ONSLAUGHT (2026)
(director/writer: Adam Wingard; screenwriter: story & script Simon Barrett; cinematographer: Oren Soffer; editor: Adam Avery, Josh Schaeffer; music: Matthew Pusti; cast: Dan Stevens (Hans Kammler), Drew Starkey (Cyrus), Rebecca Hall (Hanna Kammler), Adria Arjona (Celeste), Blake Kennedy (Daisy), Reginald VelJohnson (Josiah), Eric Wareheim (Kovacks), Michael Biehn (Baylor); Runtime: 92; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Aaron Ryder, Andrew Swett, Alexander Black, Jeremy Platt, Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett; A24; 2026)
“A low-budget sci-fi gonzo indie B-film about forever wars.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
A low-budget sci-fi gonzo indie B-film about forever wars directed and written by Adam Wingard (“The Guest”/”You’re Next”) and co-written by his usual collaborator Simon Barrett. It pays homage to 1980 films of that type.
Celeste (Adria Ariana) is a divorced young mother and veteran Army sniper who lives with her young daughter Daisy (Blake Kennedy) a simple life in a low-end desert trailer park in New Mexico. She lives near a military complex whose project Operation Paperclip is to create the perfect soldier. Dr. Hans Kimmler (Dan Stevens), a third generation former Nazi scientist, is a madman scientist working at the project, who converts 3 American war crime soldiers into the super-soldiers. He’s married to the sexual kinky and controlling Hanna (Rebecca Hall) and works with the perverted government agent Cyrus (Drew Starkey). When the experimental unstoppable soldiers escape and invade the surrounding area things get ugly as they go on a rampage. Celeste partners with her trailer park resident Josiah (Reginald VelJohnson) to stop the super soldiers.
Its tale of a corrupt government causing onslaught is outrageous, bloody, violent, and bizarre. There’s no onslaught but it correctly rebukes America for its unnecessary wars, constant need for a military build-up, and the way the government doesn’t do right in looking after its veterans. If it had a more profound story it wouldn’t come across as being so inane and forgettable. Its gimmicky use of a countdown clock didn’t add to the film. At least it’s funny at times, and Adria Ariana gives a killer performance.
REVIEWED ON 9/11/2026 GRADE: C+
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