One of the best films of the summer is “Weapons,” written, directed and partially scored by Zach Cregger. While there are credits for music (“Beware of Darkness,” “Gotta’ Get Up” et. al) Cregger collaborated with Hays Holladay and Ryan Holladay on sounds used. Cregger’s previous film, “Barbarian” (2022) marked him as a talent to watch. This feature is one of the most anticipated for horror film lovers and is quickly outpacing “Freakier Friday” and doing well at the box office. The script for this film went through a bidding war between Universal and Netflix. For a while, Jordan Peele (“Get Out,” “Us,” “Nope”) was also in the running to make this horror film.
CAST
The actors in this one are Top Notch. Julia Garner (“Ozark”) portrays Justine Gandy, a teacher at Maybrook Elementary School (grades 1 through 5). Justine’s entire class of 18 students—with the one exception of Alex Lilly—disappears in the night at 2:17 a.m. and, say the ads, “they never came back.” I was concerned that, like the television series “The Leftovers” (2014, Justin Theroux) we would never get a coherent explanation of how or why these kids seemingly disappeared. Rest assured, we do get that explanation. The number 217 could conceivably reference Matthew 2:17 (“The Slaughter of the Innocents”). It was also the room number in the Overlook Hotel. (“The Shining).
The cast member getting most of the accolades for her performance is Julia Garner as teacher Justine Gandy, and she deserves the praise. However, I’d like to put in a vote for the always-excellent Amy Madigan as Gladys. (Amy has been married to fellow actor Ed Harris 42 years.) Madigan’s appearance in “Field of Dreams” is one of her best-known. She was nominated for an Oscar in 1986 as Best Supporting Actress for “Twice in a Lifetime.”[One of Madigan’s castmates in this film, Alden Ehrenreich (as Paul Morgan) was named for the writer/director of “Field of Dreams,” a close friend of Ehrenreich’s parents.]
Alden Ehrenreich (with mustache).
ALDEN EHRENREICH
Ehrenreich rose to fame as Hobie Doyle, the lasso afficionado in the Coen Brothers film “Hail, Caesar” (2016). The 36-year-old has been working since he was discovered by Steven Spielberg at the Bar Mitzvah of a friend of Spielberg’s daughter. He made his feature film debut in Francis Ford Coppola‘s film Tetro (2009), and appeared in Coppola’s subsequent film Twixt (2011). Apparently there was a big discussion of whether or not Ehrenreich should have a mustache in the film. The ‘stash prevented me from instantly recognizing him. Ehrenreich shared that his ride-alongs with real cops while preparing for the film clinched the yes vote with Director Cregger.
Do we need to do more than mention Josh Brolin’s name? Brolin and Pedro Pascal seem to be in everything these days. Brolin even joked about Pedro not being in this one. Pascal left for “The Fantastic Four,” and bailed on “Weapons,” necessitating much recasting for Cregger. There was also the strike and other out-of-control features that caused his exit. Brolin and Garner team up effectively to search for Matthew, Archer Graff’s son, although it does seem that a house with newspapers all over the windows might have attracted more attention from the authorities earlier, but Brolin and Garner are on the case and will not give up in their quest to solve the mystery of the missing children.
Cary Christopher plays the young sole survivor of the disappearance, Alex Lilly. The young actor is terrific in the part. He is soon appearing in “High Potential” (a TVseries set to premiere on September 17th) and “Spider-Noir” in 2026. Young Christopher was as good in his part as Haley Joel Osment in “The Sixth Sense.”
JULIA GARNER
It is Julia Garner’s class, portraying elementary school teacher Justine Gandy, that disappears. She carries the entire film on her slim shoulders. “Ozark” fans will be happy to see this talented actress, who portrayed Ruth Langmore on “Ozark” (2017), back in “Weapons.” Co-star Josh Brolin has been singing Garner’s well-deserved praises on late-night television. Definitely seems more her style than her appearance in “The Fantastic Four,” but she is versatile.
BENEDICT WONG
As the gay Marcus, Benedict Wong (“Dr. Strange”) does an expert job taking his story arc from reasonable school administrator to deranged over-the-top temporary nut job. His final appearance in “Weapons” is horrifying. Marcus’s attacks on Justine (and Josh Brolin as Archer Graff) will keep you on the edge of your seat(s).
SCRIPT
For a movie like this to work, the story must involve a premise that is original, and executed effectively with creativity but without confusion (only half of that goal was achieved by the recent “Eddington”). Those elements succeed and are interwoven in “Weapons,” just as each character’s story is picked up, developed, and then left to move on building suspense for another character. Just watching a hand reach for a doorknob is chilling. This dramatic tension is well-done and the expert handling of time, moving back and forth smoothly in the story, is remarkable.
Writer/Director Cregger even gets a credit for composing some of the sound/music, although, in each of his features, the sound effects are more natural (thunderstorms, creaking floorboards) or simply the lack of music in many scenes. Instead, we have thumping sounds, screams, pulsing heartbeats (as in “Barbarian”)—all very effective.
THEMES
Moral ambiguity existed in “Brutarian” with Justin Long’s character (Long makes a small appearance in this one, as Gary, a neighbor who shares ring camera footage with Josh Brolin). In “Weapons” Cregger delivers a message about the urge to “blame.” The teacher whose entire class disappeared is judged and found guilty by the community. Her car is vandalized with the word WITCH in unwashable spray paint. Both Miss Gandy and the cop (Alden Ehrenreich as Paul Morgan) have past and present substance abuse issues. Josh Brolin’s character of Archer Graff may also have regrets about his parenting. Infidelity is briefly addressed. Comparisons to Jack Nicholson’s door-breaking scenes in “The Shining” may flash through your mind during the climactic scenes involving Alex’s parents. Those scenes are extremely frightening. (No elementary school-age children in the room, please.)
Writer/Director Zach Cregger.
CONCLUSION
This is a good one. It will be fun to watch the direction that Zach Cregger’s work takes next. If you like this one, check out “Barbarian”(2022) on Neflix before it leaves on August 31st.
