Weapons info:
Director: Zach Cregger
Writer: Zach Cregger
Starring: Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, and Benedict Wong
Hello and welcome to another week here at 1guysmindlessmoviereviews.com. I’m back to my normal format this week, and I’m excited because I finally got to do something this week that I don’t normally get to do. My family and I went to a nearby drive-in to see a double-feature. Since it’s spooky season, we were delighted that we got two eerie films back-to-back. The first one was “Weapons,” which I will talk about this week, and the second one was “The Conjuring: Last Rites”, which I will discuss next week. But before I jump in, let me warn you that there will be spoilers ahead, and I don’t want to scare you. If you haven’t seen it yet, please go back to my homepage here and check out some other reviews first.
“Weapons” is a horror movie directed by actor/director Zach Cregger. It was directed well in parts, but I honestly have several issues with it. Both the beginning and the ending look like they were done very lazily. I sort of wonder if they didn’t run out of money and just end it like they did in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. I obviously know that’s not what happened, but that’s what it made me feel.
Everything in between is very entertaining, scary, and intriguing all at the same time. It starts off (via a narrative) that explains everything that happened. I get why that was done, but I think a 5 to 10-minute section during the opening credits could have done the same thing. Instead of a little girl telling us that at 2:17 am, 17 kids got up and ran out of their house and into the night. It would have been creepy to see it actually happen… or at least focus on one child and let us see their experience as they went through it.
Either way, here we are. A town full of angry parents, a school system trying to deal with what happened, and one teacher who is at the center of it all. Justine (Garner) is a teacher at the school where all of those children went. But the interesting part is that they were all from her class, so she is put right in the center of the blame. The loudest contributor to this is Archer (Brolin). As Justine tries to get back to a normal life, Archer tries to figure out what happened, and their stories keep crisscrossing.
The best part about “Weapons” is the nonlinear storytelling that Cregger gives us. Each part of the movie is titled after one of the main characters, and we get a different perspective on what is happening in the town. It is very well done, and it saves itself from the botched opening. Besides Justine and Archer, some of the other chapters involve Paul (Ehrenreich) as Justine’s ex and a recovering alcoholic, and James (Austin Abrams) as a junkie looking for items to steal. Their paths seem to cross just as much as the Justine/Archer stories do, as Paul catches James trying to break into a building.
But the two biggest chapters are Gladys (Amy Madigan) and Alex (Cary Christopher). Gladys is an aunt who comes to live with Alex and his parents, and the one who is behind all of the mayhem and chaos in town. She is a witch and is using the people of the town as weapons against each other. She sends Justine’s boss, Marcus (Wong), to kill her, and he would have done it if Archer hadn’t stepped in. Plus, she was using Alex to get all the kids to come to her.
There is a big climactic ending when Justine and Archer work together to find the house. But not before both Paul and James, and turned into weapons along with Alex’s parents. There are lots of scares, fights, and some gore before the movie just abruptly ends. No explanation of anything, no more scenes of what happened next, and absolutely no real closure on the events that we saw take place over the previous two hours.
So, fumbled start, amazing cinematography through the meat of the film, then a big dud of an ending. Maybe I need to watch it again to appreciate it. Maybe since it was pushing 1 am after watching two back-to-back movies, my mind wasn’t in it. Or it’s possible that they just made a great movie and didn’t know how to end it.
Overall, it was fun, it was made very well for 80% of it, and the cast was great. Including a fun cameo by Justin Long. I can get past the start since it is quickly forgotten about, but I can’t give them any grace on the ending. I’m on board for an abrupt close to a film, when it’s done right, but they left too much on the floor in this case to do that. As much as I want to rate this higher, I can’t give it more than a 6 out of 10. Maybe after a re-watch, I will change my mind.
Ok, that’s it for me this week. Have you had a chance to see “Weapons” yet? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Were you ok with the start and the finish, or are you like me and feel like it was cut short? Please let me know in the comments what you think. I love hearing your thoughts as well. See you next week when I will talk about the second drive-in movie from this week.
