Weapons

Writer/director Zach Cregger’s follow up to his breakthrough movie Barbarian is somehow even more innovative and unpredictable.  The slow-burn mystery unfolds in unexpected ways, making this one of the most impressive original films of recent years.

Premise:  The film starts in the aftermath of the disappearance of 17 children from the same school class, who all woke up at 2:17am one night and ran off into the night.  The fact that all of the children were from Justine Gandy's (Julia Garner) third-grade class means that many parents, including Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), suspect that she’s involved somehow, even though the police, including Justine's ex-boyfriend Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich), have found no evidence of any connection.

Review:

I’m not much of a horror fan generally, but I was so impressed with writer/director Zach Cregger’s debut (solo) film Barbarian back in 2022 that I was fascinated to see what he did next.  And I’m happy to say that Weapons is even more impressive that Barbarian – more expansive, more ambitious, and somehow even more unpredictable.  This is the kind of film that’s even better when you go in knowing next to nothing about it (other than that you may need a strong stomach and nerves of steel for a couple of scenes), so that you can watch everything unfold before you as the filmmaker intended.

With that in mind, it’s worth knowing that Weapons is not a fast-paced gore-fest, nor is it unrelentingly creepy in the way that something like Longlegs was.  In fact, the first act of the film is a deliberately paced, slow-burn of mounting tension, which to begin with could even be described (rather ungenerously) as being a little bit slow.  But I love the pacing, because it draws you in with the slow unfolding of the first chapter (the film is told in a series of non-linear chapters, each focusing on a different character’s viewpoint), so that by the time you reach the later chapters, the pace and the tension have been ratcheted right up.

“…the overlapping non-linear chapters are far more than just a gimmick…”

I don’t want to say too much about the plot, because one of the film’s strengths is the way in which the truth behind the children’s disappearance gradually unfolds – and anyone who’s already seen Barbarian will know Zach Cregger’s talent for taking stories in unexpected directions.  I don’t even want to say which characters are the focus of the various non-linear chapters, but I will say that the first couple focus on Julia Garner’s teacher and Josh Brolin’s father.  Both of these actors are fantastic – Julia Garner (who’s having quite the year, after Wolf Man and The Fantastic Four: First Steps) brings a multitude of layers to the teacher who’s the focus of the town’s suspicions, and Josh Brolin personifies the confusion, desperation and unfocused anger felt by the parents of the children who have inexplicably disappeared.

Telling the story in overlapping non-linear chapters is also far more than just a gimmick – the later chapters put events we’ve seen in earlier chapters in a different light, so that by the time everything slots into place, it feels (as all good reveals should) like the answers were starring us in the face all along but we just couldn’t see it.  The cast is universally great – particularly Alden Ehrenreich as a beat cop who used to date Julia Garner’s teacher, and Benedict Wong as the principal of the school, who’s trying desperately to keep a lid on the parents’ simmering anger.  There are a couple of other cast members who are worthy of recognition, but I fear that even mentioning their characters could be considered spoilers…

“…an astonishing piece of filmmaking…”

Weapons is an astonishing piece of filmmaking, with a script that’s incredibly well-structured in terms of its character development, plot revelations and mounting tension, while Zach Cregger’s direction expertly balances the shifting tones – there are moments of genuine drama, touching on grounded themes like grief, guilt and alcoholism, while other sections play like a thriller, and others still are out-and-out horror.  And yet, through it all run moments of dark humour to relieve some of the tension, culminating in a surprisingly cathartic final act.

In my review of Barbarian, I said that the movie signalled Zach Cregger’s arrival as a talent to keep an eye on – and with Weapons, he’s more than lived up to the promise shown in his debut film.  While the subject matter and (sporadic) graphic violence means this film earns its 18 rating, it’s a film that I would definitely recommend to any horror/thriller fans.