Zach Cregger is a director primarily known for the film Barbarians that came out in 2022. Just at the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. With Barbarians, he put a twist on horror films. He used Bill Skarsgard in a different role than fans have known him in before. Which was an interesting change of pace. With his latest film, Weapons, he has a different twist, but equally as shocking of a film as his last movie was. He obviously has a knack for turning things on their heads regarding plot points and things film fans have come to know as the norm. The horror genre needed this kind of kick in the head every once in a while.

In a small town, a teacher, Justine Gandy (Jilia Garner), walks into her elementary school classroom one morning and notices that there is only one student there that day, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). The previous night at 2:17 a.m., seventeen children mysteriously got up from their beds and ran out the front door of their homes, never to be seen again. Both the Garner character and the Christopher characters were questioned and rigorously investigated by the local authorities with no answers from either regarding what may have happened. That’s where the story gets interesting. It’s a mystery nobody could predict even if they wanted to.

Cregger uses two specific tools to help tell this story, which was supposedly based on true events. I don’t know about all that. One is a framing device in the form of narration. An unnamed girl from the class of seventeen children narrates the opening and closing scenes. This was a good decision by Cregger because it gives the viewers watching some context for the story. The other is an anthology type storytelling mechanism. The film is cut into six chapters, each named after a character in the film. Justine,a teacher whom I already mentioned. Archer (Josh Brolin), the father of one of the children, Matthew. Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), who is Justine’s ex-boyfriend and a police officer in the town. James (Austin Abrams) is a homeless tweaker. Andrew (Benedict Wong), the school principal. Alex Shelly, also already mentioned as the only kid that came to class that fateful day. These chapters all help get the story to the end. They all had information that was pertinent to the plot. This might be one of the best scripts I’ve seen all year. This was a phenomenal story all the way around. 

Cregger assembled an all-star cast for this film. It’s chalk full of A-list actors that have all been in MCU films and other hits. Cregger lets the actors do their thing as their specific characters. You never really know where each of their individual stories are going until they start to intersect with each other. That’s when the puzzle pieces of the plot start to come together. I was glad to see some of these actors I’ve known for years in other projects work together to give this movie a well-rounded feeling. A good cast can really bolster a film’s credibility. This one was exceptional and totally added to the greatest of this horror film. 

When I mean horror, I don’t mean in the most typical way you’d think of horror. Like blood and guts and gore. Yes, there is some of that, but that’s not the real crux of what Cregger is trying to say or do with this movie. It’s much deeper than that. It’s more of a psychological horror film that relies on thinking, and there is an obvious widespread investigation going on by more than just the police. The horror aspects are a part of that, but not the main focal point. This is more of a thinking person’s horror film. Which is what I liked about it so much. Audiences will be talking about this for weeks after they watch it. I know I will be. That’s for sure. It’s that good of a story and film.

When I watch movies, sometimes I look for the greater meaning in them. Whether it’s the story or a particular performance. There is always something underlying in a film like this. In the case of this movie, maybe it’s the title that gives away the undertone of what Cregger is trying to say. As an example, Ari aster did something similarly this year with Eddington, which was much more obvious. This film keeps its cards close to the vest regarding the full extent of what the movie is trying to say. I’ll leave that up to the viewers to figure that out on their own. I will say the message was not lost on me, and it’s loud and clear. Thank you for infusing this message in the film Cregger.

There is a specific villain in the movie, which I will not deluge here. Let’s say the villain is well hidden in the film until the third act, which is the last two or so chapters. I loved the villain. In the case of the story, this person makes a lot of sense. It would have been pretty hard to explain everything that was going on within the construct of the film’s narrative without having a specific villain. The villain was pretty creepy and served the point of the story very well. Similarly, in Barbarian Creggers’ last film, but one again less obvious. I love a good villain, and this might be one of the best I’ve seen in recent years.

Weapons is an amazing psychological horror film with layers of story. It brilliantly uses two great story mechanisms to flesh out what was truly going on in this town. The script is incredibly written by Cregger. The cast of A-list actors were incredible. I was glad to see so many of them out of their MCU roles and as real characters, not comic book characters. The direction and score were also exceptional. This is a film I will soon not forget. The concept of where Cregger was going with the story is one that will be studied for years to come. It’s that good. He is a writer/director to watch in the future. Especially after two great horror films back to back like this. I absolutely loved this film, and I’ll be thinking about it for years to come.

5 stars

Dan Skip Allen