'Weapons' review: Julia Garner's horror film is thrilling and engaging
What's the story
After terrifying (and surprising) audiences worldwide with the slick, pulsating Barbarian in 2022, director-writer Zach Cregger is back with Weapons. Exquisitely crafted and stupendously set up, Weapons thrives due to its unique premise, atmospheric tension, and the incredible performances from the ensemble cast. While the final twist doesn't feel extremely satisfactory and is a bit clunky, Weapons eclipses its flaws due to its inventiveness.
Plot
The mystery of 17 missing children
One sudden night, 17 kids from the same class creepily walk out of their homes, leaving no trail behind. Only one kid, Alex, is left, who doesn't know anything about this mind-boggling mystery. Their teacher, Justine (Julia Garner), becomes the prime suspect, and one parent, Archer (Josh Brolin), takes it upon himself to unravel the mystery. Is Justine innocent? And, can Alex be trusted?
#1
A lot of fun to be had with central mystery
Cregger shows the same promise with Weapons as he did with Barbarian. The film is always loaded (but never bloated), and Cregger intensifies the surprise factor with each scene. Perhaps the film's biggest victory is that it doesn't completely depend on frequent, tacky jump scares to elicit fear. When you see the kids leaving their homes, you are naturally filled with dread within minutes.
#2
Doesn't follow a linear path of storytelling
Cregger divides the movie into neat little chapters, so we see—and feel—the story through all the primary characters. Apart from Justine and Archer, the plot unravels slowly and steadily through Alex (Cary Christopher), police officer Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), and school principal Marcus (Benedict Wong). This technique allows Cregger to save the best for the last, and the thrill ramps up by the minute.
#3
How do Garner and Brolin do?
Garner and Brolin are extremely and consistently watchable, and because we spend so much time with them, we fathom their psyche extremely well as the movie progresses. There's a discernible shift in the movie's energy when Brolin comes on-screen, and the duo's presence uplifts the project massively. We experience this journey with them, and we are as terrified, as confused as they are.
#4
It has just the right amount of horror
Much of Weapons, in a way, is about chasing ghosts, and there are several sequences where you'll sit in silence with bated breath, awaiting answers. Even without too many jump scares, the movie can be genuinely terrifying at times, and the rousing background music is another contributor to the overall feeling of helplessness and claustrophobia. The gore, however, can be somewhat difficult to stomach.
#5
You never feel overwhelmed or bored
A constant sense of foreboding dominates the movie at all times. It's decently paced, has a riveting screenplay, and has enough surprises up its sleeve to keep you consistently engaged. Though not too heavily, it also leans toward themes of parental guilt and ache, and had the movie spent more time with the kids' parents, it could have been developed further.
#6
The finale could have been a lot better
Sadly, the film slips toward the end, when the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit. I felt slightly cheated with the final reveal, which feels a bit convenient and even reductive (Cregger brings back the memories of Barbarian). The finale feels underwhelming after a terrific build-up, and though it's somewhat of a happy ending, it doesn't tie up as neatly as it should.
Verdict
Watch it in cinemas; 3.5/5 stars
Weapons is less a horror film and more a thriller (with a dash of dark comedy). Cregger takes the simplest, fundamental scenes and laces them with goosebump-inducing terror. The world-building is fantastic; you are immersed from the first scene, following Justine and Archer as they race against time to find the kids. You'll think about it long after the credits stop rolling. 3.5/5 stars.