Early one morning, at exactly 2:17 a.m., seventeen kids from teacher Justine Gandy’s third-grade class mysteriously get out of bed and disappear into the night in a small Pennsylvania town. The only student left behind is Alex Lilly. From there, Weapons delivers six character-driven chapters, each giving a fresh perspective on the mystery, while starting to unravel the truth behind the missing children.
As a fan of Zach Cregger’s Barbarian, I went into Weapons with high expectations, and I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint. I won’t give away too much to avoid spoilers, but this isn’t your typical straight-line story. Instead, the film is told in loosely connected vignettes that slowly reveal the bigger, deeply unsettling picture. This film is definitely a slow burn, and while I understand that some people may find the pacing frustrating, I thought it worked perfectly. It certainly made the ending more intense as things came together.
One of the things I loved most about Weapons is how it plays with perspective. Each chapter focuses on a different character, and they all add their own take on the unfolding mystery. Things begin to fall into place, and you have to be careful to pick up on the small details. It’s the kind of movie that probably begs for a second viewing, just so you can catch everything you might have missed the first go around.
For me, Julia Garner is the movie’s MVP. As Justine, she gives a captivating performance as a haunted teacher under suspicion. She draws you into her anxiety and makes her messy, flawed choices feel raw and believable. I’ve seen so many complaints that Justine was not a character to root for, and honestly, that’s what made her so compelling to me.
Josh Brolin provides the emotional depth as a grieving father desperate for answers, and Amy Madigan is absolutely chilling as Aunt Gladys, commanding every scene with menace and sly humor. Every time she’s on the screen, you feel unsettled, and for good reason. She’s one scary woman who has clearly never watched a makeup tutorial. Austin Abrams and Alden Ehrenreich bring another dimension to the story, playing two characters who are pulled into the horror purely by circumstance. They also provide a bit of humor, notably Abrams, who plays a junkie eager to get the $50k reward for information relating to the missing kids.
That said, Weapons isn’t flawless. The middle section drags here and there, and the ambiguity of the last shot might frustrate viewers who want everything neatly tied up. But those are minor issues in an otherwise engaging, atmospheric film. Overall, I found Weapons to be dark, unpredictable, and surprisingly funny. Cregger does a fantastic job, again, of mixing horror, tension, and dark humor. The ending? It’s bonkers. I was torn between laughing and hiding under my blanket. So I did a bit of both. I loved every minute and can’t wait to see what Cregger comes up with next.
