Brace yourself: Onslaught’s early buzz tags Adria Arjona’s new movie 'Irresponsible' and 'Nasty'
Early reactions to Adam Wingard’s Onslaught are a proper dust-up, with some lauding its grindhouse streak and others tearing into the new Adria Arjona movie.
I took a look at the first wave of responses to Onslaught, Adam Wingard's latest attempt to blend horror, action, and a fair chunk of chaos. The film’s early screenings have stirred up all manner of opinions—some properly enthusiastic, others not holding back on the criticism. If you like your films divisive and a bit wild, this one’s already living up to its billing.
Onslaught lands in cinemas on 4 September 2026, with a brisk runtime of 92 minutes.
Early Reaction: All Over the Map
Some reviewers are absolutely here for Onslaught's style and tone, championing its unapologetic grindhouse energy. Others... well, they're convinced it's borderline reckless filmmaking, and not in a good way.
Sean Boelman of FandomWire delivered one of the sharper digs after an early screening, calling it 'one of the most irresponsible movies I've seen in a minute' and lamenting its lack of memorable set pieces or energy throughout. He summed it up as a 'huge waste of time and potential.'
On the other side, film critic Bill Bria reckoned Wingard’s 'return to exploitation' carries a 'nasty, satiric' streak, but there’s an undercurrent of political commentary if you care to look for it. He had praise for Adria Arjona too, saying she goes well beyond her usual range here. Bria also makes it clear Wingard, along with screenwriter Simon Barrett, is taking no prisoners in terms of approach.
Add in comments from the likes of @JackKennedy, who actually enjoyed it—a big fan of its 'old-school grindhouse' flavor, the gonzo villains, and the rowdy violence. Still, he admits it tries to squeeze in a few too many moving parts and stumbles somewhat in the third act. His take: definitely one for a loud, popcorn-munching crowd rather than the cinephile set.
Eric Francisco at Esquire struck a sort of middle ground, describing the film as a 'badass flick' but suspects it would be even better with another 20 minutes and a couple more standout action sequences:
Writing after the screening, Francisco called it 'a muscular, dirt-under-the-nails action-slasher with Adria Arjona doing exactly what the mission calls for. A bit more OOMPH and we’d have a real classic here.'
What’s It Actually About?
The setup is pure midnight-movie stuff: Arjona stars as Celeste, an ex-Army sniper attempting to live out a boring civilian life with daughter Daisy. Peace shatters when a pack of genetically modified super-soldiers breaks out of a hush-hush government lab. Among them: The Butcher, Crybaby, and Cockroach—clearly no one’s giving out subtle code names in this universe.
Celeste, being a dab hand with firearms and tactics, wastes no time getting back into action once her family’s threatened. This one’s part home-invasion thriller, part gory shoot-’em-up, with moments of pitch-black humour layered on top.
- Adria Arjona: leads as Celeste
- Dan Stevens, Rebecca Hall, Drew Starkey, Michael Biehn: supporting roles
- Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson: notable appearances
- Alex Pereira (yes, the UFC champion): plays The Butcher, a key villain
Wingard directed, with Simon Barrett back on writing duties—the pair have a bit of pedigree in this genre-mashing business. The marketing’s described it as 'gonzo action-horror'—which, based on the early reviews, is absolutely accurate.
And if you’re someone who still remembers The Guest from 2014, there’s your easter egg: Onslaught is set in the same narrative world, both involving secret military schemes gone off the rails. Think of this as a not-quite-sequel, not-quite-spin-off—the films just share some universe-wide secrets.
One thing’s clear: Wingard’s not playing it safe this time, and whether you call it bold or just excessive probably depends on your patience for genre films that push things as far as they can go.