An original horror movie with daring and thought-provoking ambitions.
The poster and trailer makes the concept of “Weapons” quite clear. “Last Night At 2:17 AM, Every Child Out of Mrs. Gandy’s Class Woke Up, Got Out of Bed, Went Downstairs, Opened the Front Door, Walked in the Dark……And They Never Came Back.” In other words, 17 kids have disappeared at exactly 2:17 AM.
The people know that exact time, because there are security systems that keep the time of when the kids were running out with their arms extended like they’re pretending to fly or something. The cameras only get them in the light, but once they run in the dark, there’s no leads in this case. And that’s when the parents are scared, angry, and confused.
They also know that they’re all in the same class taught by a troubled young teacher, and only one boy in that class is still here. It might sounds like something out of the ending of “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” Or maybe something out of Stephen King or Alfred Hitchcock or M. Night Shyalaman. Or it might be something else. I think it might be something else.
“Weapons” is the latest movie from writer/director Zach Cregger, who has gained horror success with his last movie “Barbarian.” Looks like he has gained another, because this is one of the most daring, shocking, wickedly funny, and original horror films I’ve ever seen. It’s one that isn’t indulged in jumpscares or cliches, but rather the horrors that could take place in reality. That is if this is really a reality here.
The Mrs. Gandy is Justine (Julia Garner), who is blamed for the disappearance of the 17 children, and her personal problems don’t make things any easier for her. In fact, she gets scolded for trying to talk to the one boy left behind-Alex (Cary Christopher)-and even gets attacked by people. At one point, you might think it’s some kind of mind game the movie is playing on the teacher, but that’s not the case.
“Weapons” is told from different perspectives. We start with Justine, and we also get to Archer (Josh Brolin), the father of one of the missing kids; Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), a local cop; Andrew (Benedict Wong), the school principal; Anthony (Austin Abrams), a homeless junkie; Alex, remember that’s the one kid left behind; and Gladys (Amy Madigan), a creepy old lady. Each side matters to this story, as each piece fits this puzzle without being predictable. I, myself, was trying to acknowledge what is actually happening here.
I don’t want to spoil anything for you here, because I want you to see “Weapons,” and see where it’s going. Its view on society reminds me on Andy Muschetti’s take on “It,” and the characters seem to be worthy of being in a Stephen King story. In fact, there are some nightmares that feel like something out of “The Shining.” I think we can agree that Cregger has a voice in horror cinema. The title is not as simple as it sounds if nobody sees the poster or trailer. There’s a bigger meaning inside, and even a memorable shot which looks like something out of “Nope.”
The performances from Garner (also currently seen in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”), Brolin, Madigan, Christopher, and Abrams are universally excellent, the cinematography by Larkin Seiple (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”) beautifully captures the horrors, the surprise humor couldn’t be more surprising and honest, and the premise is ingenious. “Weapons” is a movie that speaks to the right crowd, and this year, we’re getting fresh horror movies to do so, like “Sinners” and “28 Years Later.”
I also think it’s a nice touch that the first showings on Thursday would be at 2:17 PM. Although now that previews are now 30 minutes long, it’s sure to start at 4:47 PM. I’m surprised my special screening wasn’t at 2:17.
