Zach Cregger gained quite a following in 2022 with his surprisingly popular horror thriller “Barbarian”. All things considered, it was a shaky exercise, built on a really good idea but hampered by a few too many bad choices (especially in the final act). But it showcased enough vision and craftsmanship to make horror fans curious about what the interesting new filmmaker would do next.
We get our answer with the chilling and atmospheric “Weapons”. Best described as a horror mystery, “Weapons” reintroduces audiences to Cregger’s interest in unique forms of storytelling. This time it’s noticeably more cohesive and savvy. Serving as both writer and director, Cregger is once again working from a compelling original idea. And while his story has a few kinks, he delivers an incredibly well made feature that firmly holds your attention throughout.
The story’s terrifying premise is laid out in the first few minutes through a child’s opening narration. One night in the small town of Maybrook, at exactly 2:17 AM, 17 children rose from their beds, ran from their suburban homes, and disappeared into the night. Each were elementary students from teacher Justine Gandy’s class. Strangely, only one child from her class didn’t vanish. The event leaves the shocked community reeling. Meanwhile the police have no leads in the mysterious disappearances.
That was a month ago, according to the young narrator. Now the school is preparing to open back up, but the hurting and understandably frustrated parents are wanting answers. Many, including Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), blame Justine (Julia Garner), believing she knows more about the missing children than she is letting on. But amid the slew of accusations and threats, she vehemently proclaims her innocence.
From there the movie officially kicks off. Cregger uses a fractured narrative, breaking his story into segments, each concentrating on a different key character and their connections to the case. Each segment feeds us slivers of new information, slowly moving us towards its revealing final act. Aside from Justine and Archer, other characters getting chapters include a local cop, Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), the school’s principal, Andrew (Benedict Wong), a homeless drug addict named Anthony (Austin Abrams), and young Alex (Cary Christopher), the only student from Justine’s class who didn’t disappear.
We learn a lot about the characters through Cregger’s careful attention to detail. For example, we see the weight of stress on Justine who has become a pariah in her own town. It drives her to begin her own investigation into the disappearances. We see the heavy toll grief is taking on Archer which leads him to investigate Justine. We also see Alex’s struggles at school and at home which are made more challenging with the arrival of his great aunt Gladys (a deliciously unsettling Amy Madigan).
While the style of storytelling keeps things interesting, some character segments are considerably stronger than others. While they all undeniably connect to the overall mystery, a couple spend time on things that never feel especially relevant or even necessary. But that’s a small gripe compared to the film’s biggest issue – it’s abrupt and somewhat deflating ending. It’s not that the main story finishes on a bad note. It’s more Cregger’s choice to quite literally cut the lights with very little emotional payoff.
While it may not deliver the final moment the film rightfully earns, “Weapons” remains an absorbing feature marked by all-around superb acting and striking visual assurance from an ambitious filmmaker who’s not afraid to take big creative swings. Cregger’s small town diorama is vivid and authentic, serving as the perfect setting for his thematically dense and genre rich tale. As for the violence, it’s sparse but hits with gory force. And best of all, Cregger keeps his secrets and keeps us wondering – a rare feat in modern horror. It all equals a strong sophomore effort and a discernible step up for this fresh voice in the ever-growing world of horror. “Weapons” opens in theaters today.
VERDICT – 4 STARS
Keith & the Movies 
I’ve been looking forward to this one. Glad to be reading it doesn’t disappoint.
Very impressed it. A few minor quibbles, but otherwise a really strong horror mystery.
This is probably a must-see for theater goers. What a horror story.
Keith do you think this is an exceptional year for the movies? Am not sure how inaccurate this might sound, but the variety and quality of movies hasn’t been this good since 2012.
I haven’t seen all of these-. But we have success stories for Superman, Fantastic Four, Materialists, 28 years later, and now Weapons.
I don’t know. Hard to gauge this year in movies. I’ve had several I have liked but very few that have blown me away. I haven’t been particularly wow’s by the summer blockbuster lot (Superman being the most disappointing) but FF did win me over pretty easily. The second half of the year looks pretty interesting though.
How to gauge movies can open a new topic. On one hand, there is the individual opinion. On the other, there is the mass opinion. And sometimes i find a mass opinion movie to lack quality but still be highly entertaining in its badness. But that’s a different topic.
I’m going to see Superman, but Materialists is what am more eager to see
I liked Materialists but didn’t love it the way I hoped. Still worth seeing though. 👍🏼
Maybe I will give Barbarian a watch in October. I heard this is really interesting. I didn’t like Cregger’s work with the Whitest Kids U Know as I thought it was lame and Miss March is just fucking shit.
I wasn’t nearly as wild over Barbarian as many were. Good idea – not great execution. This is a big step up from it.
I saw Josh Brolin on Colbert last night and he wouldn’t give away a thing!
GOOD! Keep the mystery a mystery.
Next mystery film needs more Scooby-Doo style.
This is definitely not Scooby-Doo
It should’ve been
Hmm that’s a maybe.
It’s very good in ways I wasn’t quite expecting.
For sure a yes!
It’s so good. Looking forward to seeing it again.
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Keith, I watched this a couple of nights ago. So Dang Creepy! I don’t know how you were able to keep the lid on what’s going on in this movie, but you did a great job. I’m still haunted by images seen in it. I don’t want to give any spoilers away for those who haven’t seen it, but there is one person who was terrorized more than others and rose to the challenge presented to them. Talk about a feeling of relief! This movie would be my worst nightmare!!!!!!
Thanks so much. Some of these movies are really tough to summarize without spoiling. This is one of them. I’ve watched it a second time and it holds up extremely well. One of the bigger surprises of the year IMO.
You’re very welcome. It sure surprised the heck out of me. What do you think of the title? It doesn’t seem like it fits the film to me.
It’s metaphorical. It’s basically what the villain does to her victim in many occasions – turns them into weapons. I also wonder if it symbolizes how we as people weaponize certain things against each other?
Reasonable explanation, thanks 🙂
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