Adam Wingard’s ‘Onslaught’ Gets Mixed Reviews — 52 on Metacritic

Well, the review embargo has lifted on Adam Wingard’s “Onslaught,” which hits theaters Friday, and the reviews are mixed among top critics, with slightly kinder reactions from the lower-tier crop.

Critics are split on Wingard’s “Onslaught,” which is backed by A24, and currently sits at 52 on Metacritic and 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. Some of the praise comes for its gritty ’80s action aesthetic and refusal to play it safe. The film’s visual style and bloody trailer-park shootout get plenty of mentions, but several critics also point to a familiar, undercooked story that could have used another draft. The more negative reviews find the action/slasher blend less satisfying, with some arguing that it takes too long to get to the good stuff.

I had to miss the press screening since I’m covering the Venice Film Festival, but mixed reviews or not, I’ll be checking this one out on VOD when my fall festival trek is done.

This is Wingard going back to the type of films he should have always stuck to making. Yes, he had commercial success with “Godzilla vs. Kong” and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the latter of which grossed over $572M worldwide. But honestly, it’s a real shame that he chose to expend so much of his creative energy on silly kaiju and monster movies. I’m sure the paycheck was great, though.

“Onslaught” reunites Wingard and co-writer Simon Barrett, the team behind “You’re Next” (2011) and “The Guest” (2014). That’s the Wingard I like. It should be mentioned that, without Barrett, Wingard is kind of creatively lost, having helmed “Blair Witch” and “Death Note” — movies that should not be elaborated upon further.

Wingard has described “Onslaught” as the final chapter of a trilogy alongside his other two films, “You’re Next” and “The Guest.” According to Wingard, “Onslaught” is not a direct sequel following the same characters, but it shares the same world and expands on ideas introduced in “The Guest.” Wingard even acknowledged that audiences could “technically call this a sequel” because of the shared universe.

Adria Arjona leads the film as a struggling mother living in a trailer park who sets out to protect her loved ones from a rogue squad of genetically engineered super-soldiers that have escaped from a secret military base while mercenaries attempt to contain them.

Rebecca Hall and, as mentioned, Dan Stevens also star in “Onslaught,” alongside Michael Biehn, Reginald VelJohnson, Eric Wareheim, Drew Starkey, and Alex “Poatan” Pereira.