Onslaught is another siege-driven action thriller built around a tough female protagonist, throwing former Army sniper Celeste into a fight for survival when a group of genetically modified ex-soldiers descends on her trailer park. With her young daughter nearby and help coming from an alcoholic cop and a veteran neighbor, Celeste has to turn her home into a battlefield against a heavily armed group led by a nearly silent killing machine known as The Butcher. The ingredients are familiar, but the movie does have enough old-school action energy to make it clear what kind of audience it wants.
Adria Arjona plays Celeste, a single mother and former Army sniper whose military background gives her a believable reason to become the center of the action. She is surrounded by Eric Wareheim as Kovacks, a drunken local cop, and Reginald VelJohnson as Josiah, a veteran who provides some of the movie’s old-school attitude. There is also a young daughter, Daisy, played by Blake Kennedy, whose presence gives Celeste something personal to protect beyond simply surviving another night.
The villains are designed more as physical threats than fully developed characters. UFC fans, however, will immediately recognize Alex Pereira making his acting debut as The Butcher, a towering, almost silent fighter who communicates through military hand signals before going after his targets with guns, hatchets and a chainsaw.
Pereira clearly has the physical presence for this kind of role, and his size makes him an intimidating screen presence even when the character itself remains intentionally mysterious. Dan Stevens appears as the eccentric Dr. Kammler, while Drew Starkey plays the twitchy Cyrus, giving the villainous side a collection of strange personalities without providing enough depth to make them memorable.
Writer-director Adam Wingard, working with co-writer Simon Barrett, has plenty of experience with genre material, having previously directed The Guest and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Onslaught feels particularly connected to The Guest, with its combination of military paranoia, mysterious killers and retro action-thriller influences.
The problem is that Wingard and Barrett borrow so heavily from movies such as Die Hard, The Terminator, Rambo and Halloween that the film often feels like a collection of references rather than a fresh interpretation of those ideas.
The stunt work is one of the movie’s better elements. The choreography is polished, the violence occasionally becomes satisfyingly brutal, and the combination of firearms, close-quarters fighting, hatchets and chainsaws gives the action some needed variety.
Pereira’s physical presence also adds another layer because you immediately understand why The Butcher is supposed to be the most dangerous person in the room. The sound design is strong and gives the gunfire and impacts plenty of weight, although the camera does not always make the action as visually striking as the choreography deserves.
That is ultimately Onslaught’s biggest problem. There is definitely some zest here, particularly for fans of female-led action and retro siege movies, but it feels like the filmmakers could not open the concept up enough to become something more. The characters remain familiar types, the conspiracy never develops into anything particularly compelling, and the movie repeatedly reminds you of better films instead of creating its own identity.
For action fans looking for a straightforward night of gunfire, gore and a towering Alex Pereira, Onslaught has enough material to provide some entertainment. Those expecting a new genre classic or a deeper military thriller should lower their expectations. Celeste is another capable female action heroine, and Pereira has the physical presence to make The Butcher interesting, but the movie never pushes either idea far enough to become truly memorable.
