A24’s Onslaught opens September 4: a retro sci-fi horror film

A24’s action-horror movie Onslaught hits theaters on September 4, 2026. The setup sounds like Die Hard smashed into Halloween, then run through a neon-soaked 1980s sci-fi action-horror lens.

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Adam Wingard directs Adria Arjona as Celeste, a former Army sniper trying to protect her daughter from three genetically engineered super-soldiers. What Onslaught seems to offer is a lean, nasty siege thriller that just keeps moving. Critics have compared its mood to John Carpenter’s sense of dread, its drive to James Cameron at full speed, and its “slick, giddy violence” to the kind of thing that matters more here than intricate plotting. If The Guest, You’re Next, or retro genre mayhem with a practical-effects feel are your thing, this looks like one to see. The film is Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and the reviews there keep circling back to the pacing , the retro look, and the precision of the set pieces, even if the story and larger ideas may strike you as a little thin.

If you’ve been keeping up with Wingard’s work, Onslaught is being framed as a spiritual successor to The Guest, part of that same cinematic universe, and the final chapter in a thematic trilogy that also includes You’re Next. Adria Arjona is joined by Dan Stevens, Michael Biehn, and Rebecca Hall. Onslaught arrives in theaters on September 4, and early box office tracking suggests a modest opening weekend in the $4 million to $5.5 million range.