Onslaught Review: Adria Arjona Leads a Bloody Throwback

Adam Wingard returns to his horror roots with a brutal, fast-moving action slasher powered by Adria Arjona and plenty of ’80s nostalgia.

We here at Nerdtropolis certainly love Godzilla and Kong sharing the big screen together, but it has come at the expense of nearly a decade since director Adam Wingard has been able to lend his genre expertise to some good old-fashioned horror and gore. In Wingard’s new film, ‘Onslaught’, the filmmaker returns to his roots in an explosive slasher that makes up for a thin plot with unrelenting action and some amusing 80s throwbacks.

In ‘Onslaught’, Adria Arjona is Celeste, a former Army sniper currently working as the manager of a remote trailer park in the middle of a desert. When a group of scientifically enhanced super soldiers breaks free from a top-secret science lab north of the trailer park, Celeste has to do what it takes to protect her young daughter and the residents of the trailer park.

Adria Arjona Steps Up as an Action Star

Adria Arjona is an extremely promising action lead. She carries herself well and looks great holding a firearm. There’s not a whole lot of depth needed for the role, but it’s clearly a Sarah Connor-type homage – except here she’s fighting three terminators instead of one. At the end of the day, the audience is really showing up to see Arjona kick ass rather than emote, and she answers that call splendidly.

The action is exactly what fans of the genre would want: it’s brutal, bloody, and unrelenting. At a brisk 92 minutes, the film absolutely moves with a consistent flow of kills and offers plenty of comedic, memorable moments. While the three super soldier baddies don’t offer much in terms of personality, their intimidating stature and inability to be brought down easily at the very least makes them an imposing threat for a slasher of this sort.

Onslaught Delivers Brutal and Bloody Action

It’s the supporting cast that brings a lot of heart and laughs to the film. Reginald VelJohnson is an absolute delight as Josiah, a Vietnam War veteran and resident of the trailer park who assists Celeste during the assault. VelJohnson’s presence here in the film is a tribute in itself, as the ‘Die Hard’ alum is comfortable playing support to a new action star. And ‘The Terminator’ is also paid tribute to through Michael Biehn’s presence in the film as a soldier helping to prepare the super soldiers.

Dan Stevens, a veteran of Wingard films, plays Dr. Hans Kammler under heavy makeup and prosthetics. Stevens, along with Rebecca Hall and Drew Starkey, play characters with the camp levels turned way up, which help to remind you just what kind of movie you are in. They help the film to never feel overly serious, and make it so much more fun despite such a bloody roller coaster.

It’s worth shouting out the music by Matt Pusti, which emulates a classic 80’s synth score in the style of Tangerine Dream. It’s the final flair that really solidifies the style Wingard is clearly going for.

VERDICT

‘Onslaught’ is by no means a perfect film. The plot is razor-thin, but it’s easy to look past that when the action is satisfyingly unyielding while also paying tribute to the films and genre we love.

Onslaught in theaters September 4.

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