Adam Wingard‘s new movie “Onslaught,” in theaters Friday via A24, is an ’80s-inspired action thriller in which a combat veteran (Adria Arjona) has to save her daughter (Blake Kennedy) when their trailer park is attacked by a trio of government-enhanced super soldiers. It’s a lean, mean throwback to the golden age of Cannon Films mayhem, and Wingard only has one regret.
Given the ways the desert locals are treated as cannon fodder, it’s a wild request. But Wingard marvels at the amount of freedom A24 gave him for his R-rated siege tale.
Although he has mentioned that “The Guest,” which stars Dan Stevens as a mysterious and violent soldier, and “Onslaught” exist in the same universe, Wingard sees an overarching theme running between the three projects, all of which have screenplays by his frequent collaborator Simon Barrett.
“In a lot of ways, this film encapsulates both of those styles of movies,” he says. “‘You’re Next’ is essentially a siege movie that takes place mostly in one night, and ‘The Guest’ is much more a take on ‘Terminator,’ ‘Halloween,’ slasher films. We started looking at how to create a completion to a loose trilogy.”
Additionally, Wingard became a father before developing the “Onslaught” story with Barrett, and it inspired a parenting throughline in the work.
Rebecca Hall in “Onslaught.”
Courtesy Everett Collection
One gonzo element that will have audiences talking is a very kinky relationship between Stevens, who is nearly unrecognizable in a wig and makeup as an elderly German scientist, and Rebecca Hall as his dom. It’s a wonderfully quirky and kinky side plot that Wingard was thrilled to include.
From parenting to kink, there’s plenty brewing beneath the surface of “Onslaught.” Many filmgoers will also consider modern warfare, from the rise of unmanned drone strikes to the perceived AI arms race that politicians swear America could lose to its enemies. Even though Wingard didn’t intend for the film to feel so timely, he does say these issues are definitely simmering, starting with the basic conceit of the story.
“By the time the movie’s done, you’re making something that was current a couple of years ago,” he says. “We knew we wanted to tell a story about PTSD, and there’s a shorthand to doing that with military, because we all understand that military equals PTSD no matter what. When you’re in those kinds of environments, it creates that. But there’s all kinds of different PTSD. That’s just how we’re taking that concept and putting it in the film so that it makes sense. But I was really blown away because everything was instinctual, and a lot of this film really does carry a heightened version of what my real worldview is in a lot of ways, especially the underground mechanisms of the military-industrial complex and secret programs and all those kinds of things. Even the lineage of us bringing Nazi scientists over from Project Paperclip from World War Two. I mean, those are all things that I believe in and are real. So this was an exploration of all those things.”
Keil Zepernick, Alex Pereira and Steven Shelby Kekoa in “Onslaught.”
Courtesy Everett Collection
Watch the trailer for “Onslaught” below.
