Weapons Review: A Slick, Well Acted, Confusing Film That Isn’t Afraid to Go Out There… But is it Worth it?

Weapons Review: When 17 kids from Justine Gandy’s class suddenly run out of their homes one night, the suspicion obviously falls first on Gandy. However, things start to feel a bit off as Justine and one of the fathers, Archer Graff, piece things together, bringing out a truth so shocking that it leaves them stumped!

The film has a runtime of 128 minutes.

Weapons Review

Weapons, Zach Cregger’s second directorial venture after 2022’s fun hit Barbarian, has everything to make it an arresting, gory and disturbing watch. From fantastic cinematography that keeps you on edge at every turn to spectacular performances that can leave anyone shocked, the film is a thrilling ride that somehow fails to maintain the tension for long enough.

The idea of 17 children suddenly going missing one fine night is a terrible thought in and of itself, but the film takes it a step further and, just like Barbarian, goes bonkers after the film’s halfway mark. Interestingly enough, though, it’s not enough for everything to make sense, more so because the bonkers level that it goes to gets a bit goofy, and it can’t hold on to the anxiety-inducing thrill that it starts off with after a while, giving in to stereotypes and stupidity soon afterwards.

I think the biggest problem I have with Weapons is that I found the climax to be terrible. While I was on the edge of my seat, wondering what came next, the answer to everything was quite unsatisfactory. Amy Madigan is an interesting addition and builds up the tension of there being something horrible happening due to her, and while what’s happening is quite… shocking, I feel like the ending of it all is neither interesting nor very thrilling.

Sure, its humour is fun, but the pacing really gets to you sometimes. There are long stretches of nothing happening, or even when something does happen, it is so obvious that you can’t help but roll your eyes. The images the film creates are terrifying in the first half, but then it turns into something comedic, and the tension and anticipation become goofy, like shame on us for finding this horrifying. Although you’re never quite sure of what’s coming next, in the end, the film becomes disappointing because all of the thrill feels like they’re for nothing.

I did, however, thoroughly enjoy the gore. It’s very in-your-face and doesn’t shy away from showing despicable things at any point. I found that entertaining, but whatever comes after that takes away the experience of the horror that we are expected to feel. Of course, the movie is half as terrifying because of the fantastic performances. Josh Brolin, Julia Garner and Alden Ehrenreich are fantastic in their own right, but I must say that I was thoroughly hooked by the performances of even the supporting cast. Everyone who becomes possessed in the film does a fantastic job and is one of the reasons why I found the film to be as scary as I did.

Also Read: A Normal Woman Review: Thrilling and Insightful Watch

Final Thoughts

In the end, Weapons didn’t scare me. I was amused, I was anxious, and I was on edge sporadically, but the film never really did truly grip me. The ending was terrible in my opinion, and turned the horror film into a comedy. The visuals were fantastic, but I never found myself scared out of my mind in any way, which is a shame because the film truly had potential. It’s a bit too goofy for its own good.

Also Read: Weapons Ending Explained: What Happened to the Kids? Who Was Behind the Kidnappings?