Courtney Howard // Film Critic
WEAPONS
Rated R, 2 hours and 8 minutes
Directed by: Zach Cregger
Starring: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Amy Madigan, Benedict Wong, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher
Similar to filmmaker Zach Cregger’s previous audacious film BARBARIAN, it’s best to avoid as many details about WEAPONS before viewing it. That’s not because it’s only got one thing on which it coasts. There’s much more at play, not only solving the mystery behind the disappearance of 17 tweens in the wee hours of the morning, but delivering searing sentiments on lost innocence from a multi-person perspective.
Suburban disquiet, paranoia, and isolation permeate the picture as this newfangled horrorsmith performs a magic trick conjuring and sustaining sensational demented dread laced with “what the fuck” nervous laughter. Though he unashamedly wears his influences on his sleeve (pulling inspiration from MAGNOLIA, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF and THE SHINING to name a few), he crafts a finely-tuned, deliriously twisted vision of terror. This horror anthology is a clever, cunning and compelling crowd-pleaser.
A child-narrated prologue begins our campfire tale: Maybrook, a once-close-knit, small Pennsylvanian community, is left shocked and sifting through the post-traumatic debris after all students but one in teacher Justine Gandy’s (Julia Garner) elementary school class collectively run away – Naruto-style – from their homes at 2:17am. As the media scrambles for answers, parents’ tempers flare at Justine and the police, who are also at a loss for reasons as to the kids’ motives, or their current whereabouts.
The picture’s scope and scale broadens once Cregger introduces his characters’ intersecting lives, conflicts and crazy circumstances via chapter-divided title cards. A self-destructive, compassionate Justine has taken to boozing after facing intense public scrutiny. Angered Dad Archer’s (Josh Brolin) search for his missing son has turned into obsession, causing his construction business to slip. Local policeman Paul’s (Alden Ehrenreich) extraneous stresses explode in an unhealthy fashion. Unhoused junkie Anthony (Austin Abrams) finds himself in a troubling scenario after a robbery gone awry. Principal Marcus’ (Benedict Wong) life is upended by a suspicious house call. And Alex (Cary Christopher), Justine’s sole remaining young charge, has his world turned upside down upon the arrival of his eccentric Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan). Mayhem and havoc ensue!
Cregger and company craft taut atmospheric set pieces, from Justine’s hallucinogenic nightmares to Archer’s climactic revelation. In his segment, Alex’s house of horrors is completely captured through his pint-sized POV where camera movement and angles remain on his level, tilting up to the adults. Once the 3rd act horrific hijinks arise, it’s heartbreaking and truly terrifying, hammering home thematic sentiments. Through Marcus’ eyes, we see Aunt Gladys as a bewitching sweetheart, whose underlying motives house a sinister side. An almost unrecognizable Madigan proves up to the task, nimbly negotiating the material’s wild tonal fluctuations. She’s a live wire in bright orange micro-banged wigs.
It’s also not just well-earned and executed scares. There’s hilarity tucked away within the outline’s margins. Paul and Anthony’s separate segments contain many of this film’s chuckles. Anthony is a burnout whose goofball antics earn a few guffaws. Paul – who I can only assume is named after filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson – has many of the same endearing affectations and inflections as Thomas C. Reilly’s cop character in MAGNOLIA. Cregger, Hays and Ryan Holladay’s score in these portions pivots from unsettling symphonics to sounding reminiscent (but never redundant) of Jon Brion’s percussive compositions. Plus, Justine and Archer’s chapters ground the proceedings in humanity. The climax is uproariously bonkers for many reasons, not least of which is a getaway chase on par with POINT BREAK, HOT FUZZ and FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF.
WEAPONS is almost guaranteed to leave you screaming, either in fright or fits of tension release humor. While it tends to be a little light on narrative development in certain spots where clarity would benefit matters, overall it’s an ambitious genre-melding pleasure, combining bone-chilling mystery, cringe comedy, gasp-inducing gore and hagsploitation.
Grade: A
WEAPONS opens in theaters on August 8.
