Weapons – REVIEW

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As a cinephile who caught “Barbarian” in 2022, I can tell you that it left quite an indelible mark on my cinematic memory and continues to stand out as one of the most chilling horrors from recent times. This means that for writer-director Zack Cregger, the challenge of crafting a worthy follow-up film with “Weapons” looms large. The trailer for this upcoming film has been particularly intriguing, offering tantalizing hints without revealing too much.

At 2:17 a.m., seventeen students from one class in a small town mysteriously disappear, leaving their homes and running through the streets. The incident is first reported by a school student before events unfold in the school auditorium where the distraught and enraged parents of the missing children gather. They are led by Father Archer (Josh Brolin), who accuses their teacher, Justine (Julia Garner), of knowing something about this disappearance. Since she is relatively new to town and has her own problems, she is quickly shunned and disliked. Her car is vandalized with the word ‘Witch’ in red paint, which raises the question if this could be a modern-day Salem witch trial story or perhaps the tale of Meghan Markle.

The narrative resumes a month later, with no trace of the children yet, and much like Barbarian, it focuses on substantial characters. The initial chapter delves into Justine’s story, followed by Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), police officer, James (Austin Abrams), a drug user, headmaster Andrew (Benedict Wong), and others. However, their stories frequently intersect at crucial moments, reminiscent of Akira Kurosawa’s impactful ‘Rashomon’, which presents multiple scenes from different characters’ perspectives. In a sense, it’s like peeling an onion, unveiling layer after layer until the mystery is finally unraveled in a third act that oscillates between darkly comical and terrifying – in a good way.

Cregger’s movie features a lot of powerful visuals and instances that leave you scratching your head, as pointed out by multiple characters. However, it has its flaws – for instance, a major event involving children disappearing all at once isn’t met with any FBI involvement or significantly more police presence, which strains credibility. Additionally, the reasoning behind the climactic revelation remains unclear. Despite these issues, the film tells an incredibly gripping story, and it underscores the fact that Zack Cregger, along with Oswald Perkins (known for LongLegs and The Monkey), are some of the most promising horror directors in recent years. Weapons is one of the best horror films this year.

Here’s the Weapons trailer……

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2025-08-06 14:23