Every once in a while you have a cult director that makes a splash only to eventually stumble off or fade a little—Josh Trank is probably the most noteworthy example, and it can be argued that Ari Aster is teetering that direction. That brings us to Zach Cregger, who entered the horror scene in 2022 with Barbarian—an interesting little piece that I generally enjoyed even if I found it a little rough around the edges. However, the marketing for his next entry certainly caught my intention, leaning further into a dreamlike/fairy-tale atmosphere—so does that mean Weapons signifies another one-off, or a stepping stone further up on a cinematic totem?
Thankfully, for me Weapons represents a definite improvement in every way since Barbarian, honing Cregger’s enjoyably dark comedic style even further among other things. Our premise is simple but intriguing—one night in some small town, at exactly the same time, an entire classroom of children suddenly disappears into the night, leaving the town reeling and struggling to find out what happens next. And, of course, blame initially seems to rest on the class’s teacher Justine (Julia Garner).
Initially we have what looks like a rather tense psychological piece as we follow Justine trying to cope with it all—she herself is a somewhat flawed person even if well-meaning, and that goes for most of our key characters here, keeping things interesting and well-rounded. In this age where individuals and societies try to justify all kinds of things in the name of ‘keeping children safe’, there’s certainly a relatability in seeing her become a scapegoat for when confusion and pain reigns.
Alongside her we have Josh Brolin (with his eternal co-star Josh Brolin’s Chin) as a grieving father of one of the missing kids with his own quest to piece things together—with other memorable supporting characters like Alden Ehrenreich as a rather incompetent cop. There's even a cameo from prior star Justin Long, who for once in his career doesn't play a complete asshole here. As the film goes on we see their perspectives in a non-linear order—Barbarian tried a similar sort of thing but here it feels much more justified and better executed, as we piece together the context in a way that’s actually pretty neat and keeps you watching along.
And, of course, we eventually get to what seems to be Cregger’s trademark dark comedy, mixed with a fair bit of surrealism—suffice it to say that by the end of course we had quite a lot of the audience laughing along, with some great catharsis.
Now, that being said there are some things I’m not sure about—we have some early hints at something truly weird going on, and while things are revealed, perhaps the hand is tipped just a bit too early. You’ll still be entertained when we find things out, but perhaps the tension could’ve been kept up a little more if the audience didn’t have the answers before all the characters did. Still, again when we do find things out it again improves on Barbarian by fleshing things out a bit more and above all else keeping it fun.
But overall that still leaves Weapons as a solid enough watch that succeeds in drawing you in, making you wince, and making you laugh, once you fully ease into its wavelength (and I think you probably will). That certainly leaves Cregger with his style established, much like, say Robert Eggers (coincidence or conspiracy that we now have two such directors with a similar name, eh?!), and me most definitely interested to see where he goes from there—and, of course, what convoluted ways he can justify his next seemingly randomly chosen title!
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