On a regular Wednesday evening in a typical suburban community at 2: 17 pm, seventeen children exited their homes, ran out into the woods, and never returned, prompting a widespread, but unsuccessful police search that fails to find any reason why this occurred. With the parents blaming third-grade teacher, Justine Gandy (played by Julia Garner) for the disappearances (as they were all in her class), she becomes the town’s ‘witch’ and falls to alcoholism after having to distance herself from the school and the only remaining child from her class, Alex (played by Cary Christopher). However, strange dreams seem to be pointing her towards the location of the kids, which are also plaguing the mind of Archer (played by Josh Brolin), a father who lost his son on that fateful night, putting them both on a path to learn the twisted reasoning behind this mass disappearance.
WEAPONS is an extremely well-constructed horror film that taps on all the best aspects of the genre to create a gripping, visually clean, genuinely unsettling mystery that isn’t clear on its direction, yet has its audience by the throat the whole journey. While not strong on characters and contains a silly side that might not vibe with everyone, the expertly crafted script, colorful direction and engrossing ambience more than makes it worthy of praise.
WEAPONS started off strong with an ingenious marketing campaign that cleverly only presented the scene of the kids running out of their homes, which did a great job hooking people with its eerie set up and upfront presentation. The film had to deal with a lengthy production period due to being made during the 2023 Hollywood Labor disputes, but it was met with critical acclaim upon release and earned $43. 5 million on its opening weekend on a budget of $38 million. With trailers that gave enough hints to peak curiosity, but never gave away its overall direction, the plot had the high ground over the audience, as despite focusing on a very tragic but repeatedly–used trope of disappearing children, the closed-off characters, bubbly tone, and elaborate manner of storytelling made it hard to tell where it was going, keeping the crowd gripped for the entire two hour running time.
This movie’s success owes a lot to Zach Cregger (who directed, wrote, produced and helped compose the film), as even after the success of his 2022 horror film, Barbarian, he manages to top expectations whilst still holding onto what made people love his style of horror in the first place. This is one of the best constructed and well-oiled horror films in a while, with every facet being executed masterfully in a way that builds upon its atmosphere, provides a ton of personality that can be comical without losing its creep factor, and maps out an interconnected story in a way that doesn’t feel confusing or gimmicky. While it does sacrifice a dramatic presentation in exchange for something more crowd-pleasing, because it mixes an elevated presentation with more mainstream-appropriate tropes, it allows for something that works for all horror fans. The directing is full of life and energy, the script drip feeds information at a steady and consistent pace, the performances are just the right amount of determined and over-the-top, the visuals are crisp and intricate, and even if it doesn’t provide the most original or surprising twist, the delivery is so strong that it doesn’t matter.
The cast wasn’t set right out the gate, as people that were originally picked like Tom Burke, Renate Reinsve, Brian Tyree Henry and Pedro Pascal had to be recast after the production delays resulted in scheduling conflicts, being replaced by Alden Ehrenreich, Julia Garner, Benedict Wong and Josh Brolin. While the new cast still makes for a fun ensemble, it doesn’t really matter who was cast for the final product. Nobody gives a bad performance, and most do a good job jumping between being serious and slightly hoaky to keep in time with the constantly flipping tone, but the film is so dedicated to its narrative and tone that it doesn’t offer time for these characters to feel like anything more than chess pieces beholden to the plot.
This isn’t to say they aren’t engaging as some manage to be, particularly Cary Christopher as Alex who takes on a big portion of the final act solo and does a very nice job making you feel bad for this kid. Some of the supporting cast manage to be memorable as well, like Austin Abrams as a homeless drug addict mistakenly roped into the mystery, and Alden Ehrenreich and Benedict Wong are good in their minimal screen time, but the best actor is Amy Madigan as the character of Gladys. While not appearing until the halfway point, her screentime makes for some of the most entertaining and terrifying portions, and while everyone else is doing their duty but not really leaving their mark, this is a performance that’s going to last in the eyes of horror fans for how overly pleasant yet subtly sinister it is, it’s a fantastic job. Julia Garner and Josh Brolin have given strong performances in the past and are positioned to be sympathetic characters worth following, but because the movie constantly jumps to other characters, the audience doesn’t have time to get to know them much personally, making them good, but not great leads.
The believability of this environment comes from the personal narrative and detailed direction, but also the visuals, which are very polished and feel seamlessly cinematic despite only showcasing a typical suburban area. The intimate camera work by Larkin Seiple is very good at keeping the audience in a suspenseful moment, and because the environment is realistically lit and feels genuinely exposing and silent, it makes the unnatural moments all the more off-putting (the running could be funny from a certain light but is unsettling when done in the pitch black of night). The movie is much funnier than anticipated, which isn’t going to work for everybody (especially those who wanted something directly intense), but the blending works strangely well. Not every scene hits a bullseye and it’s not like it’s throwing out one-liners and zingers every second, but every creepy moment has a twinge of ironic dark humor to it that doesn’t ruin any built-up tension but offers a different payoff that arguably makes the moments more memorable.
The film doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares or booming music to force a reaction, instead allowing the ambience and the scenario to produce a scare that doesn’t scream in your face, but will chill your bones. This is made easier by the subtle musical score by Cregger, Ryan Holladay and Hays Holladay, which skitters and scurries into a flurry when danger approaches, and while never in focus enough to be a memorable piece, is used effectively during its moments to say that it performed its duty well.
WEAPONS is a very strong horror film and isn’t being called one of the most successful original horror films of the past few decades for nothing. While it’s very subdued and doesn’t offer the greatest characters, it’s extremely well directed and written, and will provide a wonderful experience that is in some parts thrilling and other parts entertaining. The visuals are stylish, the acting can be really enjoyable (especially from Amy Madigan) the atmosphere is legitimately tense when it isn’t resulting in a laugh, and while not hard to figure out, the lead up to said reveal is really good. Another excellent option for the year and a film that has turned Zach Cregger into another iconic horror director, WEAPONS was clearly in the right hands.
