Weapons
At 2:17 a.m., every third grader in Justine Gandy's (Julia Garner, "The Fantastic Four: First Steps") class at Mayberry Elementary but one, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher), walks out of their house and disappears in "Weapons."
Laura's Review: B
The build-up is far more intriguing than the eventual revelation of just what caused those kids to disappear in writer/director Zach Cregger's follow-up to the much scarier "Barbarian," yet the movie is still enough fun to become a pop cultural event. The filmmaker follows a similar structure as his first film, giving us separate, overlapping chapters from six different characters' point of view. That each of those six characters are inhabited by actors who keep us invested in their journey is a strong selling point, but it is one who only pops up intermittently until the penultimate act, Amy Madigan's ("Gone Baby Gone") Gladys, that steals the show.
After a child's voice over narration describes what happened in this small Pennsylvania town and why it never broke into national news, town officials and the police too embarrassed that they hadn't solved the crime, we are introduced to Justine as she walks into a contentious town meeting where most seem to think she had something to do with the children's disappearance. Garner gives the impression of a woman shaken to her core, almost as upset by what has happened as the parents themselves, but she will also reveal herself to be steelier than first impressions indicate, albeit one who copes with alcohol. She is harassed at home with knocks on her front door, threatening phone calls and the vandalization of her car. Mayberry's principal, Marcus (Benedict Wong, "Dr. Strange"), will note her having breached teacher/parent lines, although the incidents hardly seem problematic (hugging a crying little boy and driving a young girl who missed her bus home). She is involved with a local policeman, Paul (Alden Ehrenreich, "Solo: A Star Wars Story"), whose wife, Donna (June Diane Raphael), attacks her in a liquor store. She'll also try and communicate with Alex, but he is obviously terrified and when she sleeps in her car outside of his house, something pretty terrifying happens to her.
Archer Graff (Josh Brolin, "Dune: Part Two") is the father of a missing boy who is one of the staunchest believers in Gandy's complicity. He studies his Ring footage of Matthew racing away from their home, arms raised outward as if pretending to be an airplane, incessantly, until he notices a landmark in the boy's path. He goes to another parent's home to ask for access for their Ring video, but when the woman refuses, waits until her husband (Justin Long, "Barbarian") arrives home and uses it to chart an intersecting path on a map. When he sees Justine at a gas station, he approaches her and their interaction becomes heated, but then something extraordinary happens, something which will alter their relationship significantly.
The film will go on to take longer looks at James (Austin Abrams, HBO's 'Euphoria'), a homeless junkie who has run-ins with Paul and robs the wrong house; Marcus, who has the first extended interaction with the extremely strange Gladys; Paul, whose overreaction apprehending James will also bind them together like Justine and Archer; and finally little Alex, who's experience is the most distressing of all. But it must be said, like so many horror films of late, that when we learn just what has been going on, the why of it is less than satisfactory, despite a frenetically violent climax which is satisfying in its own right.
Cregger also leans on another trope, the use of nightmares to rachet up the scares, dreams that hint those involved have some kind of premonition of what's been happening. Jump scares come into play as well, although thankfully they are not overused, Cregger adept at building a sense of atmospheric unease, production designer Tom Hammock turning suburban streets and homes into places of mysterious foreboding. Director of photography Larkin Seiple balances action scenes with intimate, relationship-defining close-ups and keeps us off guard, his camera often hinting at the unseen right around a corner. The score by Cregger and brothers Ryan and Hays Holladay leans on percussion with deep, booming drum beats accented with maracas. Costume designer Trish Summerville's clothing helps define personality, most spectacularly with Gladys, whose distinctive red wig and smeared make-up also make everyone uneasy. The film also stars Toby Huss (TV's 'Halt and Catch Fire') as the town's police captain, although he is strangely under utilized.
"Weapons" is a lot funnier than one might expect, but those anticipating one of the year's best horror films may be disappointed. The movie is like a second tier Stephen King novel and Madigan is this story's Pennywise.
Warner Brothers releases "Weapons" in theaters on 8/8/25.
