Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Writer/Director Zach Cregger broke into the horror scene in a memorable way with 2022’s Barbarian. It’s a movie that pivots and twists in delightfully ghoulish ways, kept audiences guessing and delivers a really good story with a rushed conclusion that stops it from being great.
Well this time around his second entry gets the gold medal with Weapons taking the twists and turns Cregger is probably going to become known for and upping the ante tenfold.
Weapons is the kind of movie I HIGHLY recommend not knowing anything about prior to watching. I was lucky enough to have avoided anything on it but the first trailer (which thankfully gives away little) and it made for a spectacularly shocking look into what I’ll call a blend between supernatural and psychological horror.
The story begins with a classroom full of children (with the exception of one child) running away from their homes in the dead of night. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Besides some truly spine-tingling scenes directed to perfection to deliver the most impact, the story of Weapons is told out of sequence and from multiple points of view, almost like a puzzle being built by each character dropping another piece into place. Cregger’s choices create such an immersive experience you can’t help but keep your attention fully on the screen in front of you. It all works perfectly but the most surprising factor has to be the humour injected into it, something I wasn’t expecting at all. I laughed out loud more than a few times here, even when the most horrific of scenes were playing before my eyes. Yes, Weapons is unexpectedly a horror-comedy of sorts, albeit one of the darkest horror comedies I’ve ever seen.
If it falters at all it might be in the pacing which admittedly drags in some places – a direct correlation I found in the choice to tell the story from different points of view. That said, I relish a horror movie with a satisfying conclusion and that’s exactly what I got from this one.
Weapons feels like it’s inspired by the sort of stories Stephen King would write — wicked and unforgiving in some places, comedic and a bit ridiculous in others. It may not be perfect but it deserves huge points for originality, energy and being the kind of horror movie I would enjoy rewatching in the future.
Sommer’s Score: 8 out 10
Have you seen Weapons? What did you think of it? And you can check more horror movie content below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More