps of these films in another way, specifically in terms of box office receipts. The film is sadly tanking at the box office leaving it destined for "cult classic" status.
The film begins with an intense World War II sequence the likes of which would fit seamlessly alongside Saving Private Ryan. The level of reality and intensity achieved so early on in the film sets an impressive tone going forward. We're introduced to a small yet distinctive group of personalities in our protaginists (some feeling a bit cliched or "tried and true" if you like). It's these unlikely heroes that lead us into the horrors of Nazi experimentation and beyond into the world of the supernatural and the resurrection of the dead.
The level of gore displayed here goes further than most horror movies have done in recent years with a few exceptions here and there. The character Boyce (played by Jovan Adepo) takes us on a tour of the Nazi lair where we are treated to a bevy of nightmarish imagery (exactly what you'd expect from a secret occult Nazi science lab) including a detached head complete with spinal column still talking. The first reanimation sequence we are shown is one of the best scenes in the film, reminiscent of THE THING (1982). Then the bloody carnage boils to a head at the climax when Wyatt Russell (Kurt Russell's son) battles the Nazi commander Wafner in a brutal confrontation spilling blood and guts. In many ways you could say that Overlord is Wyatt Russell's "The Thing."
I could find nothing I really disliked about the film nor any major faults with it save for wanting more. This film (which came at a rather large budget for a horror film) attempts to walk the line of just how much graphic content and intensity is palatable before it repels audiences. The filmmakers took the content as far as they thought they could while still hoping for a box office success. With the movie bombing (no pun intended) I now wish the filmmakers would've taken another step further with the graphic content. More blood. More guts. And more monsters.
As the film sits right now, it is a solid film from start to finish. But what would've pushed the film beyond into the halls of legend would've been a gory display the likes of Re-Animator (1985) or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part II (1986). There's a scene at the end where Boyce is sprinting through the fortress as it's exploding. He dashes by strange cells, tanks, body bags, and more (supposedly housing more Nazi experiments. Seeing those chambers open with bizarre creatures spilling out as Boyce runs by would've been the perfect icing on the cake. But that's not what happens. Monstrous creatures are alluded to earlier in the film when the soldiers come across a strange jackal like corpse, so when no monsters actually show by the end it feels a little disappointing.
Maybe an unrated cut of the film exists containing the extra bits that would make this a horror film to be hailed for all time. If such a cut does exist I hope it will be released on home video. But even still, this was one awesome horror movie and a stand out of 2018.
Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 0 out of 10
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