Adam Wingard’s Onslaught

There are two types of super-soldiers in the movies. There is the virtuous Steve Rogers type (a.k.a. Captain America), who realizes the technology that strengthened him is too dangerous to ever use again. Then there are the super-psychos, like Dolph Lundgren in Universal Soldiers. Don’t you miss Air Force Colonel Steve Austin, the “Bionic Man?” It hardly needs to be said considering the key art, but these super-soldiers will be the crazy homicidal kind, who meet a surprisingly resourceful opponent in Adam Wingard’s Onslaught, which opens Friday in theaters.

Apparently, Dr. Hans Kammler is one of those National Socialist scientists America brought over after WWII, some eighty years ago, or maybe a descendant, or a spiritual heir? Anyway, he is a creepy doctor working on a super soldier research program, using three of the absolute dirtiest military prisoners available. Of course, they get lose, because Kammler’s team forgets their abilities to slow their hearts rates mere minutes after someone mentions it.

Having sprung themselves, the terrible trio are heading in a straight line towards the Windy Oasis Trailer Park, managed by Celeste. Although she exhibits antisocial behavior resulting from PTSD, she still loves her daughter Daisy, who was just dropped off for a surprise weekend with her mom. Celeste has a fully stocked gun rack, but it will take more than bullets to stop the deranged killers known as “The Butcher,” “The Cockroach,” and “The Crybaby.” Pervy molly-popping secret agent Cyrus has been activated to handle the situation, but the deep state military industrial complex wants him to observe Kammler’s work in the field rather than save lives. That means Celeste and her Windy Oasis neighbors are on their own.

It is not just super-soldiers. It seems Hollywood can only portray two types of veteran characters, both of which are stereotypes. They can either be tormented victims of PTSD or unhinged psychopaths. Frustratingly, they are never allowed to function as productive members of society while they work on their issues. They must be symbols for something darker. Obviously, Wingard and co-writer Simon Barrett indulge both stereotypes.

Indeed, the anti-veteran bias of Onslaught is pernicious and pervasive, which is a real downer. It is a shame, because Wingard has a talent for staging gory, over-the-top action scenes. However, the best thing Wingard and company accomplish is the creation of a real sense of community in Windy Oasis. This is a place worth fighting for. Indeed, the chemistry between Celeste and her Vietnam vet neighbor Reginald VelJohnson (Sgt. Al Powell in the Die Hard movies) is almost redemptive.

Unfortunately, for most of the rest of the film, Adria Arjona recycles the all too familiar tortured vet cliches for Celeste. Dan Stevens is massively creepy, but his name and the film’s subject matter might lead some people to assume Onslaught is a sequel to The Guest. It isn’t. The characters are unrelated, but reportedly the two films share the same “world.” The three super-killers are undeniably hulking, but they completely lack personality, which is a serious drawback for a film like this. The absence of a Lundgren-like presence is keenly felt.

Still, nobody will doze through a screening of Onslaught. There is enough carnage to stimulate certain fans’ dopamine, but it lacks the surviving villains for a successful franchise. The filmmakers and cast are also just too far-removed from the military to do any of its characters justice. Too cliched to recommend, Onslaught opens this Friday (9/4) in theaters.