Weapons

Last night my nephew and I went to see Weapons at the Broadway with a large and enthusiastic crowd and we both really enjoyed it.  Seventeen children from the same third-grade class at Maybrook Elementary School wake up at the exact same time in the early hours of the morning and disappear from their homes.  This event is viewed from the perspectives of Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), the teacher of all of the children who disappeared, Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), the grieving father of one of the missing children who blames Justine for his disappearance, Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich), a troubled police officer involved with Justine, James (Austin Abrams), a homeless addict arrested and then assaulted by Paul, Marcus Miller (Benedict Wong), the principal of Maybrook Elementary School, and Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher), the only student in Justine's class who did not disappear.  All of their disparate stories converge with Alex's great-aunt Gladys (Amy Madigan) when she comes to stay with his family.  This is not as scary as I thought it would be but it is very unsettling and the use of different POVs that reframe the information already presented creates an escalating sense of dread.  It is more like a mystery thriller with elements of horror and dark comedy (my audience laughed out loud multiple times) but the central mystery is incredibly compelling because I really wanted to know what happened to the children and I wanted to know how all of the characters were connected to their disappearance.  Unlike other recent horror films that come undone in the third act after slowly building an atmosphere of unease, the resolution of the mystery really worked for me and the final sequence is both disturbing and oddly satisfying.  The theme that collective trauma can be weaponized to cause even more violence is extremely thought-provoking and I was particularly struck by the need to find a scapegoat (I am still thinking about it).  The ensemble cast is outstanding but I especially enjoyed the unhinged performance from Madigan and I was very impressed by Christopher because he has such a haunting presence.  The hype for this is real and I definitely recommend it to fans of the genre (try to see it with a crowd).

Note:  I loved the use of "Beware of Darkness" by George Harrison in the opening sequence.