The first two words that came to mind after watching Onslaught were “wasted potential.” It’s a film filled with beautiful visuals, solid action, incredible actors, and fun ideas, almost none of which come together in a satisfying way. As a result, what we get is a movie that kind of works, mostly doesn’t, and ultimately leaves us wanting so much more. In other words, “wasted potential.”
Directed by Adam Wingard (The Guest, You’re Next, Godzilla vs. Kong), Onslaught is the story of a former soldier named Celeste (Andor‘s Adria Arjona) who finds her trailer park attacked by three super soldiers. And these aren’t just any super soldiers. They’re genetic experiments gone wrong that basically answer the question: what would it look like if instead of one Jason Voorhees stalking his victims, there were three, and they were all armed to the teeth?
That’s a pretty cool idea, right? Three Jasons with guns? And, visually, Onslaught delivers on that promise, giving us a steady diet of awesome shots featuring these massive, mindless bad guys wreaking all sorts of gory havoc. We even get a slight but suitable backstory involving a mad scientist played with fabulous gusto by Dan Stevens.
But Onslaught isn’t about Dan Stevens’ mad scientist. It’s about Celeste and her daughter, played by newcomer Blake Kennedy. Celeste is dealing with her ex-husband, custody issues, and some intense PTSD, all of which we learn about as Onslaught keeps a literal on-screen countdown to something. We watch the clock tick down for almost half the movie, the excitement building to what could possibly happen when it hits zero.
Now, this would’ve been an effective tool if it amounted to something, but it doesn’t, and that becomes a running theme. The clock hits zero. The bad guys escape, and that’s it. The plot point you knew was coming the second the movie started happens, and the movie continues. It’s not like those characters weren’t killing people before that moment. The killing just moves from inside to outside, putting into question the decision to add the countdown in the first place.
And yet you’re thinking, well, it’ll all be worth it once they get to Celeste. Especially because the movie opens on, and continues to show, Celeste training with a massive weapons cache she has in her trailer. However, once the soldiers arrive (which takes a little longer than you’d expect), Onslaught tries to be cheeky and specifically denies Celeste those weapons. Yes, that makes her battles with the super soldiers more difficult, but it’s another instance of the film setting something up and then undercutting itself for no worthwhile reason.
The same goes for the climactic battle itself. It’s filled with a few scares, lots of violence, and Arjona being generally badass. Plus, there are some fantastic shots along the way. But just when things are getting good, the film shoehorns in this C-level story link between Celeste and the soldiers that feels completely superfluous, and then everything ends somewhat abruptly. In fact, the film has so little payoff that it has to give the audience a bunch of visual clues over the end credits to explain what happened at the end of the story.
The supporting cast adds a few bright spots, though their characters also work to further illustrate the film’s shortcomings. Drew Starkey, for example, delivers an exceptionally engaging performance as a super spy hunting down the soldiers for the government. He’s so weird and wonderful you want to watch a whole movie about him. Unfortunately, we never get enough of him or any significant, additive connection to the story. He’s just going around, catching up on what the audience saw 10 minutes before, and that’s about it.
Eric Wareheim and Reginald VelJohnson take thin, small roles as Celeste’s neighbors, and make them much more memorable than they probably deserved. Rebecca Hall plays a mysterious, creepy villain, which is always cool. Even Michael Biehn pops up at one point, though it’s more of a stunt than anything else.
And yes, there is some undeniable pleasure in watching these seemingly normal people fight these terrifying villains, plot and cohesion be dammed. It’s gross. Wingard shoots the hell out of it. There are great ideas everywhere, and you understand why everyone wanted to make this movie in the first place. All of which makes the disappointment of it never amounting to anything that much worse. Onslaught teases and tantalizes only to miss the target again and again.
Onslaught opens in theaters September 4.
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