Onslaught Review: Wingard's Adrenaline-Fueled Chaos

Celeste (Arjona) is a badass Army sniper who’s traded war zones for a quiet life trying to raise her young daughter, Daisy (Blake Kennedy). But peace doesn’t last long when a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers - think Captain America if he went feral and skipped the moral compass - breaks loose from a black-site lab buried in the desert. Led by the mysterious Dr. Hans Kammler (Dan Stevens, doing his best mad-scientist-with-a-bad-haircut), these enhanced killing machines are tearing through the landscape like they’re late for an apocalypse. Celeste’s only goal? Get Daisy to safety. But when the soldiers get too close, she realizes there’s no running - only unloading. What follows is a bloody, sun-scorched cat-and-mouse game where the cat is a superhuman nightmare and the mouse has a scope.

Let’s get one thing straight: Adria Arjona is a movie star. She’s been circling that title for a while - Hit Man, Father of the Bride, that Pacific Rim spin-off nobody watched - but here, she finally gets to be the full package: vulnerable, ferocious, and impossibly cool under pressure. Her Celeste isn’t just a killing machine; she’s a mom first, which means every headshot carries emotional weight. The film smartly gives Daisy actual personality instead of making her a screechy plot device. When Celeste whispers "stay close" and loads a sniper rifle, you feel the stakes.

Adam Wingard, fresh off Godzilla x Kong, clearly relishes the smaller scale here. The desert setting becomes a character itself - relentless, empty, and baking hot. He films the action with a clear, almost mechanical precision that pays homage to 80s actioners while keeping the modern horror sheen. There’s a sequence involving a night-vision shootout that will have you holding your breath, and a finale that’s gloriously ridiculous in the best way. The CGI is minimal, which is a blessing. This is practical squibs, dust, and sweat.

Dan Stevens, as always, is having the time of his life. He chews scenery like it’s a 12-course meal, delivering pseudo-scientific monologues with a smirk that makes you want him to lose - immediately. And look, seeing Michael Biehn in a Wingard film is pure nostalgia juice. He plays Baylor, a gruff old hand who’s seen it all, and his presence adds a welcome Aliens energy. Eric Wareheim (yes, that Eric Wareheim) shows up as Kovacks and provides some oddly effective comic relief before things get super grim. Reginald VelJohnson - yes, Carl Winslow himself - also pops up, and honestly, his casting is a gift. It’s hard not to cheer when he’s on screen.

But let’s not pretend this is high art. The plot is a straight line from point A to point B, and the “genetically engineered” concept is just an excuse for the bad guys to have crazy healing factors and shrug off bullet wounds. There’s no deep lore, no twist you won't see coming from a mile away. Alex Pereira, the UFC star, plays "The Butcher," and while he’s an imposing physical presence, his acting is... let’s just say he’s there for the menace, not the monologues. Drew Starkey’s Cyrus is the standard sadistic lieutenant, which he does fine, but the character is as thin as the desert air.

The pacing is relentless, which is both a strength and a weakness. At 92 minutes, it never overstays its welcome, but some side characters get introduced and dispatched so quickly you wonder why they existed at all. The horror elements - dismemberments, throat slittings, a very gnarly impalement - are gory enough to satisfy genre fans, but never veer into torture-porn territory. It’s more The Raid than Saw. Honestly, the only real drag is the middle act, where Celeste hides out in an abandoned mining town, and the tension sags just a bit before the next wave hits. It’s a minor complaint in a film this lean. Overall, it’s a blast - a sweaty, unapologetic B-movie with an A-list performance at its core.

Pros

• Arjona is a certified badass and anchors every scene
• Wingard’s action direction is crisp, kinetic, and brutal
• Dan Stevens is wonderfully unhinged
• Refreshingly lean 92-minute runtime that leaves you wanting more
• Practical effects and minimal CGI make the violence feel raw

Cons

• Plot is formulaic and predictable
• Supporting characters are mostly cannon fodder
• Sags in the middle act before picking up again
• Alex Pereira’s line delivery is distractingly flat
• The “super soldier” explanation is lazily glossed over

Onslaught won’t change your life, but it might save your Friday night. It’s a scrappy, violent, wonderfully entertaining throwback that reminds you action movies don’t need a massive budget or a shared universe to kick ass. Arjona proves she can carry a franchise on her shoulders, and Wingard shows he can dial it down from kaiju-level chaos to hyper-kinetic human mayhem without losing his edge. It’s dumb, sure, but it’s smart dumb - the kind that knows exactly what you want and gives it to you with a smirk and a spent shell casing. Go see it. Bring popcorn. Suspend disbelief. Have fun. Grade: A solid B+.