In Adam Wingard's Onslaught, when a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers break loose in the desert, a badass Army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.
The movie stars Adria Arjona, Dan Stevens, Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey, and Rebecca Hall. The project also marks Wingard's long-awaited return to original genre fare after several years spent in the MonsterVerse with Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
As we first reported on FearHQ.com, the review embargo for Onslaught lifted today, and that means we have an all-important Rotten Tomatoes score. 20 verdicts have been counted as we write this, but that's enough to earn it a "Fresh" 80% on the Tomatometer.
The Guest remains Wingard's best-reviewed movie with a "Certified Fresh" 92%. His lowest-rated feature is 2011's little-known Autoerotic with 30%.
"Adam Wingard throws a collection of action and B-movie genre influences into a blender," writes IGN, "pushes that concoction across the table, and encourages you to chug."
Slashfilm notes, "What we wind up with is a synth-draped, unabashedly violent, grindhouse-y grab bag of Carpenter-esque elements that makes this feel like the single greatest John Carpenter movie that John Carpenter never made."
"The film pushes The Guest’s exploitation-movie excesses farther, and appropriately so, suggesting Assault on Precinct 13 by way of The Prowler," adds Slant Magazine. However, Next Best Picture cautions, "Onslaught" succeeds in most of what it tries to tackle, even if, at the end of the day, its core is a bit too familiar for a film trying to break the mold."
The Film Verdict was even less impressed, concluding, "Wingard and Barrett are clearly going for gut-bucket grindhouse here, but even by those particular standards, Onslaught arrives as a particularly loathsome bucket of guts." Over to The Hollywood Reporter, and the trade declares, "Adria Arjona shines in Adam Wingard’s intriguingly colorful, ultimately underwhelming action thriller."
io9 was similarly disappointed. "A film filled with beautiful visuals, solid action, incredible actors, and fun ideas, almost none of which come together in a satisfying way," the site bemoans, only for Den of Geek to counter, "Sometimes you just want to see mom grab the sniper rifle, say everything is going to be alright, and then expel the boogeyman in a blaze of glory."
How will Onslaught fare at the box office this weekend? This type of movie rarely attracts a large audience, so we're not expecting it to pose much of a problem for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which will likely remain at #1 for the sixth weekend in a row.
Onslaught arrives in theaters this weekend. Will you be checking it out on the big screen?