Review: Gory yet generic, 'Onslaught,' about a one-woman army, should be more fun than it is

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A.Times in Google Search.

Set us as preferred “Onslaught,” Adam Wingard’s return to indie horror, sees the filmmaker reveling in newfound freedom after directing two Godzilla and Kong movies.Dripping with style, references and lots of gore, this John Carpenter-inspired kill fest puts its R rating to the test.

But it’s both too much and not enough.Like its big baddies, the bruising “Onslaught” is lacking one major element: a brain.It has everything else though: German-language covers of “Paint It Black,” Drew Starkey with bleached eyebrows, a drug-fueled BDSM orgy, Adria Arjona in Snake Plissken drag, bit parts for beloved ’80s action stars, a cute little kid, more slo-mo than you can shake a stick at and Dan Stevens doing a crazy accent while licking Rebecca Hall’s feet.

All that in 92 minutes and it still feels slight.It’s a film with all the heft of a tumbleweed blowing across the desert.If “Onslaught” is an onslaught of anything, it’s movie references, wacky costumes and quirky needle drops.

If only there was a decent script to undergird all it all, then maybe it would be even slightly compelling.Alas, borrowing Carpenter’s surface-level signatures doesn’t mean that his impeccable sense of suspense and rhythm are also transferred, or his sharp cultural commentary.

And utilizing a masked, relentless killer like Michael Myers only works if he’s wielding a knife, not an automatic weapon.Written by Wingard’s longtime collaborator Simon Barrett, “Onslaught” tries to marry “Rambo” to a sleazy 1970s Nazi exploitation film.Stevens, kitted out in a bald cap, old-age makeup and Bavarian accent, plays Hans Kammler, a German scientist experimenting on damaged American GIs in hopes of creating the ultimate super soldier.

His brutish boys are programmed to decimate any target in sight.Movies From a new “Resident ...