After smashing all expectations with his debut horror success Barbarian (2022), director Zach Cregger got busy with his sophomore feature, Weapons. This is an ambitious movie with a strong cast that includes Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Amy Madigan, Alden Ehrenreich, and Austin Abrams. As everyone invested in the horror genre were keeping a close eye on this developing project, it dropped and delivered a horror and mystery masterpiece. While the premise of the movie is eerily strange and extremely compelling, what unfolds later is even creepier, unhinged, and unsettling.

Plot

One night in a small town at exactly 2:17 A.M., 17 children, all from the same class of an elementary school, walk out of their homes and vanish. Only one kid (Alex) stays behind, and the classroom teacher (Justine Gandy) becomes the target of the outrage of the grieving parents. Told from four different perspectives that converge with a dreadful build-up, this beautifully spun tale keeps you on the edge of your seat and never misses a beat to jump out and scare the daylights out of you.

The Good aspects

As I mentioned earlier, the movie has such a compelling premise that you get sucked in from the very beginning, and your curiosity only keeps increasing as it progresses. The wonderful cast does justice to this great story, drawing you in as the secret is revealed. I loved the finale and am a fan of the attempt to deliver a new story to the audience.

The progression of a wonderful director like Zach Creggor is honestly a treat to watch. I was so surprised by Barbarian that I knew I had to follow the journey of this director. And til now, he’s going strong.

The Bad aspects:

I am usually a fan of non-linear POV storytelling. But I think that this decision of telling the story through unique perspectives watered it down because I felt that the perspectives involved characters who were side characters and not directly tied to the mystery. What could’ve been an opportunity to explore the psyche of a mourning community became a process of stitching up multiple perspectives.

When asked whether this movie is about the horrors of gun violence, Zach Creger claimed that he doesn’t actually know what the meaning of the images is. I respect his honesty about it, but there were moments where it felt like the movie might be a commentary on gun violence, and then it took such a drastic turn from that place that it felt like something was amiss. Not that all movies need to have a greater meaning and theme underlying them. This one felt like it could have one, and then it abruptly decided not to have one.

Conclusion:

In any case, I enjoyed the movie. It was able to walk down that tight rope of a good mystery and horror story confidently. With this movie, director Zach Creggor has successfully defended his title as a good director and has raised the bar for himself for his next venture. I would recommend it to anyone seeking a fresh story that involves mystery, horror, and some unsettling gore.