Onslaught (United States, 2026)

Onslaught is the perfect name for this horror/thriller hybrid. The film is a loud, in-your-face experience that relies more on sensory overload (both visual and audio) than conventional elements like story and character. It's not that the movie lacks a plot or protagonists, but a lot more effort has gone into overwhelming the audience than developing a well-defined and compelling narrative. The progression recalls a video game, complete with occasional first-person through-the-scope shots (although Onslaught could by no means be considered a first-person shooter). This is one of those instances when I wish I could give two ratings: one for in-theater viewing and one for elsewhere. Stripped of the big screen and auditorium-shaking speakers, Onslaught is guaranteed to be a lot less impressive.

The setup is pretty generic, borrowing from countless sci-fi/horror films that have come before. Three unstoppable killers, created Frankenstein-like in a government lab from the bodies of dead soldiers, have escaped their captors and are headed for civilization (remote though it may be). For reasons that are intentionally left murky (having something to do with their mission), they target a convenience store and then a trailer park for extermination. Both attacks result in bloodbaths, but a small group of survivors holes up in the trailer park: former Marine Celeste (Adria Arjona) and her young daughter, Daisy (Blake Kennedy); all-around badass Josiah (Reginald VelJohnson, slipping back into his Die Hard persona after nearly 40 years); and cop Kovacks (Eric Wareheim). Armed and unwilling to go quietly, these four put up a fight. Meanwhile, we get glimpses of the backstory, which features a decrepit, Mengele-like scientist (Dan Stevens) and his stoic wife (Rebecca Hall), a would-be super-soldier buyer (Michael Biehn), and a meth-taking cleaner named Cyrus (Drew Starkey).

With a short running time and absolutely no fat in the production, Onslaught offers an entertaining (if somewhat repetitive) 90 minutes. It wastes a lot of characters and potential while simultaneously establishing the groundwork for future sequels. The movie rarely feels entirely self-contained, even though it can technically be viewed as such. It seems obvious that the creators—director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett—are planning additional installments. (Wingard has already confirmed that his previous films, You're Next and The Guest, transpire in the same reality.)

Speaking of Wingard, this is a return to smaller, bloodier filmmaking after he spent several years slumming in the PG-13 blockbuster world of King Kong and Godzilla. Onslaught is a much different sort of movie and almost seems to have been made by a completely different artist. Wingard has stacked the deck with subtle references and homages, right down to the casting (old favorites like Reginald VelJohnson and Michael Biehn show up). There's a sequence inspired by something from Aliens (involving a child in danger), and Matt Pusti's overwhelmingly intrusive score includes an ostinato that even the cinematically illiterate will associate with John Carpenter's Halloween music. There's also a scene featuring Rebecca Hall (specifically, her feet) that might as well have been guest-directed by Quentin Tarantino.

There isn't a lot of deep acting going on here. Adria Arjona gets the plum role of the ex-soldier who loses an eye, protects her daughter, and gets to wield a chainsaw. (The chainsaw's appearance could be seen as either a Leatherface or an Ash reference—take your pick.) As her daughter, Blake Kennedy shows the poise and love of doing dishes that most parents of young children will recognize as being entirely fictional. She is a good screamer, though, which is part of where the Newt comparison comes from. Dan Stevens is unrecognizable under a lot of odd makeup, and his performance somehow feels like it would be more at home in a comedy.

There's enough oddball and offbeat material stuffed into this film that it's worth seeing if high levels of gore and actual nudity don't offend—albeit only in theaters. The IMAX release is proof that Wingard wants audiences to be overwhelmed by the experience. That's simply something that isn't going to happen with an iPhone, a tablet, or even a pretty nice living room TV setup.

Onslaught (United States, 2026)