ONSLAUGHT (2026)

In theaters now from A24 Films!
Directed by Adam Wingard.
Written by Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard.
Check out the trailer here!

When a trio of scientifically bred super soldiers escape a secret government facility, the residents of a small mobile home park including a PTSD-addled former soldier Celeste (Adria Arjona) and her daughter Daisy (Blake Kennedy), must do anything they can do to survive.

Filmmaker Adam Wingard burst onto the scene with YOU’RE NEXT and THE GUEST, only to be drafted up to the big leagues to helm GODZILLA VS KONG movies. But Wingard returns to his roots with ONSLAUGHT, even using this film to serve as connective tissue between YOU’RE NEXT and THE GUEST. Though he doesn’t make ONSLAUGHT steeped in lore from those previous movies, it doesn’t enrich the experience to have seen those two before this one.

Wingard takes this time to highlight some fun Raimi-esque angles and some less than mainstream themes in ONSLAUGHT. There are a lot of stylized shots, musical choices, and simply odd details that show Wingard was working overtime to distance himself from his big budget work. For the most part, I liked it, yet I still feel that the filmmaker is still trying to find his own distinct voice as the stylistic choices feel like a mixture of Tarantino, Raimi, Tony Scott, and Michael Bay. Don’t get me wrong, I love films by those guys and though Wingard may feel like this is more his style, it doesn’t exactly feel like something wholly original yet. That said, the stylized scenes were a whole lot of fun and made the first hour whiz by with lots of creativity.

The idea of the super soldier is not new. ONSLAUGHT is basically a more horror-centric version of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER. AGAIN, not a bad thing, but the similarities must be pointed out. I did like the world Wingard is fleshing out. The addition of secret agent Cyrus to the mix was fun. Played by Drew Starkey, the character is out there. We first see him at a fetish dominatrix club and having just taken some drugs, the character spends most of the movie attempting to get sober while tracking the three escaped super soldiers. This fleshes out the story and gives us something to follow when we cut away from the action with the soldiers, but I could see where some might find these scenes as filler. I found the stuff Agent Cyrus was doing in these scenes to be utterly amusing and adding much needed gallows humor to the story though.

Adria Arjona is strong in the lead as the tough as nails but truly dysfunctional Celeste. The actress is up for the role of Wonder Woman and while she is a bit short for the role, I can see it. She is beautiful but has a bit of Michelle Rodriguez edge to her that makes her feel scrappy and dangerous. Though I shouldn’t have liked her because she is an awful parent and unqualified adult, enough of her character shined through to make her likable. The film also sports a few stars that really make the movie more special because of their presence. It’s also awesome to see Michael Biehn, TIM AND ERIC’s Eric Wereheim, and DIE HARD’s Reginald VelJohnson in substantial roles.

Dan Stevens has become one of my favorite actors over the years. He is never afraid to take risks and always gives a memorable performance. Here he is barely recognizable as third generation Nazi scientist Hans Kammler. While it is hammy, I felt it added another odd layer to this film as the camera basically follows a day in the life of this mad scientist, from waking up and licking his wife’s feet (she is wife played by another great actress Rebecca Hall), to his travels to work listening to German versions of American classics. This is another iconic role for Stevens.

ONSLAUGHT is not without its faults. The film spends most of its first half building up the three soldiers as tools of utter decimation yet are taken care of easily by a scrappy lady having a bad day. These guys are heavily armored and capable, but one good story to their unprotected heads and they are dead. One would think they would have helmets or at least metal plates in their skulls, but nope. All it takes is a crack shot and they are toast. Long after the soldiers are introduced, Wingard loves to keep lining them up next to each other for dramatic shots. Scenes where a soldier is right behind the residents in the trailer park are followed by another dramatically lit scene of the soldiers posing together, when if they were any kind of soldier, they would have gleaned that they simply went to the next trailer.

There is a huge coincidence that pops up in the final act that really feels cheap and unearned. I understand what Wingard and his usual co-writer Simon Barrett are doing with this moment—tying the villains somehow with our heroine. But it really made my eyes roll when it occurred.

Still, there’s a lot to love in ONSLAUGHT. The escape of the soldiers and the gas station attack were epic. I wish that kind of carnage would have carried over to the finale in the trailer park. Unfortunately, it feels like all the best stuff happens in the first hour of this one. The super soldiers are taken care of way too easily, especially the final one. The film is steeped in action and horror, homages to all kinds of genre films. Despite its flaws, I’m still recommending ONSLAUGHT for cool ideas, grueling carnage, and some unique performances.