Joseph Quinnis poised to become a big star in Hollywood, but one of his earlier and briefer roles was unfairly overlooked. Quinn first gained attention with his scene-stealing role asEddie Munson inStranger Things. However, since then, he has been getting a number of big roles, including playingFantastic Four member Johnny Storm in the MCU.
Leading up to his breakout role inStranger Things,Quinn appeared in a lot of smaller roles, including a brief appearance onGame of Thrones. However, it is Quinn’s first movie role that deserves more attention, as the wild and inventive genre movie was overshadowed upon its release by a rumor that proved to be untrue.
Overlord Was Rumored To Be Part Of The Increasingly Frustrating Cloverfield Franchise
Overlord Disappointed At The Box Office After Battling The Rumors
Overlord was released in 2018 and remains a great genre-bending movie that few people saw. The movie takes place on the eve of D-Day during World War II as a platoon of American soldiers parachutes behind enemy lines to destroy a German radio-jamming station located in a small village. However, they soon find there are more horrific experiments going on.
By removing theCloverfieldelement from the discussion,Overlordhad no identity left in the fans' eyes.
The movie received strong reviews when it was released, scoring 82% onRotten Tomatoes. However, the movie grossed just over $40 million on a $38 million budget (viaBox Office Mojo). Part of the issue with the movie was that much of the discussion ahead of its release was dominated by rumors that it was part oftheCloverfieldfranchise.
Overlordwas produced by J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production studio. In the past,theCloverfieldmovies sought to surprise fans by hiding their connections for as long as possible.10 CloverfieldLane was only revealed to be part of this universe in the first trailer. This led fans to suspectOverlordwasanotherCloverfieldmovie in disguise.
While that might have initially raised interest inOverlord, it was seen as a frustrating problem in marketing.Abrams tried to squash the rumors by confirming that it was a standalone movie, which he described as “bats**t”(viaVariety). However, the damage was done, and by removing theCloverfieldelement from the discussion,Overlordhad no identity left in the fans' eyes.
Overlord Was Actually Just A Pretty Great Standalone Zombie Movie
Overlord Should Not Be Ignored Due To A Rumor
In hoping theOverlordwas a secretCloverfieldmovie, many people missed out on one of the best standalone zombie movies in recent years.Overlordis a rareWorld War II horror movie, and it uses the setting to great effect.The movie explored heroism and bravery in grounded terms while also introducing the Germans' experiments with the undead.
It is time that more people discover it and realize thatOverlordis as good or better than any of theCloverfieldmovies.
The movie folly embraces the wildness of the plot, leaning into the gory and mayhem of the concept. In fact,its hard-R rating separates it even further from theCloverfieldmovies, which are quite mild in comparison. From body horror to action violence to classic horror movie gore,Overlorddelivers gruesome thrills.
Joseph Quinn fans might be a little disappointed with his amount of screen time. He plays a German-speaking soldier named Grunauer who is killed off-screen in the movie’s opening minutes. However, the rest of the cast is excellent,especially Wyatt Russell, who emulates his father, Kurt Russell, in a great tough-guy hero role.
Overlordstill has not managed to find its audience, despite the strong critical reception and word of mouth. It could be that theCloverfieldrumors still hang over the movie, but it is time that more people discover it and realize thatOverlordis as good or better than any of theCloverfieldmovies.
