Weapons is a great horror film, but is it over-hyped?
I watched Weapons last night, and it was a lot of fun. I don’t watch many horror movies these days, as they don’t do much for me anymore. But I’d heard so much about this, I gave it a go.
The premise of Weapons is awesome
At 2:17 a.m., a group of children leave their homes and disappears into the night. There are no signs of forced entry, no obvious suspects, and no clear explanation. They just run off in a vaguely terrifying way (see the posters).
What follows is an investigation that spreads across multiple perspectives, gradually revealing fragments of what might have happened.
It’s a simple premise, but a good one. There is something immediately unsettling about the idea of kids calmly walking out of their houses at the same time, as if following instructions no one else can hear. It’s the kind of opening and idea that suggests you are about to watch something genuinely memorable. It gave me vague vibes of the Midwich Cuckoos for some reason. (Despite being utterly different in many ways – if you’ve watched or read it, you’ll know what I mean).
The expectation that what is about to happen will be uncomfortable but fun and scary is enhanced by knowing the reaction the film has already received. Weapons has been talked about as one of the best horror films in years, with some going further and calling it a modern classic. For much of its runtime, it’s easy to see why.
Weapons is clever, unsettling, and often genuinely gripping. There are some really creepy and jump-scare bits that reminded me of why I used to love this genre so much. It is one of the best horror films I have seen for a while… but I wouldn’t say it quite lives up to the hyperbolic hype.
The setup and what works well
Rather than telling a straightforward story, the film shifts between characters and timelines, revisiting events from different angles. You follow a particular character, so there are times you see the same stuff but from a different angle – but also see what happens before and after. Think Pulp Fiction but with more horror stuff.
Each new section adds detail, but also raises new questions. The structure is deliberately disorienting at times, forcing the audience to piece things together rather than simply follow along.
It’s an approach that suits the material, and I really enjoyed how it was done. From the start, Weapons is less interested in giving easy answers than in creating a sense of unease that lingers long after each scene ends.
I like that the film doesn’t over-explain or hold the viewer’s hand. Instead, it trusts that the audience will piece things together, even if that means sitting with uncertainty for a while. Of course, scan a Reddit forum and there are still plenty of baffled people. On the whole, it was well done.
The atmosphere is equally effective. This isn’t a film built around jump scares or sudden shocks. (Although there are some.) The unease comes from quieter moments, from the sense that something is wrong even when nothing obvious is happening. This ratchett’s up when a certain character is introduced.
The performances help ground everything. The characters react in ways that feel believable, even as the situation becomes increasingly strange. At least I thought so. It helps that Weapons has a great cast. Amy Madigan is genuinely creepy, and Julia Garner and Josh Brolin and all the rest are consistently good.
Where I think it falls short – a bit
For all its strengths, I didn’t fully feel that Weapons quite delivers the payoff it seems to be building towards. It develops well, and it was a logical end that was nice and gruesome, but it didn’t quite satisfy. I felt it started brilliantly, went in quite a cool direction, but I found it slightly underdeveloped when the credits rolled. The film raises a number of intriguing ideas but doesn’t fully commit to any of them.
That could just be me – you should absolutely give it a go. The critics gave it glowing reviews. And as I said, I thought the movie was great – just not quite as great as I thought it was going to be for most of the film. I still really enjoyed it.
Verdict
Weapons is a great horror film, and I am glad I got caught up in the hype. It’s well-structured, consistently tense, and has some genuinely creepy moments.
For much of its runtime, it feels like it could be something more than just a very good film. It has the premise, the execution, and the atmosphere to push into that territory. It just doesn’t quite get there for me in terms of it being an all-time horror classic. It is still a damned good horror flick though, and well worth a watch.
Recommended.
You can watch Weapons here: