‘Onslaught’ Gets a Middling CinemaScore as Adam Wingard’s A24 Thriller Hits Theaters

Adam Wingard has spent the better part of the last decade bouncing between big studio spectacle and the kind of scrappy genre filmmaking that first made his name. After two entries in the ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ franchise and a rocky ‘Blair Witch’ sequel, the director has now circled back to the gritty, late-’70s and early-’80s style horror that defined breakout films like ‘The Guest’ and ‘You’re Next.’

That return marks his latest collaboration with longtime writing partner Simon Barrett, and it arrives with genuine star power behind it. Adria Arjona headlines the project as a combat veteran and single mother forced to defend her daughter when a rogue squad of genetically engineered super soldiers breaks loose near her desert trailer park.

That film is ‘Onslaught,’ and its opening night reception has come in decidedly mixed. CinemaScore has given the film a C grade, based on audience exit polling from its theatrical debut.

Distributed by A24, ‘Onslaught’ opened in theaters on September 4, positioning it as one of the studio’s more physically intense genre releases of the fall. The film runs 92 minutes and stars Arjona alongside Dan Stevens, Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey and Rebecca Hall, giving the project a notably stacked ensemble for a genre picture of its size.

Wingard has described ‘Onslaught’ as the third film in a loose spiritual trilogy alongside ‘You’re Next’ and ‘The Guest,’ continuing his long creative partnership with Barrett on both the story and screenplay. That connection to his earlier work has been a consistent talking point in critical coverage of the film, with several reviewers noting the deliberate throwback tone running through its 1980s-inspired action beats.

Critical reception has landed somewhere in the middle, with reviewers largely praising the film’s visuals and cast while expressing disappointment that its ideas don’t fully come together. One review described the film as filled with wasted potential, noting strong performances and fun concepts that never quite cohere into a satisfying whole.

Other critics pointed to the film’s uneasy blend of genuine thrills and half-formed commentary, suggesting its politically charged premise about weaponized super soldiers takes a backseat to its action sequences rather than fully engaging with the themes it raises. That tension between spectacle and substance appears to be a recurring sticking point across the film’s early reviews.

The timing of the release has also drawn some scrutiny, with the film opening during the Labor Day holiday weekend, a period typically associated with softer box office turnout as audiences focus on end-of-summer plans rather than moviegoing. That scheduling decision has led some critics to speculate the studio may have had tempered expectations for the film’s opening performance from the start.

Even so, ‘Onslaught’ arrives with plenty of pedigree behind the camera. Cinematography comes from Oren Soffer, with Tom Hammock handling production design and Matthew Pusti scoring the film, rounding out a technical team with deep genre filmmaking experience.

The film’s premise centers on Arjona’s character, Celeste, a trailer park manager and former soldier who finds herself thrust back into combat mode when the escaped super soldiers threaten her community and her young daughter, played by Blake Kennedy. Dan Stevens co-stars as Dr. Hans Kammler, adding another layer of intrigue to the film’s military science-fiction backdrop.

Whether the middling CinemaScore grade will translate into a rocky opening weekend at the box office remains to be seen, though the combination of mixed reviews and a challenging release date doesn’t bode particularly well for a strong debut. For fans of Wingard’s earlier horror work, ‘Onslaught’ still offers a chance to see the director revisiting familiar genre territory, even if audiences so far seem split on how well that return has landed.

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