'Weapons' A Review

Weapons is a horror/mystery about the disappearance of a third-grade class. Told through nonlinear, overlapping chapters from different characters perspective the mystery and it's impact is explored. Tension slowly builds with scares and some laughs to a surprising crescendo.

The ensemble cast is all around stellar with some faces we haven't seen in awhile and some old school tried-and-true character actors. Julia Garner(alcoholic teacher), Josh Brolin(grieving father), Alden Ehrenreich(struggling cop), Austin Abrams(relentless junkie), Benedict Wong(PC principal) and child actor Cary Christopher(shockingly poised) each have their own chapter and each carve out an interesting character with nuance, some humor, and complexity. The structure allows them to give slightly different performances of the same interactions based on whose perspective the scene is from. The whole thing is just really rich and you can tell the cast is giving it everything they got and having a blast. And that extends beyond the main cast to pretty much anyone who even has a cameo- Toby Huss(old school police chief), June Diane Raphael(jilted lover), Justin Long(beta dad)- it all just weaves together intricately and works in harmony to present these rich characters and community while simultaneously ratcheting up the tension and unspooling the mystery. Out of this impressive cast the big surprise, the show stopper, is Amy Madigan who gives an absolutely magnetic, terrifying, layered performance. She goes for it and it pays off huge. She's always been an impressive(and working) character actor but it's so great to see her get this kind of spot light, this kind of scale, this late in her career which should(if there's any actual merit in these things) lead to awards recognition. She is sensational.

Visually the film is subtle but innovative, the horror sequences are inspired as are the camera angles and shot set up just in the "regular" scenes, there's two really thrilling dream sequences, and it all culminates in an edge-of-your-seat heart-pumping finale that is the most cathartic endings to a film since Winston Duke's recitation in Nine Days. The score is eerie and subtle, the costuming and set design evocative, all the production elements and the script and the cast all work together melodically to present this unified story. All elements are working towards this singular vision and purpose. It's clear the promise of Barbarian was not a fluke and this from writer/director Zach Cregger is even better. He shows here his ability to translate his vision and perfectly manage tone. It's impressive for a sophomore feature and easily one of the best films of the year.

Rich, dynamic, fun, scary, provocative, slippery, all of the above.

Currently in theaters.

Don't Miss It.