Horror at its Best
At 2:17 a.m. In Maybrook, Pennsylvania, an entire class of kids goes missing after getting out of bed to run into the dark night. With no trace to follow their whereabouts, the teacher of said class is accused of being involved of their disappearances. One of the parents of the missing kids works with the teacher himself to discover what happened to his child and the other children. Along the way, they both face a number of scares...
Of the horror movies that I have seen so far, Weapons might be the one that disturbs me the most. I could not keep my eyes off of this horrifically amazing movie. This movie has one of the creepiest stories out there and it takes full potential of its intriguing premise. It starts off almost like a psychological thriller with some crime elements as Justine Gandy faces heat for the disappearance of her entire class aside from one kid. The story is consistently engaging as there are appetizers of the horror to come. It is split into six different perspectives which all lead up to the mystery. It is also pretty original with how it handles the conflict of the missing kids, the problems the characters are facing and the revelations of the events that took place here.
Each section of the movie tells a different story such as Mrs. Gandy's situation of her class going missing, Archer Graff searching for his son, an officer and criminal having their own drama, what happened with the principal and what is going on with the one kid who did not go missing. Every single storyline here works and adds a level of drama, intrigue and eeriness to the main story. Also, all of these characters are interesting to follow as the story shows their most vulnerable moments, especially Mrs. Gandy and Paul.
Director and Writer Zach Cregger creates a very creepy atmosphere here that builds up with each section of the film. From the moment those kids run in the same direction, the movie gave off a haunting feeling. There are subtle moments of horror and atmosphere-building too like the scene where Mrs. Gandy has someone knock on her door and discovers the word witch on her car, the villain sneaking into her car quietly, Archer seeing his son run in an illusion and more. There are several jump scares along the way, but they are very effective and they are timed when you finally let your guard down. Once Amy Madigan's character shows up, the atmosphere goes from pretty eerie to downright creepy. From the moment she steps on screen, I knew the movie was gonna get scarier. I love atmosphere in this movie because it fills the room with uncertainty and dread for each scene.
The third act is spectacular. It is one of the most downright insane third acts to any film I have seen in a while as the revelations and the carnage stop holding back at this point. It takes the creepy atmosphere from the first couple of acts and dials it up to 100 and I loved watching how the final act played out.
Cregger did inject the script with a lot of dark humor to the point where I have seen some people call this movie more of a comedy than a horror film. I completely disagree with this sentiment because this movie is terrifying, but it does have a lot of surprisingly hilarious moments. Have you ever wanted to see a character react with annoyance to a jump scare? What about seeing a burgler getting fixated on a dvd copy of Willow? The comedy in this movie cracked me up, but it never takes away from the horror and disturbing atmosphere of the film. That makes the gags in here work that much better because in the hands of a different director, it could have come off as tonal clashing.
The performances are top notch. Julia Garner is expressive and vulnerable as Justine Gandy, a teacher who goes through so much crap and struggles to cope. Garner does a great job showcasing different sides to Gandy such as sad, kindhearted, a little selfish at times. She makes her character flawed, but likable which makes for the best kind of protagonists. A lot of that can be applied to Josh Brolin as Archer Graff. Brolin is very emotive and passionate here as a parent of one of the disappeared kids. I love how Archer is angry, but can be reasonable and he goes the extra distance to find his son. He is a great parent, though there might be an implication that he is flawed too. The leads are great in this movie.
The supporting cast is excellent too. Benedict Wong provides one of the most levelheaded presences of the film as Marcus. Of course, when it gets to the scenes where his face looks messed up, they lead to one of the most frightening and honestly one of the saddest sections of the film. Alden Ehrenreich is fun to watch as the cop who has some secrets himself. Austin Abrams has one of my favorite roles as James. He is a criminal, but Abrams makes this guy funny and even a tad bit sympathetic because it's clear he has nothing. I actually think Cregger made James more sympathetic than Paul by showing that Paul is not the nice cop he seems.
The best performance in the movie by far and possibly my favorite performance of the year goes to Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys. Holy moly is this woman magnificent. The moment Madigan pops up on the screen, the tone of the movie shifts. Her presence is that chilling. Everything from her speech, her body language, her facial expressions and her false attempts in being affable has Madigan play the role as one of the most memorable villains I have seen in a horror film. I genuinely hope she gets considered for best Supporting Actress at the Oscars because she nailed her role hard. Everyone in the cast did.
Visually, the movie looks fantastic. It has very eerie cinematography by Larkin Seiple who uses a lot of shots to create tension in scenes. There is a shot of James looking at a TV and seeing the reflection of two people who look zombielike. There are also several one-takes in the movie that build atmosphere, including one right at the end of Justine's portion of the story. The way movie looks is very sharp and slick. This movie has a good chunk of gore in it and the gore effects are creative and memorable. Some look instantaneous while other moments look painful. The musical score is done by Ryan and Hays Holliday and Zach Cregger. The music here is very creepy, but it fits the tone of the movie perfectly. I remember how it sounds and I like how there is not just typical horror music here.
Zach Cregger's Weapons is an amazing horror film. The only bad thing I can say about it is that some jump scares might be a bit predictable, but this movie is a masterclass on building atmosphere and tension and letting loose in the third act. I enjoyed the heck out of this movie and I cannot wait to see what Cregger does next after this and Barbarian. See this movie on the biggest screen possible.
Of the horror movies that I have seen so far, Weapons might be the one that disturbs me the most. I could not keep my eyes off of this horrifically amazing movie. This movie has one of the creepiest stories out there and it takes full potential of its intriguing premise. It starts off almost like a psychological thriller with some crime elements as Justine Gandy faces heat for the disappearance of her entire class aside from one kid. The story is consistently engaging as there are appetizers of the horror to come. It is split into six different perspectives which all lead up to the mystery. It is also pretty original with how it handles the conflict of the missing kids, the problems the characters are facing and the revelations of the events that took place here.
Each section of the movie tells a different story such as Mrs. Gandy's situation of her class going missing, Archer Graff searching for his son, an officer and criminal having their own drama, what happened with the principal and what is going on with the one kid who did not go missing. Every single storyline here works and adds a level of drama, intrigue and eeriness to the main story. Also, all of these characters are interesting to follow as the story shows their most vulnerable moments, especially Mrs. Gandy and Paul.
Director and Writer Zach Cregger creates a very creepy atmosphere here that builds up with each section of the film. From the moment those kids run in the same direction, the movie gave off a haunting feeling. There are subtle moments of horror and atmosphere-building too like the scene where Mrs. Gandy has someone knock on her door and discovers the word witch on her car, the villain sneaking into her car quietly, Archer seeing his son run in an illusion and more. There are several jump scares along the way, but they are very effective and they are timed when you finally let your guard down. Once Amy Madigan's character shows up, the atmosphere goes from pretty eerie to downright creepy. From the moment she steps on screen, I knew the movie was gonna get scarier. I love atmosphere in this movie because it fills the room with uncertainty and dread for each scene.
The third act is spectacular. It is one of the most downright insane third acts to any film I have seen in a while as the revelations and the carnage stop holding back at this point. It takes the creepy atmosphere from the first couple of acts and dials it up to 100 and I loved watching how the final act played out.
Cregger did inject the script with a lot of dark humor to the point where I have seen some people call this movie more of a comedy than a horror film. I completely disagree with this sentiment because this movie is terrifying, but it does have a lot of surprisingly hilarious moments. Have you ever wanted to see a character react with annoyance to a jump scare? What about seeing a burgler getting fixated on a dvd copy of Willow? The comedy in this movie cracked me up, but it never takes away from the horror and disturbing atmosphere of the film. That makes the gags in here work that much better because in the hands of a different director, it could have come off as tonal clashing.
The performances are top notch. Julia Garner is expressive and vulnerable as Justine Gandy, a teacher who goes through so much crap and struggles to cope. Garner does a great job showcasing different sides to Gandy such as sad, kindhearted, a little selfish at times. She makes her character flawed, but likable which makes for the best kind of protagonists. A lot of that can be applied to Josh Brolin as Archer Graff. Brolin is very emotive and passionate here as a parent of one of the disappeared kids. I love how Archer is angry, but can be reasonable and he goes the extra distance to find his son. He is a great parent, though there might be an implication that he is flawed too. The leads are great in this movie.
The supporting cast is excellent too. Benedict Wong provides one of the most levelheaded presences of the film as Marcus. Of course, when it gets to the scenes where his face looks messed up, they lead to one of the most frightening and honestly one of the saddest sections of the film. Alden Ehrenreich is fun to watch as the cop who has some secrets himself. Austin Abrams has one of my favorite roles as James. He is a criminal, but Abrams makes this guy funny and even a tad bit sympathetic because it's clear he has nothing. I actually think Cregger made James more sympathetic than Paul by showing that Paul is not the nice cop he seems.
The best performance in the movie by far and possibly my favorite performance of the year goes to Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys. Holy moly is this woman magnificent. The moment Madigan pops up on the screen, the tone of the movie shifts. Her presence is that chilling. Everything from her speech, her body language, her facial expressions and her false attempts in being affable has Madigan play the role as one of the most memorable villains I have seen in a horror film. I genuinely hope she gets considered for best Supporting Actress at the Oscars because she nailed her role hard. Everyone in the cast did.
Visually, the movie looks fantastic. It has very eerie cinematography by Larkin Seiple who uses a lot of shots to create tension in scenes. There is a shot of James looking at a TV and seeing the reflection of two people who look zombielike. There are also several one-takes in the movie that build atmosphere, including one right at the end of Justine's portion of the story. The way movie looks is very sharp and slick. This movie has a good chunk of gore in it and the gore effects are creative and memorable. Some look instantaneous while other moments look painful. The musical score is done by Ryan and Hays Holliday and Zach Cregger. The music here is very creepy, but it fits the tone of the movie perfectly. I remember how it sounds and I like how there is not just typical horror music here.
Zach Cregger's Weapons is an amazing horror film. The only bad thing I can say about it is that some jump scares might be a bit predictable, but this movie is a masterclass on building atmosphere and tension and letting loose in the third act. I enjoyed the heck out of this movie and I cannot wait to see what Cregger does next after this and Barbarian. See this movie on the biggest screen possible.
- jaredkjacoby
- 17 ago 2025