It’s got to be tricky to be a filmmaker with clear inspirations and desires to make features that feel emblematic of their cinematic heroes. Director Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett are clearly fans of John Carpenter and James Cameron, and Onslaught plays like a tribute to something the two could have collaborated on in the 80s. The success comes from seeing how a film like this may pay homage to those filmmakers and others, but still works as its own thing (not unlike Carpenter’s love for Howard Hawks showing up in his films). Does Onslaught work on its own? Absolutely. This is a small-scale but polished piece of work that no doubt owes a debt to those who partially inspired it, but still stands as a gory action-slasher set to kick ass on its own terms.
Set in the middle of nowhere, where the only existing locations in the area include a trailer park, a gas station, and a secret military base, the film tracks two concurrent stories. One involves a former Army sniper, Celeste (Adria Arjona), attempting to balance some form of PTSD with having to raise a daughter as a single mom with an ex looking to take her away. The other storyline follows the testing of a trio of super soldiers at a military base. The eccentric Dr. Hans Kammler (Dan Stevens in a bald cap with a glass eye) has worked hard to resurrect deceased soldiers as unstoppable killing machines, but something goes terribly wrong. As a result, the soldiers escape and begin killing everyone in their path. Naturally, Celeste’s trailer park is their next stop.
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With a retro vibe, down to the soundtrack and wardrobe choices, to the blunt dialogue and characterizations, at just over 90 minutes, Wingard and Barret know the kind of movie they are making. The benefit is they also have the means to deliver on more than just an eventual action-packed finale. Yes, building up to a breaking point means there are some thrills along the way. Still, these two have done this sort of thing enough to know how to make every shot interesting and to use reference points to subvert or challenge expectations.
Sure, the central conceit has been seen to some degree in a variety of other films. Even Wingard’s previous films, You’re Next and The Guest (which all have elements to connect each to the same cinematic universe), propose the idea of an innocent going up against something unnatural. However, the joy for Onslaught comes from the specific idea in place here – what if there were three humongous slashers pitted against a small town (or in this case, a trailer park)? The results are quite visceral.
Relying on this idea also means staging the film in a somewhat unique way. Basically, we have to spend a long time understanding the area Celeste lives in. We learn about her and her daughter, her neighbors, who include Reginal VelJohnson as a retired vet and Eric Wareheim as a bumbling cop, and others. A lesser movie wouldn’t have room for the details in these scenes to add a further sense of authenticity. Here, the dialogue lets enough character come through for us to appreciate the world being set up, even knowing it’s going to be a rough night.
Meanwhile, the establishment of the super soldiers is so over the top and heavily stylized that expectations just need to start being thrown out the window. We are told all sorts of amazing things, such as how these guys can flex their muscles in a way that makes them bulletproof. An early burst of action shows us how these guys can take down a full squad commanded by Michael Biehn’s Baylor. With so much setup to establish these guys as the ultimate badasses, you can only hope our protagonists match them competently.
Once the action finally does arrive, there’s plenty of fun to be had with the staging of the mayhem. Whether these action/horror sequences remind you of The Terminator, Assault on Precinct 13, Aliens, or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, you can tell how much fun Wingard had assembling a wild action set piece reliant on practical effects, realistic production design, and other elements. While some will say it’s a return to form after Wingard forced himself to make not one but two well-regarded Godzilla movies, complete with the benefit of an actual director’s hand and solid box office results to go with it, he’s getting to continue to play in a sandbox of his own choosing and still having plenty of fun.
Part of the joy of delivering a thriller like this is establishing a new action star. Adria Arjona has been a solid addition to things like Andor and Hit Man, but she really sells the idea of being a tough mother who won’t back down from a fight. Seeing this film find ways to keep her at a disadvantage against her attackers certainly helps, as it delays one-on-one fights that would have to conclude things at point-blank range. However, even then, I was hoping for a more prolonged third act than what I saw. Still, with enough going on to establish an environment and characters to be intrigued by, I was pleased to see all of the bloody results.
It may not have the unexpected dark comedy of You’re Next or the quirky dark sense of humor of The Guest, but Onslaught still works on its own terms and feels at peace with those other films, without being overdone in being self-referential. Arjona delivers as a new action star to watch, and the style adds to a desert-set trailer park, with some very cool visuals. Add to that all of the gonzo stuff I don’t even want to reveal involving the government’s side of this story, and you get a good time watching a throwback film with plenty of cool modern touches.
Onslaught opens in theaters and IMAX on September 4, 2026.
