Adam Wingard’s Onslaught wastes little time getting down to business. The new A24 action thriller drops audiences into a dangerous desert landscape where an Army sniper is forced to protect her young daughter after a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers escapes into the wilderness. At just 92 minutes, the film moves with the urgency of its characters, delivering a compact mix of survival thriller, military action, and science fiction.
Adria Arjona stars as the determined mother at the center of the chaos. Her performance gives the character an intense but subdued quality that helps keep the increasingly outrageous circumstances from feeling completely detached from reality. The relationship between mother and daughter provides the emotional foundation, while the threat posed by the genetically engineered soldiers supplies the film with its more explosive moments.
Wingard, who directed Godzilla vs. Kong, approaches Onslaught with a clear understanding of how to keep an audience moving. The direction favors momentum over unnecessary detours, and the relatively short runtime works in the movie’s favor. There is little room for the story to become overly complicated, although viewers looking for extensive character development or a deeper exploration of its science-fiction premise may find the film somewhat limited.
Simon Barrett’s screenplay, based on a story developed with Wingard, blends familiar action-movie ingredients with a more heightened science-fiction concept. The genetically engineered soldiers provide an intriguing threat, but the film is ultimately more interested in what happens when ordinary human instincts collide with extraordinary danger than in exploring every detail of its premise.
The supporting cast adds some welcome variety. Dan Stevens, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Drew Starkey and Rebecca Hall bring considerable experience and personality to a story that otherwise remains tightly focused on its central survival scenario. Their presence helps give the film a larger sense of scale without pulling too much attention away from Arjona.
Visually, cinematographer Oren Soffer makes strong use of the desert setting. The open landscape creates an interesting contrast with the characters’ increasingly desperate circumstances, while production designer Tom Hammock helps establish a world that feels appropriately harsh and unpredictable. Matthew Pusti’s score and the editing by Josh Schaeffer and Adam Avery further contribute to the movie’s brisk pace.
Onslaught does not necessarily reinvent the action-thriller formula, but it does not appear particularly interested in doing so. Instead, it delivers a straightforward, R-rated genre experience built around a strong central performance, a dangerous premise and sustained forward momentum. Some viewers may wish the film had more time to explore its characters and mythology, while others will appreciate that it knows when to keep things moving.
For audiences looking for a lean, violent science-fiction thriller with a strong survival component, Onslaught offers an energetic trip into dangerous territory. It may not leave every genre convention behind, but its efficient storytelling and committed cast make the ride worth taking.
