Opening in theaters on September 4 is ‘Onslaught,’ directed by Adam Wingard, written by Simon Barrett, and starring Adria Arjona, Dan Stevens, Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey, and Rebecca Hall.
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Initial Thoughts
After spending much of the last decade toiling in the fields of Hollywood franchise junk – with a rotten ‘Blair Witch’ sequel and two rather silly ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ movies to show for it – filmmaker Adam Wingard has returned to the kind of gritty, low-budget, late ’70s/early ‘80s-style horror fare that first put him on the map with films like ‘The Guest’ and ‘You’re Next.’
‘Onslaught’ starts off with some nice atmospherics, a weirdly trippy vibe, and a palpable build-up of dread, set against the context of government conspiracies and the blackest of ops. But paper-thin characters and the relative brevity of the title showdown make this a moderately entertaining 90 minutes and not much more beyond that.
Story and Direction
‘Onslaught’ follows two narrative tracks: in the first, former Army sniper Celeste (Adria Arjona), who lives in a trailer park in the New Mexico desert and struggles with PTSD, finds herself unexpectedly caring for her daughter Daisy (Blake Kennedy), whom her ex-husband has left with her when he needs to travel for a meeting.
Meanwhile, a Nazi scientist named Kammler (Dan Stevens) is whisked by helicopter from his own secret home to a classified government base not far from the trailer park, where the final test of his grand experiment – the creation of emotionless, almost inhuman, genetically enhanced super-soldiers – is about to be performed for a representative of the U.S. government (Michael Biehn) – whose interest is in using the soldiers to put down American citizens and create a climate of fear.
As one might expect, the experiment goes drastically wrong and the super-soldiers escape from the facility. They leave a path of carnage behind them as they slaughter their way toward the trailer park and a confrontation with Celeste, her daughter, and their small group of neighbors, even as local authorities and a mysterious, depraved government agent named Cyrus (Drew Starkey) track their movements and attempt to contain them.
The screenplay by Wingard’s longtime producing and writing partner, Simon Barrett, is simple and direct – almost too simple. By establishing the larger context around the creation of the super-soldiers – including references to Kammler’s background as a descendant of Operation Paperclip and nods to the nature of the Area 51-like base – there are hints of a more pervasive, insidious menace. But that window-dressing is largely abandoned once the super-soldiers begin their reign of terror.
After that, while Wingard maintains a steady pace and pulls off some well-choreographed scenes of action and violence, the film follows a fairly predictable path toward its inevitable showdown, which turns out to be weirdly brief and somewhat illogical, with a few characters making the kinds of boneheaded decisions that lead them to certain death.
It’s fun and entertaining in its own B-movie way, but Wingard has done this kind of things before (primarily with the far more resonant ‘The Guest,’ to which this is supposed to be a kind of spiritual if not literal sequel) and breaks no new ground here. His super-soldiers — led by former UFC champion Alex Pereira as the one codenamed ‘The Butcher’ — are formidable, but resemble enhanced versions of ‘Friday the 13th’ mainstay Jason Voorhees or similar killers, lacking distinctive personalities. And while the film’s overall aesthetic hits the mark, it ultimately plays out very much like a retread of John Carpenter’s many siege films.
Cast and Performances
Wingard assembles a good cast but doesn’t give them a lot in terms of characterization. Arjona – who believably handles the weaponry and fight scenes — gets the most to work with. Celeste is not entirely sympathetic, giving her some dimensionality. But her character flaws (her physical PTSD and her relationship with her daughter) seem more functional than organic. Her work here is solid but we’ve seen more impressive stuff from her in films like ‘Splitsville.’
Dan Stevens, meanwhile, retains his German accent and slightly campy, off-kilter mad scientist from ‘Cuckoo,’ while slapping on a rubbery bald cap, and Rebecca Hall is more or less wasted as his equally sinister wife. It’s terrific to see ‘Die Hard’ icon Reginald VelJohnson make the most out of his retired, aging veteran who turns out to be Celeste’s most fearless ally, and Drew Starkey’s bizarre government ‘fixer’ is intriguing if left somewhat underdeveloped.
Final Thoughts
Wingard and Barrett delve back into their roots without adding anything new to their toolbox or assigning any larger meaning to what’s happening onscreen, something they achieved more successfully with both ‘You’re Next’ and ‘The Guest.’
If you go into ‘Onslaught’ expecting nothing more than a straight, sort of traditional, superficial B-movie, you’re likely to have a good time. On that level, ‘Onslaught’ is enjoyable up to a point – until the movie ends just when you feel like it’s starting to get going.
‘Onslaught’ receives a score of 70 out of 100.
What is the plot of ‘Onslaught’?
When a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers breaks loose in the desert, a badass Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.
Who is in the cast of ‘Onslaught’?
- Adria Arjona as Celeste
- Dan Stevens as Dr. Hans Kammler
- Eric Wareheim as Kovacks
- Reginald VelJohnson as Josiah
- Michael Biehn as Baylor
- Drew Starkey as Cyrus
- Alex Pereira as The Butcher
- Rebecca Hall as Hanna Kammler
- Blake Kennedy as Daisy
Films Directed by Adam Wingard:
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