Starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Amy Madigan, Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong

Written & Directed by Zach Cregger

New Line / Vertigo – in Cinemas now

When 17 children from the same class disappear on the same night, their teacher is suspected as a small town struggles to come to terms with its mysterious loss.

The distinguishing feature of Zach Cregger’s hugely enjoyable 2022 horror, Barbarian, was that it started as one film, before taking a discombobulating left turn and abruptly morphing into something completely different. While the transition might be a little more evenly paced, Cregger is in similar structural switchback territory with his latest movie Weapons. The question is, in trying to pull off the trick a second time, does he get away with it?

The set-up is great. The missing kids all come from the same class, so their teacher, Justine (Julia Garner) finds herself ostracised, branded a witch by the small community. She doesn’t help matters with her hot-headed behaviour aided by a perhaps understandable excess of alcohol. But she isn’t the only one in the spotlight. One of her class – a quiet kid by the name of Alex (Cary Christopher) – has also survived, and Justine is convinced that there has to be more to this than sheer luck, but no one, least of all the school Principal, Marcus (played by the ever reliable Benedict Wong) is prepared to pursue her suspicions any further.

Intrigue is piled upon intrigue in this paranormal smalltown whodunnit as Cregger deftly divides the action into six interweaving chapters, each told from the POV of a different character – Justine the teacher; Archer (Josh Brolin) the parent who suspects her; Paul, a local cop with whom Justine is having an affair; James (Austin Abrams), a drug addict and petty thief; Marcus, the school head; and lastly young Alex himself. For nearly ninety minutes Weapons is an engrossing jigsaw puzzle.

And then…?

The reason Barbarian worked so well is because the movie it turned into in its second half was better and scarier that the one Cregger started with. The trouble with Weapons is that a tense paranormal thriller with something to say about the paranoia of smalltown middle America, turns into Roald Dahl’s Matilda as if remade by George Romero and Danny Boyle. The packed screening I attended had started on the edge of their seats, but were now guffawing loudly, just as Josh Brolin was trying to play the emotional truth of a completely ridiculous final act.

Verdict: Weapons is certainly entertaining, but whether you go for its bizarre change of tone – or forgive its various plot holes – is perhaps a matter of voodoo Marmite. I, for one, felt cheated, and resented having invested in its more serious opening acts. I hope Cregger will have the courage just to make one movie next time and stick to his initial convictions. 6/10

Martin Jameson

www.ninjamarmoset.com