ONSLAUGHT (2026) REVIEW

Joshua Lightfoot

9/21/26

92 minutes

‍ ‍Onslaught is directed by Adam Wingard, fresh off of the big budget Godzilla x Kong summer blockbusters. Recall his film You’re Next, giving the upper class the middle finger, and feminism a high level of respect back in 2011. People immediately took notice. Or perhaps you’ve seen his film The Guest, a stylish, intense, and explosive action extravaganza that released in 2014. It’s easy to see his strengths as a director when viewing these films. Watch his live action remake of Death Note that is currently streaming on Netflix and it’s clear that the guy is far from untouchable. Mr. Wingard has now reteamed with his longtime collaborator and writer, Simon Barrett, along with A24 to get back to their independent filmmaking roots.

‍ The movie takes place in a secluded area of New Mexico. In a heavily guarded, secretive, Area 51 type facility, a Nazi / Scientist by the name of Dr. Hans Kammler (played by Dan Stevens) is working on a cruel experiment over sought by the U.S. Government. How can I describe Dr. Kammler? Google “Mordecai WWE”. He looks almost exactly like this guy who briefly wrestled for WWE in 2004. It’s pretty uncanny with the white tights and bleach blond hair. Now imagine Mordecai wearing a poorly added bald cap on his head to make him look like he lost most of his hair. There you have it, Dr. Hans Kammler. Anyway, this experiment involves programing 3 fallen soldiers into unforgiving, deadly killing machines. They are named Crybaby, Cockroach, and the Butcher.

These 3 zombie-like ICE agents are jacked to the gills and super powerful, built to survive while coded to eliminate anything that moves. During a demonstration that resulted in the deaths of about a dozen regular soldiers, the subjects escape the facility. While still being wired to kill everything and anything, the 3 make their way to nearby destinations to terrorize and murder many innocent people. Their weapon of choice mostly includes heavy-duty fire power. When the ammunition runs out, they resort to meat cleavers and chainsaws to get the job done. One particularly memorable scene shows off their ruthless abilities inside of a truck stop. A massacre ensues with the purpose of leaving absolutely no survivors.

Nearby, while all of this is happening, we are introduced to Celeste (played by Adria Arjona). She formally was a solder in the army but now manages a trailer park located a bit away from any type of civilization. How can I best describe Celeste? I imagine the filmmakers asking her to do a Michelle Rodriguez impersonation and there you have it. She is struggling quite a bit in life. Her ex is threatening to take away her daughter, she appears to be experiencing post-traumatic stress, and her noisy trailer park clients just can’t pay their rent on time. She is however a trained sniper and something of a survival expert herself. When the squad of killing machines show up, another massacre is about to go down. It’s up to Celeste to protect her daughter and the local residents. Her skills are about to be put to the ultimate test.

My immediate issue with Onslaught is its build-up and then its payoff. Crybaby, Cockroach, and the Butcher sound pretty badass, right? They are built up as such. Three forces ready to take out every human being. You are convinced that nothing can stop them. But what happens then they reach a trailer park? Suddenly they turn into The Three Stooges. Where are the guys we saw in the first half? They still continue to pound the competition, but nowhere near the same level we witnessed earlier. You’re telling me that these trailer park hosiers are more trained and equipped to take on this battle unexpectedly over the soldiers we watched get destroyed earlier? I don’t buy it. I felt cheated.

Onslaught has quite a bit going on and tries to cram it all in in just 92 minutes. I haven’t even gotten to the subplots involving Celeste’s daughter, the traumatic experiences in the army that keep her up at night, the neighbor characters, and the government cover-ups. All of these things eat into the big finale that feel lackluster and rushed. The overall plot borrows inspiration from John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), and this is where things mostly work. It’s everything around it that doesn’t. Every time you start to get into a scene or something that is finally working, the movie shifts to another scene or plot point that kills the pacing. Even the Evil Dead (2013) inspired finale can’t save this one. Sure, its gory, but the sloppy writing gives me little to no reason to care or feel excited.

‍ ‍oVERALL

The thing about Adam Wingard’s early films like You’re Next and The Guest, you need to remember that those movies were made years ago. You’re Next is now 15 years old! It’s still great after just reciently revisiting it. But some directors lose their touch. Coming back to a more indepedent filmmaking approach might be tough after spending years directing movies with $130 million dollar budgets. In the case of Onslaught, I’m sorry Mr. Wingard, but this movie just isn’t it. I will continue to watch what he feeds me, but I hope it’s better than his last 4 movies.

rating

**1/2 out of 5