Adam Wingard's Onslaught delivers bloody action and solid stunt work, but its wildly shifting tone makes this action/horror film a disappointing experience.
Adam Wingard (Pop Skull) graduated from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, in 2002 and debuted his first feature film in 2007. Winning numerous awards for his work at film festivals around the world, Wingard eventually caught the eye of filmmaker Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings series) after Wingard's horror film You're Next premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired by Lionsgate. Then, in 2014, Wingard directed a movie called The Guest, starring Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast), which received critical acclaim. This week, Wingard's latest film, Onslaught, debuts in movie theaters nationwide.
Celeste (Adria Arjona; Father of the Bride) is a former Special Forces soldier, living in and managing a trailer park in the Arizona desert. Hans Kammler (Stevens) is a scientist working on a top-secret project in that same desert. Kammler is creating "super soldiers" from previously deceased Special Forces soldiers who will continue to kill at will until everyone is left dead. When a trial run of the soldiers goes horribly wrong, Kammler and the other scientists at the government facility end up dead, and the super soldiers escape to wreak havoc on civilians in the area. Suddenly, Celeste must use all her tactical training to defeat the ultimate weapons.
Arjona is well cast as the main heroine of this bizarre saga. She handles a firearm well and is obviously in great shape to pull off the physical nature of the role. Reginald VelJohnson (Die Hard) is comic relief as a retired military man and current resident of the trailer park. Newcomer to feature films Alex Pereira is an interesting choice to portray the "Butcher," the main super soldier, and Drew Starkey (Outer Banks) is very good as Cyrus, the government's lackey who goes in to "clean up" their messes. Rebecca Hall (The Town) is also good, though she tends to have a smaller role in the movie as Kammler's wife. However, it is Blake Kennedy (The Glory), who plays Celeste's daughter, Daisy, who is the occasional scene-stealer.
The action is well done for the most part, with stunt choreography well thought out and well executed. The gore and blood are very prevalent, as Wingard takes every chance to remind the audience that they are watching an "action/horror" film. There are moments when blood splashes directly onto the camera lens, and people are literally cut off at the knees.
I will say I did have hopes that Onslaught would have a similar feel to The Guest, since it was one of Wingard's better movies. However, sadly, it wasn't meant to be. Onslaught is definitely an onslaught to the viewer's senses. I was bored 30 minutes in and was questioning the whole existence of this movie within the first five minutes of the film. Stevens' makeup was horrible, and when a fellow critic suggested it was intentional, I wondered, "What the hell for?!?" If Wingard was trying to make a parody by purposely making Stevens' makeup awful, then why was the rest of the movie taking itself so seriously?
I felt as if I was getting whiplash from the schizophrenic changes occurring throughout the movie. One minute it's (possibly) a parody, the next an action film, and yet the next, a horror film. I wondered if Wingard was trying to do something different and a little "avant-garde" with the idea that he could be nominated for an Oscar, but if he was, the experiment failed miserably.
I suppose if you had to use that free ticket you get each month with your movie theater subscription, AND you like bloody, gory movies with some action involved, you could buy a ticket to see Onslaught. Otherwise, I would suggest seeing Spider-Man: Brand New Day or The Odyssey for a second or third time or, better yet, go see The Rivals of Amziah King.
Grade: D-
