Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new review! For this one, I will be looking into a new release that has really taken the movie world by storm with the insane amount of buzz it has been receiving. Weapons is the second directorial effort from Zach Cregger, who put his name on the map with his debut feature, Barbarian, an acclaimed and buzzy feature from 2022. I myself checked that film out for the first time recently, and absolutely loved it. I found it to be a wild ride that packed in plenty of surprises and had a way of telling its story with an odd tone that weirdly works in execution. Thus, I got even more hyped for Weapons, which already looked intriguing for me, as I found the premise to be interesting and the cryptic marketing to be very effective. So now that I’ve finally gotten around to it, did it live up to all the hype in my eyes? Let’s jump right in and see what power this has up its arsenal!
This is a story that takes place in the small town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania, where two years ago on one fateful Wednesday night, seventeen children from an elementary school class room, got up out of bed at 2:17 am, ran outside and never came back. When morning comes, the class’s teacher, Justine Gandy, comes to see only one student named Alex is there with everyone else missing. This puts everyone into a panic/uproar with police doing their best to find out what happened to all of these kids. Almost a month after the incident and now such luck is found in finding where they are and with school about to re start, Justine is told that she go on leave with a lot of suspicion being put upon her. From there, unusual things begin to occur with use being told the story from the perspective of different key players in this story.
After proving himself with a smaller, low budget affair, Cregger is given a bigger canvas to work his magic on and wow does it pay off immensely. This is even more intricate in regards to plot mechanics as well as bigger as in terms of scope and what it’s trying to say, yet I think the Barbarian helmsman is able to succeed in many of the same ways he did with that film while also playing around in new areas. The way the film is structured, where it is split up into chapters each focused on a different character, works very well as Cregger uses each one to properly develop our central players while showing certain scenes in a different context that helps in putting all the pieces together in a very satisfying matter. I found myself engaged with each character’s story and really dug how seemingly minor individuals actually end up playing surprisingly big roles in what is to come later on. Like Barbarian, the tone is masterly handled with it managing to be genuinely creeping and unnerving through much of the runtime, while also being shockingly funny in a way that didn’t feel out of place, even though that easily could’ve been the case. The humor either stems from naturally amusing occurrences that can arise in certain scenarios (i.e. Archer trying to do some investigating) or just from insanely messed up things happening that are darkly humorous in a weird way that works. Pacing wise, I never felt there was a dull moment and that each segment is given the necessary time to flesh everything out.
I very much dug the vibe here as well, as it plays like a dark modern day “fairy tale” with the use of narration, how fantastical elements are put into play and the morbid ways in which this film conveys it’s themes. I appreciated how upfront Cregger is about the modern hellscape that kids today have to endure where in many respects it feels as though the prior generation’s failings have left ramifications that have greatly affected today’s kids. In the case of this film, we see how this event affects Maybrook initially and how as time passes, it becomes less of a big deal with most people just going about their day and being sanitized of this horrific incident or in some cases it affects people too greatly that their way of living is completely upended (Justine and Archer being the most apparent in this case). This is something that definitely resonates in this day and age where it feels like society as a whole is being desensitized to these kinds of horrors and I found a lot of the imagery striking in this regard as the most awful things could be happening and not much attention is payed to them by the town. It wouldn’t surprise me if younger audiences end up gravitating towards this, as it is very much speaking to the times which I admire and applaud and this especially applies to the ending which manages to be both satisfying, but also very honest about how this situation would actually go down in the aftermath.
Two films in and Cregger has already proven himself to be a master of creating eerie atmospheres that more than do the job in creating incredible tension and giving off the sense that not everything is as it seems in seemingly normal environments. In this sense, even in scenes where we are somewhere in a suburban household or in broad daylight, there’s always the feeling that something is off, especially when things are going by as normal in the background. In the scenes that are meant to elicit more overt scares, those are massively successful with some well thought out build ups and some great pay offs. The first appearance of our main villain (more on them later), to name an example is one of the most effective jump scares I’ve seen in recent memory and genuinely shook me. The lighting also adds to this with the darkness being used in a way that makes our characters feel so isolated in certain scenes and Cregger uses the camera in neat ways, moving it around in a way that made us feel like the audience is a part of the setting. This is also a meticulously edited picture with Joe Murphy doing an impressive job in taking all of these different storylines and making the story flow well in this format and showing certain scenes from different perspectives in a way that makes one look at the greater picture in a different way with each nugget that is revealed. Plus, while this isn’t an action movie, it has some of the best and most intense chase scenes I’ve seen this year with the use of pov being very well integrated and they there’s just a manic energy to them that immerses one into the craziness unfolding. Fantastic and chilling score from Ryan and Hays Holliday that is used perfectly in order to convey all of the proper thrills and chills.
After appearing this summer as the Silver Surfer, Julia Garner is back in a very different kind of role as Ms. Gandy and she is unsurprisingly terrific! Justine is a character that has a lot of different layers to unpack and Garner is able to showcase all of this perfectly, managing to capture the inner trauma she is going through, the way she copes (which leads to some well placed humor that Garner nails), and her unwavering determination to get to the truth of the matter. I like how Cregger explores this traumatic event from the perspective of someone who is put at blame wrongfully, showing the different ways people can be affected by such horridness and how much of a toll this can take on victims like Justine. However, I do like her level headedness that she manages to put on as the picture goes on and she’s written in an empathetic manner, her genuine love for the missing kids is present, and I found her easy to root for. On the other side of the spectrum, we have Archer, played by the always excellent Josh Brolin, who represents the many parents who have lost their kids and is of course very suspicious of Justine. The way Archer is written walks a fine line between being sympathetic to his grief and also concerned about his obsession with this whole incident and how it makes him closed off as a person, and Brolin conveys all of this beautifully. He’s able to get across a lot with only a little dialogue and he also reminds us just how funny he can be with the right material (him trying to investigate where the kids could’ve gone is a comedic highlight with much plot relevance). I even like the little touches that the character is given that just make him feel all the more human, like the fact that it is hinted that he wasn’t the most outwardly loving father to his son.
In general, I really appreciated just how great everyone was in the film and in different ways that add a lot to their character without much having to be outright stated. Alden Ehrenreich is particularly great at this as Paul, police officer who also happens to be Justine’s ex. Ehrenreich pulls back his usual charisma, instead portraying a very awkward individual who is deep down a pretty big coward who really does not have much going for him in life. I was constantly frustrated by his actions in the best way possible and it was his storyline that I was most curious to see how it would connect to everything as it starts out pretty separate from the main plotline. Same goes for Austin Abrams’s hilarious turn as James, a homeless drug addict whose goals are simple (get money) but he ends up getting involved in this story in a very amusing manner. His plotline contains the most comedy and it is very well done as we see this very narrow minded guy get himself into something far bigger than himself. Benedict Wong is also terrific as Marcus, the school’s principal, who is sympathetic in how he is trying to keep everything steady, while also having understandable concerns regarding Mrs. Gandy. Wong is able to make this role work (adding some nice touches of humor as he is usually good at doing) to the point where I felt very bad when a specific plot turn occurs. You know a horror movie is successful when one is rooting against action to happen to the characters, making the nastiness sting harder when it happens.
Two shout outs I do want to make. One is Cary Christopher as Alex, who gives in an excellent child performance. It is not an easy part to pull off for someone of Cary’s age and he nails it, giving Alex the necessary sympathy and he is able to show off so much, even when not saying a word (which he mostly doesn’t throughout the film). He is able to showcase the inner trauma that this young boy is going for as he is forced to grow up faster than expected and experience things no child should ever face. Reminded me a lot of 28 Years Later in this regard and I think both movies do a fantastic job of showing horror from a child’s perspective in compelling ways. The other (and there will be slight spoilers, so I would recommend skipping to the next paragraph now) is of course Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys. This is a character whose presence looms throughout the film, even when we know nothing about her and Madigan is phenomenal here. She is able to be creepy in that unsettling sort of way where the character is presented as seemingly nice, but nice in a way where one can tell there is something more underneath. She is built up perfectly throughout the runtime and the way things get revealed about her is so satisfying in regards to see how she connects to this mystery and her motivation ties into the whole “adults not knowing to let go of the past and give the future to their children” angle that culminates in a wild way. Just a highly memorable role that in a better world would garner Madigan some serious awards attention.
In the end, I found Weapons to be a knock out sophomore effort from Cregger that continues to show why he is one of the most talented up and coming directors. It is a remarkably crafted film in all angles from the investing mystery, meticulous plotting, insane reveals, hilarious comedy, fascinating themes, incredible tension, amazing editing, interesting characters, and phenomenal performances. I think if your a horror fan or like Cregger’s sensibilities, this is a must watch, but honestly, I can even recommend this to those who may not be huge on the genre as it works on multiple levels beyond the scares. It definitely feels like a filmmaking flex form Cregger who took advantage of his earned goodwill and larger budget to craft something truly special. It’s no surprise that this film ended up getting so much buzz and inspiring some truly incredible memes online as it is the kind of film that inspires such organic enthusiasm and it for me is one of the stand out films of the year thus far. Cannot wait to see what Cregger does next as he is one to look out for.
Rating: A+
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