By Drew Dietsch
| Published
The trend of “what is it?” horror is certainly nothing new to the genre. Horror movies have been playing on audience curiosity for decades, but the advent of Jordan Peele’s dominance on the genre has emboldened filmmakers and studios to make the unknown a huge selling point. Such is the case with Weapons, the follow-up frightener from former sketch comedian Zach Cregger. This marketing strategy is so effective that even talking about the movie in any context will be seen by some as “spoilers.”
So, if you don’t want to know anything about Weapons before you see it, stop reading. I won’t spell out the big revelations or go out of my way to describe things in detail, but I definitely want to talk about what is simmering under the surface of this angry little flick.
The Story of Weapons
In case you don’t know the basic premise of Weapons, it centers around a classroom of children who all mysteriously awoke during the middle of the night and ran out of their homes, never to be seen again. Naturally, this causes an uproar in town as the class teacher, Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), falls under paranoid suspicion from parents like Archer Graff (Josh Brolin).
Justine is equally curious as to what happened and begins her own investigation which centers around the only child from her class that didn’t run away, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). But as she attempts to unravel the mystery, more players step on to the board and get wrapped up in something much larger going on.
That’s as story-focused as I get in this review since I do think folks should experience the movie’s game for themselves. Weapons does a solid job unspooling its story, in part because of the non-linear structure Cregger also used for Barbarian. I’d like to see him write a script that didn’t rely on that format as certain beats start to become predictable and deflate some tension, but it’s by no means a deal-breaker for the ideas Cregger wants to dig into.
Under the Surface of Weapons
That’s where I found the most reward in watching Weapons: seeing the subjects Cregger wanted to examine through the lens of a horror story. One of the reasons I love genre storytelling (horror in particular) is that it affords you an infinite number of tools to use when having conversations about any potential topic. You don’t have to make a story about a school shooter when you can make Carrie instead.
And while I do think Weapons is using its story to partially comment on the fears of classroom massacres in America, it’s going into a deeper arena and asking an even broader question: “What is taking away our children from us? And what is it turning them into?” The title of the movie should clear that bit up. It’s also a metaphorical takedown of the fearmongering that propaganda like Sound of Freedom purports. Make no mistake: Weapons does believe our children are in danger but it’s pointing a very different (and actually correct) accusatory finger.
Without giving away the whole kit and kaboodle, Weapons is a criticism of an older generation’s hold over society and what it is doing to all of us, not just our kids. It’s turning us all into weapons against each other, but it has a special focus and need for children because they contain even more power. What’s great is that Cregger isn’t some moralist shouting his message from a cinematic pulpit. He’s able to weave all this into a story that is creepy and compelling all on its own without you needing to see what the movie is Saying™ at every turn.
Good Horror, Even Without Its Smarts
As such, I actually think audiences are going to take surprisingly well to Weapons. It’s got a great cast putting in good work –– Amy Madigan gives one of the best performances of the year –– it’s a decent-looking flick with a surehanded style, and it purposefully keeps you biting at its hooks thanks to its structure. Cregger comes from the world of sketch comedy and understands the power of premise, and Weapons makes sure it maintains and earns the attraction of its bold premise.
It’s nice to have another strong voice in horror being supported by the studio system. While I’m not as over the moon with Cregger’s first two films as many others are, both Barbarian and Weapons perfectly represent the kind of original stories I want to see from the genre. That said, I’m definitely excited to see the response to this movie from audiences and whatever Cregger has in store next.
