‘Weapons’ Sends Audiences Back To School With A Chilling Mystery: At The Movies With Kasey
With school back in session, why not anticipate the return of fall with an atmospheric horror-mystery about an entire class of third graders vanishing? Weapons, the sophomore film from Zach Cregger, creates a suspenseful, bizarre mystery that feels almost like a fairytale, but the twisted Brothers Grimm versions.
Weapons opens with every student in Justine Gandy’s (Julia Garner) class, except one (Cary Christopher), getting out of bed at 2:17 a.m., running out their front doors, and vanishing. In the aftermath, parents such as Archer Graff (Josh Brolin) press for answers, casting suspicion on Ms. Gandy. As the mystery unfolds, the perspective follows different characters over a couple of days until their stories collide. First, Justine struggles with the fallout of her class disappearing, putting her back in contact with her old flame, a cop named Paul (Elden Ehrenreich), and in conflict with her boss, Marcus (Benedict Wong). Eventually, we see things from each of their experiences as well as that of Archer Graff; a local drug addict, James (Austin Abrams); and the eighteenth third-grader, Alex.
There is a lot I want to say about the plot of the film, but going in without knowing much about what happens makes the final act all the better. Promotions for Weapons were scarce on details, and I understand why. Nothing about the story makes sense to the people inside of it, and the slow revelation of plot points makes the final result delightfully twisted, if a bit absurd. By shifting between characters, elements of the story slot into place, building on each other but keeping the mystery surprising.
The narrative structure also helps develop the setting and ensemble of characters, reminding me of reading a great novel. Some themes, such as those around children and outsiders in a community, feel like a homage to Stephen King, and there is a clear nod to Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining, but for the most part, Cregger takes classic horror motifs and builds them into a well-developed world. Although light on exposition, the film is framed by a child narrator (Scarlett Sher) who deepens the fairytale vibe. The production drops in plenty of details from cluttered rooms to TV trays lined with hot dogs to give the audience hints of who these people are outside the few days we spend with them. This texture makes the scary parts hit harder as they catch the characters, and us, in moments that otherwise seem so real and ordinary. Each section has a slightly different feel, moving us into the lives of the various characters through sets, music, and even nightmares.
The ensemble cast inhabits this well-curated town with performances that draw out the complicated inner lives of their characters. So much of what makes the story tense happens before the film starts. The anxious chemistry between Julia Garner and Elden Ehrenreich communicates history that made me uneasy without having to know the details. Garner plays Justine as both sympathetic and unreliable, driving the action forward from the character’s vulnerability. She wants to help, but makes such bad choices that it is hard to trust her, and the performance toes that line. Similarly, Josh Brolin’s performance of Archer is aggressive but with a sadness that makes his scenes with Garner pop with suspicion. Together, the ensemble draws a surprising, eerie story to a conclusion that I will be thinking about for a while.
Weapons is not as violent or terrifying as the trailer looked. I was grateful for that and entranced by how well the story developed and how strongly the actors and production design worked to bring that story to life.
Weapons was written and directed by Zach Cregger. It runs 128 minutes and is rated R.
For a great mystery at home, try Dept. Q on Netflix. Created by Scott Frank and Chandi Lakhani, Dept. Q follows Carl (Matthew Goode) in the aftermath of a shooting that injured him, but left his partner, Hardy (Jamie Sives), paralyzed. Despite his erratic behavior, his boss puts him in charge of a new department intended to generate good PR by solving cold cases. With the help of a stoic new hire, Akram (Alexej Manvelov), and Rose (Leah Byrne), a young detective with her own mental health struggles, Carl takes up the case of Merritt Lingard (Chloe Pirrei), a prosecutor who went missing.
When I saw Dept. Q had been nominated for an Emmy, I was not surprised until I saw that it was for the Original Main Title Theme Music, easily the worst part of the series. Like Weapons, Dept. Q has complex characters played by a brilliant cast, and shifts in perspective that draw details together across a suspenseful narrative. Matthew Goode anchors the cast with a stunning performance as a traumatized cop, but the nuanced relationships between the ensemble are as intriguing as the mystery. Set in Edinburgh, the neo-noir series uses coastal ruins, a truly grungy office, and beautiful old houses to create a rich backdrop for a compelling story. As the series is based on novels by Jussi Adler-Olsen, I hope that there will be future seasons to keep developing these multi-faceted characters.
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