As we get past the majority of Summer (Two months down, one to go before Labor Day), perhaps we can cool down a bit from the still sweltering temps by taking a trip into some Halloween-like fare at the multiplex. Why not, since this big cinema season kicked off with the jazz-loving bloodsuckers of SINNERS, and the trick ‘r’ treat supplies are starting to take over lots of retail shelf space (really, Walgreens). And speaking of those lil’ “candy-demanders”, this new flick utilizes them for the frights. Yeah, the movies have been showcasing scary kids for many decades. Wow, those blank-eyed British tots for VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED were in my “nightmare rotation” long before Regan MacNeil spewed pea soup in THE EXORCIST. Now an acclaimed horror director has mixed terror tykes with some small-town scandal and a big-time mystery in (the title is another puzzler) WEAPONS.
A soft-voiced pre-teen narrator introduces us to the town of Maybrrok, USA. Everything’s “off” at the elementary school (grades kindergarten through fifth) since seventeen of the students in Justine Gandy’s (Julia Garner) class ran from their homes at 2:17 am and seemingly vanished into the night. No clues, no leads other than some front door security camera footage (eerily silent) of several fleeing in a weird way (arms sort of dangling dead at their sides). But Ms. Gandy still has one student left, the somber, stoic Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher). The police grill both of them, but they don’t provide any answers. The town’s parents aren’t satisfied with that and start hounding and harassing her, the loudest being home contractor Archer Graff (Josh Brolin). Flustered principal Andrew Marcus (Benedict Wong) tries to diffuse the tension, while Justine turns to booze, reality TV, and an old beau, now-married policeman Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich). But he has to deal with a drug-addled, thieving drifter named Anthony (Austin Abrams), who might know something about those missing kids. Ditto for the eccentric elderly aunt of Alex, the brightly garbed and heavily “made-up” (think Bozo in a tracksuit) Gladys (Amy Madigan). Can any of these victims and suspects lead to the location of those dearly missed children? And what sinister forces compelled them to disappear?
Adding her considerable acting chops to another spooky scenario, Ms. Garner (fresh off the surfboard in the F4 flick) brings a compelling vulnerability to the shunned Ms. Gandy. But we see that she’s no quivering victim. Garner also gives her a tough outer shell as she ventures out of her comfort zone, rather than cocooning in her home or “hoteling” miles away, she stands her ground against her accusers. Yeah, she can “blow off some steam” as she ignites a “former flame”. Now, not all the parents of “the missing” are shrill harpies. Brolin projects another kind of strength that somehow remains despite her crushing grief, spending nearly sleepless nights in his boy’s bedroom. We also see the anguish taking a toll on his work. Then Brolin shifts into the proactive mode, as Archer uses his work skills to follow a chancy lead. As that “flame” Paul, Ehrenreich conveys a man on the “edge”, desperate to stay on the right path, but frustrated by not only the “kid case”, but having to deal with a now listless marriage, then trudge to deal with his father-in-law (the Chief of Police) at work. He aims some of that anger at Abrams, who brings a nice twitchy energy to the “small potatoes” criminal nuisance. Kudos to the strong performance by the gifted young Christopher, who makes Alex a sad enigma, briskly trudging to and from the school where he somehow escaped that chaotic night. Also quite good is Wong as the school’s overseer, pushing back against the panic while trying to hold in his own worries and concerns. The bravest, nuanced work may be from screen vet Madigan, who makes the clown-like Gladys a lot more than a senior citizen caricature, projecting a quiet, menacing mania in every encounter.
Following up his surprise horror hit from 2022, BARBARIAN, writer/director Zach Cregger, has cooked up a delicious premise, building on the remarkable visuals of the kids almost gliding from their cozy suburban homes into a dark oblivion. He keeps us on our toes with his non-linear storytelling style, relaying info in chapters named after the characters, shifting the timeline, and often repeating scenes from different angles and viewpoints. And as with most thrillers, he piles on the shocks with lots of nightmares, with “was that actually real” payoffs. Yes, the “jump scares” work without much of the usual reliance on sound mixing (though it’s good along with the cinematography that works well in both night and day). It’s such an inspired “how” and “whodunit”, full of tension and suspense, that the final act resolution doesn’t have the strength of the “setup” and the small town “sinning”. Without giving anything away, I keep wondering if the final moments were going for horror or for humor (it can be a thin line between the two), making me question the filmmaker’s true intentions. Sure, there’s nervous laughter early on, but the titters in the finale could have leaked over from the theater next door running THE NAKED GUN. Still, the big ending veers away from the now-standard “wrap-ups” in genre flicks, so that’s to be applauded along with the cast and the overall feeling of dread and gloom hanging over these cursed villagers. For fans of these flicks, it quickens the pulse, but a convoluted third act somewhat muffles the considerable “firepower” of WEAPONS.
3 Out of 4
WEAPONS is now playing in theatres everywhere
