Adam Wingard confirms 'Onslaught' is a spiritual sequel to 'The Guest'

Although the filmmaker's most recent work Adam Wingard has taken him down the path of Hollywood IPs, particularly with MonsterVerse installments like Godzilla vs. Kong y Godzilla x Kong: The New Empirehis next film project, the horror and action thriller Onslaughttakes him back to the original, independent cinema for which he became known with films like You’re Next (2011) y The Guest (2014).

And fans of his early work will be pleased to know that Onslaught share a connection with both.

In the panel Onslaught of A24 At San Diego Comic-Con, Wingard explained (via DreadCentral):

“I saw this movie as the culmination of a trilogy. I thought it was You’re Next, The Guest and then Onslaught. Y Onslaught takes place in the same city as The Guestand there are thematic connections between the two.”

Dan Stevenswho starred The Guest, He is also part of the cast of Onslaught. In addition to that, he was also in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empiremaking him a frequent collaborator of Wingard.

Stevens, present on the panel along with Wingard and Arjona, shared the following with SDCC attendees:

“The Guest It changed my life. It is a special film, and I am very fond of it; a lot of people too… I think many were expecting a sequel to The Guestbut, I'm sorry to say, it's not exactly a sequel, but it is a spiritual sequel. And as Adam says, it takes place in the same universe, but I get to play an even more deranged character.”.

And The GuestStevens plays a soldier who introduces himself to the Peterson family claiming to be a friend of their son who was killed in action during the war. After being taken in by the family, a series of accidental deaths seem to be connected to his presence. The cast included Maika Monroe, Lance Reddick, Brendan Meyer and Sheila Kelley. In one particular scene depicting a Halloween party, we can see a guest wearing the mask worn by one of the home invaders in You’re Next.

The plot of Onslaughttells the story of a former army sniper (played by Adria Arjona) who suffers from PTSD and still retains considerable ferocity (and an impressive arsenal of weapons). The woman must use her skills to protect her young daughter from renegade supersoldiers who escaped from a secret military base. Stevens' character is a German mad scientist and one of those responsible for the existence of these genetically modified killing machines.

The cast also includes Rebecca Hall (The Night House, Godzilla vs Kong, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), Michael Biehn (Aliens, Terminator), Drew Starkey (Outer Banks, Queer), Jacob Scipio (Passengers, Bad Boys: Ride or Die), the UFC champion, Alex Pereira, Eric Wareheim (Master of None) y Reginald VelJohnson (franchise Die Hard).

JOHN CARPENTER IS THE MAIN INSPIRATION OF ONSLAUGHT

During the same SDCC panel, Wingard said that the early films of James Cameron and John Carpenter had influenced him stylistically:

“Those are probably two of the biggest references. John Carpenter has always been my main influence. I got really into making all these movies. Godzillaand my best way to relax was to see They Live three times a week. And his films have something special in me. It's like magic. I like the atmosphere… But I think that, within Carpenter's filmography, Assault on Precinct 13the original, was probably [la mayor influencia]”.

As a curious fact, Michael Biehn, star of Aliens y Terminator, both by Cameron, is part of the cast of Onslaught.

Wingard directs the script co-written by himself with his frequent collaborator, Simon Barrett (The Guest, You’re Next, Godzilla x Kong).

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS:

“When a rebel squad of genetically modified super soldiers is unleashed in the desert, a fearless army sniper must unleash hell to protect her young daughter.”

The film's producers include Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Alexander Black, Jeremy Platt, Aaron Ryder, and Andrew Swett. Executive producers are David Kern, Todd Lundbohm, Stuart Manashil, Jon Rosenberg, and Natalie Sellers.

The director of photography is Oren Soffer, with Matthew Pusti as composer of the soundtrack.

A24 premieres Onslaught only in theaters and in IMAX on Friday September 4 in the United States. We are waiting to meet your distributor in Latin America.