Onslaught (2026)
Directed by: Adam Wingard
Premise: A trio of genetically engineered super soldiers escape from a government testing facility and go on a rampage, killing everyone in sight. A military veteran (Adria Arjona) protects her daughter (Blake Kennedy) from the killers.
What Works: Filmmaker Adam Wingard made a name for himself with films such as The Guest and You’re Next which were influenced by the horror and action movies of the 1980s, namely the works of John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, and James Cameron. Wingard has spent a few years making Hollywood tentpole spectacles with the Godzilla vs. Kong films. Onslaught brings Wingard back to basics. This film has the feel of the exploitation pictures that were popular in the VHS era and it owes a lot to Escape from New York, The Fog, and The Terminator. The picture only runs ninety-two minutes and much like its fantastical assassins, Onslaught maximizes the carnage. The best aspect of Onslaught is its style. The film is slickly produced with lighting that creates a moody atmosphere. The violence is intense and excessive. Onslaught draws inspiration from first-person shooter video games and some of the shootout sequences are startling in their savagery. The film is led by Adria Arjona as a military veteran protecting her daughter and Arjona is an effective action heroine. She has meaningful relationships with her daughter and her neighbors which give the film a personal touch and give the violence some human stakes.
What Doesn’t: Onslaught is paced in fits and starts. When the movie is in action mode, it really works but that’s only about half the film. The other half of Onslaught is a mad scientist and government conspiracy subplot. These super soldiers were made from disabled veterans and when they escape from the facility a cleanup man (Drew Starkey) is assigned to coverup the chaos, going so far as executing survivors. The conspiracy subplot ultimately comes to nothing. It only pads out the running time. We don’t go to a movie like Onslaught for the logic but stories ought to make internal sense. A lot of Onslaught’s details are inconsistent. It’s revealed that the soldiers were created by a former Nazi scientist (Dan Stevens) but the film is set in the present day, making this scientist at least 100 years old. We’re also told that these soldiers are indestructible but they ultimately prove vulnerable. The concepts are not treated with much imagination or forethought and the ending is underwhelming.
Bottom Line: Onslaught is an uneven film. There is a very good siege movie buried underneath a lot of poorly conceived exposition.
Episode: #1116 (September 13, 2026)