A little girl’s voice introduces us to the plot of WEAPONS. In a small town, 17 out of 18 children in teacher Justine Gandy’s class have disappeared. The first, but most definitely not the last, unusual dramaturgical decision in WEAPONS is that the voice of the girl, which will return at the end of the film, can’t be assigned to any character. This is just one of the small confusions that lend Zach Cregger’s film a mood of permanent uncertainty.

Those expecting a similar horror experience to a relatively linear horror film like his previous film BARBARIAN, which does take many turns but barely has any loose ends, will probably be disappointed by WEAPONS. WEAPONS is a more complex film, not only because it is told from different perspectives: initially from the point of view of the teacher, then a father who is convinced that the teacher knows what happened, then the perspective of the school principle, a policeman who has an altercation with a drug addict, then the perspective of the addict.


WEAPONS begins with a with hunt of teacher Justine Grandy (Julia Garner), who is primarily blamed by Archer Graff (Josh Brolin). Justine’s experience is staged like a paranoid thriller with so much tension that opening a door can give you a startle. Justine is a complex character. She is an alcoholic, going directly for the biggest vodka bottles at the liquor store and taking two under her arms without hesitation. She mixed club soda with her vodka, a way to get as drunk as possible without enjoying the taste at all. Justine is also having an affair with Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), a married cop and occasional sober person. But Justine is also determined to prove her innocence and find out what happened.

Mobs, delusion, trauma, mass psychosis, fairy tale motifs, a giant gun that floats down from the sky in a dream scene, and gruesome violence are elements of the film. What was considered “New French Extremism“ in the 2000s happens incidentally with Cregger. Skulls are shattered, but the scariest thing about WEAPONS aren’t the splatter scenes, what’s frightening is what is considered a flaw of the genre: it doesn’t all get resolved, there are a lot of loose ends over the course of the film. Themes, clues, and motives appear, but aren’t followed up on. Cregger has a knack for discomfort, for excess, for repetition that ruins the joke and lets the horror creep in, a method that he already tested with his comedy sketch troupe “The Whitest Kids U’ Know“ for five seasons.

Elements of US fear culture pervade the film, making you think of the school massacre and QAnon Pizzagate and adrenochome narratives, but the motifs appear detached from their political-quasi-religious significance, as traces of a social fear that underlies the film. WEAPONS invites to understand the film as an allegory, but the allegory isn’t resolved. It’s about US fear culture, and the film suggests the traces that this fear leaves behind. Cregger’s grotesque humor makes for several extremely funny scenes, but the humor becomes disturbing. With all of its wild turns, WEAPONS keeps tensions high and interest awakened until the very last minute.

Tom Dorow (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy