Onslaught (2026) A24/Action-Horror RT: 92 minutes Rated R (strong bloody violence, some gore, sexual material/nudity, language) Director: Adam Wingard Screenplay: Simon Barrett Music: Matt Pusti Cinematography: Oren Soffer Release date: September 4, 2026 (US) Cast: Adria Arjona, Dan Stevens, Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey, Rebecca Hall, Maurice Greene, Blake Kennedy, Jacob Scipio.
Rating: *** ½
Here we are in the final weekend of the 2026 summer movie season. Typically, Labor Day weekend is a dead zone at the multiplexes. Studios dump the last of their garbage hoping to make a few bucks while the big releases dwindle down. The last thing you’d expect to see is something great. Well, hold onto your hats, people. Onslaught is awesome!
Directed by Adam Wingard (You’re Next), Onslaught is a nifty throwback to the grindhouse movies of the 70s with its gritty aesthetic and John Carpenter-esque score (by Matt Pusti). Okay, so the plot owes a little more to the 80s and 90s with its nods to The Terminator and Universal Soldier, but the whole vibe is from the Golden Age of Exploitation. It’s extremely violent and bloody with guns, axes, cleavers and chainsaws being the instruments of the carnage. As for the cause of it, read on.
The plot of Onslaught is as follows: a trio of genetically engineered super soldiers escapes from a secret military facility and go on a killing spree, ending up at a trailer park where they meet their match in a traumatized Army sniper. That’s the short version. I’ll bet you want more details. Read on.
The super soldiers are the result of years of experiments by Dr. Hans Kammler (Stevens, The Guest), a brilliant but mad scientist in the grand tradition of German-accented doctors affiliated with the Nazi Party. He’s been experimenting on American soldiers thought to be dead. He’s turning them into mindless killing machines whose sole function is to kill whatever’s in their path period. They can’t be bargained with. They can’t be reasoned with. And they won’t stop, EVER…. well, you get the idea.
Predictably, things go horribly wrong when Hans holds a demonstration for somebody important (played, ironically, by Terminator co-star Michael Biehn). They wipe out the entire platoon he brought with him as well as everybody else in the place. Then they leave the facility to continue their mission starting at a convenience store. It’s a total massacre!
What the trio didn’t expect was to run into Celeste (Arjona, Blink Twice), a former Army sniper with an arsenal and a case of PTSD. She’s been has been living in the trailer park for the past few years not confronting her demons. Instead, she spends her days and nights doing repairs around the park and drinking away her pain. She’s already a mess. Now add to that a young daughter (Kennedy) she unexpectedly gets saddled with for the weekend by her uncaring ex. It’s the wrong weekend to have a little kid hanging around.
The government, the ones who funded the clandestine experiments, can’t have their property running around unchecked. They put one of their best spooks, a creepy albino named Cyrus (Starkey, Outer Banks), on it. They don’t want him to stop them; they just want him to observe, to see that they work properly. And these are some mean machines! Clad in camoflauge and masks, they’re an imposing sight with their hulking physiques and glowing green eyes. The lead guy is “The Butcher” (UFC fighter Pereira), a brutal sort who earned his moniker because of his penchant for extreme violence. He more than lives up to the name.
Onslaught isn’t without a few minor flaws, but I’m not about to let them spoil my fun. Fun is the key word here. Let’s start with Stevens’ eccentric performance. It’s decidedly cartoonish, but it works beautifully. Dressed in a white cape and wearing a bald cap, he takes the weirdness to the next level in an early scene where he submissively crawls on the floor and worships his wife’s (Hall, The Town) feet. We can see who wears the pants in this marriage. I relished every minute Stevens was on-screen.
Although I would have liked to see her be more bad ass than damaged, Arjona holds her own in the lead role. I can see her becoming the next big female action star. Along these same lines, I was disappointed that Pereira didn’t get to display his fighting skills more. He’s a UFC fighter; why not put his training to good use here? Reginald VelJohnson (Die Hard) steals nearly every scene he’s in as Celeste’s Vietnam vet neighbor. This guy isn’t afraid to fire his weapon. He also has a sharp wit. He’s a cool sidekick. Starkey brings the creep factor as the cold-blooded government spook we first meet in an S&M club. I have a theory that he’s also the result of a government experiment. Maybe it’ll be revealed in a sequel provided one happens at all.
In addition to the underrated horror flick You’re Next, Wingard also directed the equally underrated The Guest (also starring Stevens). The director has stated that Onslaught is in the same universe as these two movies. That’s cool! Now I’ll have to watch them again.
You all know about my affection for trashy B-movies. Onslaught fits easily under that heading. It’s a bonkers blend of action and horror that doesn’t fit neatly into either category yet still delivers a goodly amount of both. Besides, I can hardly knock a picture that features bloody chainsaw violence. That’s a deal sealer for me. And coming out at the end of the summer like it does is a sweet bonus. It’s the ideal movie for Friday or Saturday late-night viewing.
