5 Movies To Watch If You Like Onslaught

Static Media

Adam Wingard’s “Onslaught” wears its inspirations on its sleeve — a “best of” list of ’80s action movies, horror flicks, and science fiction. In Wingard’s own words, James Cameron and John Carpenter were his primary influences on the film. “All my favorite movies are B-movies,” he said, reflecting not just on classic video store canon like “Assault on Precinct 13,” which we’ll cover, and “Tremors,” but going on to honor the stars that brought that classic ’80s flavor — like Michael Biehn and Reginald VelJohnson, who both appear in his new film.

In light of that lineage, we’ve assembled a short list of films to check out if you just saw “Onslaught” and find yourself chomping at the bit for more in the same style. Think of it as a brief curriculum of the retro action/horror thriller, ranging from the all-time classics to some of the more standout modern examples, of which “Onslaught” is just the latest.

From Cameron to Carpenter, to a past film from Wingard himself, these five movies are a perfect next watch if you loved “Onslaught.”

Orion Pictures

Where else could we start? While “Terminator 2” often gets more love these days (and is certainly more suggestive of the kinds of movies James Cameron would go on to make later in his career), the original “Terminator” is a masterpiece all its own. It is the definitive blend of sci-fi, action film, thriller, and monster movie, anchored by an iconic ’80s score and a love of filming at night.

If you’ve never seen it, or it’s been a while since your last watch, let “Onslaught” be the reason you return. The film even features “Onslaught” actor Michael Biehn — a Cameron favorite — in the co-leading role, alongside Linda Hamilton and a particularly robotic (in a good way) Arnold Schwarzenegger. But it’s more in the pacing and aesthetic style that the two films mirror each other.

“Onslaught” pulls loads from “The Terminator,” from the “monster with a gun” choreography of its three villainous super soldiers, to the slow-build and use of the long night as devices for added tension. Both films understand there’s nothing scarier than a man with a gun who can’t be reasoned with, and of course, it only helps the drama when those men aren’t really men at all (at least, not anymore, in the case of “Onslaught”). It’s the damn “Terminator,” yall. What else is there to say?

Shout! Factory

There are a lot of different John Carpenter movies that could have easily fit on this list, from “The Fog” to “Escape from New York.” But instead, we’re going to shine a light back on an even earlier Carpenter film that doesn’t get as much attention — “Assault on Precinct 13.”

If you want to talk about “one long night” movies, this has to be part of the conversation. Somewhere between “Dirty Harry” and Carpenter’s impending breakout with “Halloween,” “Assault on Precinct 13” shows a neighborhood falling quickly to the violence of an aggressive street gang. As the local precinct is stripped and prepared to be closed, the killers lay siege to the building in search of vengeance on the cops (and prisoners) still inside, leading to a tense showdown.

The premise itself may not sound like anything special, but as is so often the case with Carpenter, who also wrote and scored the film, it’s the style that makes it pop. Some sources place the budget at just $100,000. The American Film Institute puts it at $200,000. Either way, it was a severely indie operation, yet it oozes style — an early demonstration of Carpenter’s penchant for voyeuristic cinematography, always creeping around a corner or behind a wall, forever holding something back and making you wonder what might be there. 

The press materials for “Onslaught” include a claim from Adam Wingard that “Assault on Precinct 13,” more than any other individual film, was the primary blueprint for “Onslaught.” It shows. So if you watched the latter, what are you waiting for? It’s the perfect opportunity to revisit a classic.

Bold Films

No film in the last 20 years has evoked that mid-to-low-budget ’80s action/thriller vibe as effectively as “Drive,” directed by Nicolas Winding Refn in 2011 and starring Ryan Gosling in one of the defining roles of his career. A proper neo-noir, complete with Kavinski’s iconic electro tune “Nightcall” (RIP to a real one), the film is a twisting saga of underworld hits, betrayals, vengeance, and love. But like most of the movies on this list, it’s really more about the look, sound, and feel, than the story. And the look, sound, and feel are second to none.

The vista shots of the city at night, the drives down the Pacific Coast Highway, the neon, the headlights, the jacket to end all jackets — “Drive” is often more of a vibe than it is a movie. So it’s all the more impressive that it’s also a hell of a movie, too. With a supporting cast that includes Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston, and Oscar Isaac, the film is absolutely stacked, with a healthy helping of kinetic chase scenes and frantic action set pieces to keep the adrenaline high. 

While distinctly less in the action/horror niche as “Onslaught” and some of the other films listed here, “Drive” is a natural follow up for its shared love of that ephemeral ’80s energy. And on a budget of just $15 million, it’s also kind of an underdog story.

Troublemaker Studios

Robert Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror” is closer to outright parodying its influences than “Onslaught,” but both embrace a similar grindhouse style — blood and gore in an old-school, darkly comedic, rubber and goo kind of way. The 2007 film is obviously much more ludicrous at face value, as it’s about a zombie outbreak and the ensuing pandemonium, complete with a whole slew of familiar character archetypes. Then again, “Onslaught” does have a Nazi scientist who’s obsessed with feet, so maybe these are more balanced in their absurdity after all. And wouldn’t you know, Michael Biehn is here again.

Unlike “Drive,” “Planet Terror” is not trying to be “cool” in how it evokes a bygone era of genre cinema. And in fairness, it’s really pulling more from the ’70s than the ’80s. Even still, the combination of secret military experiments, a band of rural small-town survivors, and a general affinity for classic monster flicks permeate both.

“Planet Terror” may not rewrite the genre but it’s a whole lot of fun, marked by the signature flair for gore and chaos that its director is known for. It takes itself less seriously than “Onslaught” does, but when your subject matter is the walking dead, and the poster has a woman with a gun for a leg on it, that’s sort of inevitable.

Picturehouse

“The Guest” isn’t just directed by the same guy as “Onslaught,” or written by the same screenwriter, or is a similar story about PTSD and how the damage of war rarely ends when veterans return home. It’s also in the same continuity, even down to being set in the same town, according to Adam Wingard himself.

The 2014 film stars Dan Stevens as a U.S. Army veteran named David, recently returned from war, where he lost his best friend in combat. Distraught, he tracks down his friend’s family and declares his intention to help them out in the wake of the death. Slowly, though, it becomes clear that David isn’t exactly what he seems to be. A series of violent encounters reveals a dark side, with ties back to a series of secret military experiments. And yup, you guessed it, those are (according to Wingard) directly connected to what we see in “Onslaught.”

Given the lore connections between the two, “The Guest” is a natural pick if you enjoy “Onslaught,” but it’s also a solid thriller in its own right.