​Overlord is a 2018 American Alternate History action horror film 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. The film was produced by J. J. Abrams, through his Bad Robot Productions banner, and Lindsey Weber. The plot follows several American soldiers who are dropped behind enemy lines the day before D-Day and discover secret Nazi experiments.

Overlord was released in the United States on November 9, 2018, by Paramount Pictures. The film grossed $41 million against a budget of $38 million.

Director Cody Calahan
Writers Cody Calahan (story by) James Villeneuve
Stars Evan Marsh, Amber Goldfarb, Ari Millen

Joel, a caustic 1980s film critic for a national horror magazine, finds himself unwittingly trapped in a self-help group for serial killers. With no other choice, Joel attempts to blend in or risk becoming the next victim.

What’s worse than being trapped in a building with a serial killer who’s out to get you? Being trapped in a building with a whole bunch of serial killers who’re out to get you!


Vicious Fun is the latest film from director Cody Calahan (Anti Social & Anti Social 2) and is the feature debut of writer James Villeneuve. The year is 1983, and Joel (Ewan Marsh – Shazam!) is a journalist for horror magazine Vicious Fanatics. Joel is also an asshole, the kind of guy who obnoxiously picks movies apart for fun, makes not liking things a fundamental part of his personality and obsesses over a roommate who’s clearly not into him.


One night, he jealously follows his room-mate's weird date to a bar (a totally normal thing to do, not creepy at all) and drowns his sorrows so effectively that he passes out. When he comes to, the bar is shut for the night… but it’s not empty. Joel stumbles into what he takes to be a support-group of some kind, but he soon finds he’s in over his head as the group turns out to be full of vicious serial killers, gathered for their semi-regular meeting to appreciate all things murder.


Can Joel outwit these monsters and survive the night?


It’s a simple plot, with very little in the way of unexpected twisty-turnedness. But that’s absolutely fine, because this film knows what it needs to be and delivers in spades. It’s all about the characters and the gags, and both are on great form. The killers all follow various familiar archetypes, like Mike the Jason-Voorhees-alike (Robert Maillet – The Strain), Carrie the hitchhiker (Amber Goldfarb - Helix) and Fritz the fastidious accountant/giggling psychoclown (Julian Richings – Anything for Jackson). All of them are clearly having a great time leaning into their roles, but none more so than Ari Millen (Orphan Black) as Ben, the Patrick-Bateman-alike sociopath. Millen steals every scene, especially with his weird funky little jukebox dance.


In fact, of all the characters, the most unlikeable was Joel himself. That’s through no fault of Marsh’s, as he did a great job as the sleazy dirtbag loser. But even with his self-improvement arc, I found it hard to root for him against the much more interesting rogue’s gallery – especially Carrie, who might have made for a more interesting protagonist if this had been her film. It felt like there was a dangling plot thread in her backstory that I kept expecting to be resolved by the end, but unless I missed it somehow it’s just left unresolved. Perhaps as sequel bait? It was a little bit disappointing, to be honest.


But it’s hard not to get swept up in it all, especially once the first kill happens and you realise quite how gruesome this is going to get. They don’t skimp on the brutality of the kills, but it’s all played in a loving tongue-in-cheek way so it never feels like the tone’s uneven. There were a couple of moments where I found myself wincing and grimacing, which is always a good thing! The humour landed almost as well too, though viewer beware: prepare to cringe with second-hand embarrassment a few times.


It’s just great to look at, too, all drenched in neon and 80s grime. Calahan and his DOP, regular collaborator Jeff Maher, have a great eye for a shot and though it’s rarely flashy it always looks slick. I loved the occasional use of split-screen too – more films should use it when it fits the style, and it certainly did here!The synth soundtrack is excellent too; it seems to be something of a huge trend right now, but with this being actually set in the 80s it fits the mood very well. Steph Copeland did a great job, and I was disappointed not to find the soundtrack in Spotify to write this article to!


Vicious Fun is sharp, it’s witty, it’s bloody - it’s everything you might want in a horror-comedy. I know I’m hardly going to be the first or last reviewer to say this, but… yes, Vicious Fun more than lives up to its title.

In order to give what we believe to be a more unbiased constructive criticism of the piece, the members of Bloodhound Pix are tackling each review as a panel of three. None of the members know the others’ thoughts on the content until after they submit their initial response.


Initial Reaction


K.  Psycho Goreman announces loud and proud that exploitation cinema is alive and well.  It’s a ridiculous 90s throwback referencing things like Kazaam and The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers but with over the top gore thrown in.  Mimi (Nita-Josee Hanna) and Luke (Owen Myre) discover a powerful gem in their backyard which allows them to control Psycho Goreman, an intergalactic warrior.  This results in a series of absurd situations and lands them smack dab in the middle of a battle for the fate of the universe.


What follows is a series of comical situations that these two plucky kids and their fish-out-of-water psycho friend are thrust into.  It’s funny, but feels forced and repetitive at times.  Though there are great performances all around, particularly Nita-Josee Hanna as the bossy alpha Mimi and Adam Brooks as the lazy father of Mimi and Luke.  There’s an amazing combination of digital and practical effects on display, as is to be expected from the filmmakers behind Manborg and The Void.


If you’re looking for a bona fide cult movie, this is the one for you.  While I admit not every bit landed for me, I was won over in the end.  When the end credits come complete with a rap song recounting the events of the film, you can’t help but fall for Psycho Goreman.


C. The work of Steven Kostanski is always a treat to watch due to his own skill with practical effects and outlandish plots from The Void, Manborg, and all the other Astron-6 projects. *See the fake Bio-Cop trailer, which gives the fake trailers associated with Rodriguez and Tarantino’s Grindhouse a run for their money.* Psycho Goreman isn’t an exception. On paper and based on the trailer, this is a movie that feels like it is made for any child of the 80s and early 90s, who then grew up into Cartoon Network’s Adult-Swim-golden era. And I’ll say when the movie is good, it’s phenomenal. From the special effects to the world-building and even the music,  it’s something I’d love to see as an actual series. When PG is using his powers or we get to see more of the otherworldly locations/characters, it’s a riot. So to present the audience with the premise of the universe’s ultimate evil being controlled by a selfish and bratty little girl… it’s hilarious.


However, with a trailer you can only show the good effects, have plot holes, and avoid any form of character development. Same with an Adult Swim series with under fifteen-minute episodes. But much like Manborg, Psycho Goreman finds itself as a feature-length trailer, trying to sustain a 99-minute run time from only practical effects, the 80s nostalgia gimmick and its joke of “what if a spoiled child controlled the deadliest being in the universe?”. This is a movie that should fly by but instead (with the exception of a few scenes) the first 70 minutes is kind of a struggle. It could be said that the humor is meant to be dryer, which I’d love if it wasn't the same joke rehashed in several variations. You get to the point of “yep, we get it. Now let’s move this forward and present new material.” With The Void, Kostanski was able to get away with the lack of character development and plot holes due to its cosmic horror or Lovecraftian influences which allows for ambiguity. Psycho Goreman requires something more. That extra push to take a fun movie to a place of greatness.


J. The movie combines some of the most outlandish shit in terms of nostalgia and After School Special Programming and Mighty Morphin Power Ranger shit while still making it gory and horrific and somewhat funny I guess.  Basically it should be the greatest thing I’ve ever seen, or one of, and it’s just… well, not.  I love Steven Kostanski and I’m not gonna lie, The Void might be one of my favorite films of all time.  I’m not fucking kidding.  However, he doesn’t seem interested in doing anything remotely serious so I think I should get over the idea of him returning to anything The Void-esque.  As ridiculous as this film is (and it’s very) it’s not all that funny and it really pushes the comedy and the main character, Mimi, is annoying as fuck.  I think the movie thinks it’s funnier than it really is and that everyone will just go along with the ridiculousness of it for 90 plus minutes which, I’m telling you, isn’t gonna work out for everyone.  Somehow, even with mostly action-y set pieces this film feels like it goes on for around 120 minutes.  And it’s because… it’s really fucking repetitive.  You’ll see what I mean.  You also have characters in the film, making off hand comments about boredom and the passage of time.  This is not a joke.  Because it’s Kostanski, the practical gags and make up and gore and blood and all that shit is top notch.  And there’s a lot of it too, not to mention character design and all out world building stuff that is really creative.  But these things that were really interesting and well done don’t make up for the boredom and slow passage of time.  Seriously, on paper, this should be one of the greatest things ever created but it’s underwhelming and only gets more so as it goes on.


Response


C.  When Psycho Goreman is on, it’s incredible (even leading me to buy the blu-ray) and Kostanski has proven himself yet again to be a unique creator with an amazing imagination. Unfortunately, I think he’s a director that would benefit from someone else writing the screenplay that can add depth and freshness, so the effects, nostalgia, and world-building can enhance his movies rather than being all that we have to hold onto as an audience.


J.  Maybe it’ll work for you, who knows.  Because like I’ve said, it should be the greatest thing ever made and the creativity and originality are there.  Shorter runtime, a faster pace, less annoying lead… these things among others would help.


K.  As much as I love the concept and the hard work and love that went into Psycho Goreman, all the killer effects and unique worldbuilding, it just falls flat.  That being said, if you’re looking for something unique and out there I would still recommend it.




Bloodhound’s average score: 3 out of 5

Bloodhound Pix is made up of: Craig Draheim, Josh Lee, and Kyle Hintz
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