Nikon1803, CC BY 4.0
Have you ever watched a film that was so frightening and haunting that it just can’t escape your brain? That one scene that completely chills you, permeating your mind for days, weeks, and even years to come. From the opening titles to the ending credits, this movie will have you entranced, entertained, and absolutely mind-blown. Introducing the film Weapons; the terrifyingly mesmerizing masterpiece that has everyone talking. This film premiered in theaters on August 18, and it’s still attracting crowds to this day.
The director, Zach Creggor, is famously known for his other horror film, “Barbarian”, which came out in 2022. This feature stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, and Alden Ehrenreich. Julia Garner’s feistiness and fierceness really shines through while playing the role of her character, Justine. Justine is a teacher and one night, sixteen out of seventeen students ran out of their houses at the same exact time, 2:17 AM. Curiously, the only boy who showed up to class that morning was extremely silent.
The teacher (Justine) is harassed and threatened by the student’s parents and other members of the community, blaming her for the disappearance of the missing children. Justine is a very troubled soul; the film makes that very apparent right from the beginning. The way this story is told has the audience questioning her, “Could she really have committed this act?” What makes this film different from most is the writing style, the way this eerie tale is told. It doesn’t just follow Justine’s story, there are quite a few characters that are intertwined with one another that make this story come to life.
The filmmakers did an outstanding job revealing the true nature of each character as the story moves along. Josh Brolin plays the role of Asher, a distraught and understandably frustrated parent of one of the students who’s gone missing. Asher, along with many other folks, instantly places the blame on the teacher (Justine). Surely she must know something, anything? Which begs the question, how would you react if you had a child disappear in the middle of the night with his classmates?
Not only did the children flee from their homes in the dead of night, oddly enough, they all ran in the same exact style. The children were last seen on their families’ ring cameras, running fast into the dark with their arms spread out, “airplane style.” Where could these children be? When the teacher (Justine) starts questioning things, she steers her sights in the direction of Alex, the only boy who’s left in her class.
On her journey of discovery, she learns that Alex’s estranged Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) recently moved into his home just before her students went missing. This is when the writing of Weapons really kicks it up a notch. It’s truly psychologically thrilling until the very end. Along with the remarkable talents of Julia Garner and Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich plays the role of an awfully dirty and corrupt cop, Paul. The viewers get to see the story through Paul’s point of view, along with James (Austin Abrams), a homeless heroin addict that gets tied into this as well.
Weapons is truly a gem, it’s considered one of the best new horror films, and it’s gotten tremendous reviews since its release. If you enjoy psychological, spellbinding, and electrifying movies, then you will absolutely adore Weapons.