A little war never hurt anyone, right? Historian Victor Davis Hanson described the United States of America as having been “born through war, reunited by war, and saved from destruction by war.” Yes, we seem to be at our very best when there’s someone in our sights, the full might of militaristic capitalism unleashed in a fit of rage. We get bored of peacetime, creating conflicts around the globe to keep ourselves preoccupied with blaming someone else for our woes instead of looking inward. This cycle of violence stops for no one, not even the person with their hand on the wheel.

In an effort to get a head start on the Cold War and collect the best secrets for ourselves, America conducted Operation Paperclip, a covert extraction program that brought over one thousand German scientists - many of whom were former Nazis - to the mainland after the fall of Berlin. Unbeknownst to the populace, this virus became part of our country’s DNA, steering our space and military programs to the present day. They built our space shuttles, developed new missiles, and anything else we needed to satisfy our unquenchable thirst for world domination.

In the American Southwest, a third-generation paperclip by the name of Hans Kammler (Dan Stevens) is secretly developing the perfect super soldier. Resurrected from the corpses of the worst of the worst, these soldiers don’t have an off switch, being unstable and unstoppable as they kill anything that crosses their path. The initial three test subjects are each essentially Michael Myers, masked and mute, withstanding all that comes their way.

Of course, things don’t go as planned, with these flesh-covered heat-seeking missiles breaking free from containment and being unleashed on local civilians. One of those people is Celeste (Adria Arjona), a veteran who’s buried herself and her past in the desert. But the world comes knocking as her young daughter gets dropped off on her. Her parenting skills are severely lacking compared to her skills with a weapon, and her desolate trailer home is littered with the alcohol and basic canned food of someone who’s given up on life.

Before taking an extended detour into the world of skyscraper-sized gorillas and lizards in Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, director Adam Wingard got down and dirty with low-budget features like You’re Next and The Guest. They were filled with trashy violence, overpumped with blood, and winking at their ludicrousness. Onslaught attempts to return to that mode, with a heavy dosage of ‘80s VHS sleaze for good measure. The desert air is filled with smoke-like dust, and the full moon illuminates the hunter’s eyes as they descend on their prey. Dan Stevens sports the smoothest bald cap money can buy, with the brightest overhead lamps shining directly onto it and his white lab coat pulled directly from Star Wars.

These stylizations offer a lot of flavor, both for the eyes and ears. It all looks and sounds the part of a video store bargain bin find. Twisted visuals are matched with a thumping soundscape that rings every gunshot throughout the theater, organs splattering on impact. Except those movies were also never that good, containing paper-thin characters and plot beats functioning mostly as loose stitching between scenes of pulpy violence. Onslaught mostly has that problem too, with Celeste being just another wounded lone wolf who has to protect her cub, and the perfect killing machines miss their shots anytime they aim at the main character.

There is also an unavoidable sickness that’s felt when witnessing civilians being gunned down by their own government. A scene of a gas station being turned into a bloodbath becomes a little too raw and real for comfort. On its own, that kind of visceral reaction should net points for Wingard as a filmmaker. But when assessed against the cheap thrills of the rest of the film, that moment feels like crass exploitation.

Also exploited in this cast are Drew Starkey and Rebecca Hall, two talented performers given absolutely nothing to do. Starkey is introduced as a swaggering government mercenary, his nice suit implying he’s more than just your average soldier. Yet his only order is to stand down, staying two steps behind the killers as Celeste takes them on. Hall smokes a few cigarettes and speaks a few lines of German, offering no substance as a character.

It’s those puzzling choices that make Onslaught an overall mildly frustrating experience. Making an homage to past works does not grant immunity from making the same mistakes. It seems forty years of separation wasn’t enough for Wingard to figure out how to improve on telling this generic story. Actions speak louder than words, but that doesn’t mean they also speak with intelligence.

A24 will release Onslaught in theaters nationwide on September 04th.