The Whitest Kids U’Know cofounder Zach Cregger made the leap from comedy to horror in 2022 with the release of Barbarian.
Barbarian‘s unexpected success allowed Cregger a lot of freedom with his next film, Weapons, which became an even bigger hit this year.
Now, Weapons has made its streaming debut on HBO Max, and it’s an easy pick for the one movie you should stream this weekend.
Like Barbarian, Weapons is largely dependent on taking viewers by surprise. That’s why Watch With Us‘ reasons why you should watch the film won’t have major spoilers.
The Film Sets Up an Intriguing Mystery
The setup for the film takes place in the opening minutes, as 17 children run away from home at exactly 2:17 am before vanishing without a trace. All of them do it in the same way, without taking any belongings or leaving any notes behind. They simply abandon their old lives without looking back.
Each of the lost children has only one thing in common: They were students in the elementary class taught by Justine (Julia Garner), a young woman who is mystified by their disappearance. Inexplicably, a boy named Alex (Cary Christopher) is the only one who doesn’t run away. This entire sequence haunts the movie, even after the story starts revealing some answers about what happened and what’s really going on.
‘Weapons’ Adds a Human Touch to Its Horror Story
We’re so used to people acting like idiots in horror movies that it’s refreshing when characters behave as if they were real. The first act of Weapons exemplifies this when the grieving parents seize on their kids’ connection to Justine and blame her as if she was somehow responsible. It’s not the rational thing to do, but it certainly felt realistic.
Garner is especially terrific as Justine, and she makes it clear that her character truly loved the kids under her care. Maybe a little too much, but she’s suffering almost as much as the parents. Or even more so when the harassment campaign against her intensifies. Horror movies only work if they give the audience a reason to care about the characters. If they’re only on-screen to be canon fodder, then there’s no emotional attachment when bad things happen to them. Cregger seems to be very aware of this, and it made his film stand out from the pack.
‘Weapons’ Has Some Creepy and Scary Moments
Do you see that woman in the video above? That’s Aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan), and there’s a lot we could say about her — but only after you see the movie. Madigan is really good in the role, and there’s even talk that she might get a prequel film that explores Gladys’ origins.
There’s so much of this movie that was hidden from the trailers that it would be a mistake to go into the film with any knowledge about what’s going to happen. Just trust that this is one horror movie that delivers scary and creepy moments of over-the-top horror like few modern films do. Weapons is an experience as much as it is a movie, and you should watch it right away before anyone spoils it for you.
Weapons is streaming on HBO Max.
