When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.

Following up 2022’s hit horror ‘Barbarian’ wasn’t going to be easy for Zach Cregger, who burst on to the scene with that inventive and unpredictable thriller. His follow up stays in the horror genre, albeit with more of a mystery angle, with ‘Weapons’, an intriguing story that takes place in a small town where almost an entire classroom of young children go missing one night. It stars Julia Garner and Josh Brolin in the leading adult roles as the children’s teacher and the father of a missing boy respectively, and the plot follows them and other characters as they try to find out what really happened.

‘Weapons’ uses a non-linear structure to tell the story, following various characters in the lead up to certain events, which end up dovetailing with one another and building up an overall picture that leads us to the truth of what happened to these children. It’s a narrative device that works really well for the story, helping to save the important reveals for later, and letting the audience play detective to a degree in trying to follow the little clues spread across each story. I really, really liked this movie – like ‘Barbarian’, it has a darkly humorous edge running through it, but with a more expansive narrative and a larger cast to play with, and Cregger handles it all superbly. The performances aid the narrative, with Julia Garner brilliant as ever as the closest to the lead, and some fine supporting performances, not least from Amy Madigan who creates a truly chilling and memorable horror villain.

‘Weapons’ is an excellent horror movie with good performances, an inventive script and sharp direction, and Zach Cregger has already became one of the finest horror filmmakers operating today.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Zach Cregger

Starring: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Austin Abrams, Cary Christopher, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt26581740/