Won't Somebody Think of the Children

Weapons is the sophomore effort from writer/director Zach Craggier and while his first film, "Barbarian", was well received, this feels like a clear step up.

The film's fantastically eerie marketing campaign revolved around the movies central mystery, at 2.17 AM an entire classrooms worth of sixth graders get up out of bed and disappear into the night. It's a great hook but the story proper actually picks up a couple of months after the event and unfolds over a couple of days as the townspeople continue to deal with the fallout. The point of view shifts between a bunch of characters and time and space is given to fleshing out the small town details. This approach, combined with the sombre and eventually horrific goings on, gives the story a very Stephen King feel. It also works as a tension release, wiping the slate somewhat clean every time we switch perspective. The slight downside to the condensed mini series approach is that it lengthens the film with some segments feeling less crucial than others. It trades efficiency for texture in a way that largely pays off. The story itself relies on some leaps of faith, or rather leaps of lack of faith in the authorities investigative abilities (quite apt for a film that clearly has school shootings in its satirical sights) but, by the time the explosively gonzo finale arrives nobody will care about semantics.

Much as Weapons is a multiple character affair, the driving forces of the story are Julia Garner's teacher, Miss Gandy and Archer Graff, the father of one of the missing children played by Josh Brolin. Both performances are excellent, with Garner continuing her career upswing and Brolin delivering as a determinedly gruff but flawed everyman. The characters could easily have been one dimensional stand ins, Gandy the put upon victim and Graff the grieving father lost to anger, but instead we are given time and perspective to see more of their layers, making for a much richer narrative journey than you would expect from what is, at times, a very over the top genre piece. This commitment to display textured characters as well as deliver on scares and visceral thrills makes it clear you are in the hands of a filmmaker who is determined to make sure his audience leave fully satisfied.

In terms of horror, the film has it all. There is tension, jumps scares, some plain nasty gore and even a few laughs, and it blends tones very well, segueing from tragedy to creep fest to violent, over the top, dark comedy. The melting pot won't be to everyones taste (especially given the children in peril central hook) but Craggier is a bold and ambitious new horror voice and Weapons is an accomplished, crowd pleasing piece of work.

8 spoon fed tins of soup out of 10

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