David’s Download: Weapons Review

We are living in a golden age of horror, and Weapons is like the icing on the cake! After a year packed with gems like Sinners, Final Destination Bloodlines, Bring Her Back and Together, I wasn’t sure if the hot streak would continue into August. But no one should bet against Zach Cregger, the writer-director behind Weapons.

The movie’s logline is one for the ages - almost like an urban legend you might hear around a campfire.

All but one of the children from the same classroom suddenly go missing overnight, leaving the Maybrook community to figure out who (or what) is responsible for their sudden disappearance.

Told in chapters from the perspectives of different characters, Weapons will drop your jaw a little more with each turn of the story and finishes with a rollicking finale. The last 20 minutes are the most fun I’ve have at the cinema this year.

Cregger takes everything that worked in his debut film, Barbarian (which The Drive Home absolutely LOVED) and dials it up a notch with Weapons. It’s like Magnolia meets Hereditary meets Insidious. Despite each character’s chapter being tonally unique, the feeling of suspense and impending doom looms throughout, and the moments of shock are perfectly placed, keeping the pace kinetic.

Even though I wasn’t wholly satisfied by the explanation for what’s going on in Maybrook, Weapons is so damn fun that it’s easy to forgive. Plus, the movie has given us a new horror icon with Gladys. Warner Brothers should consider running Amy Madigan, who plays Gladys, for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars.

But even if they don’t, Gladys (and Weapons in general) will live on thanks to the countless gays who will be donning her signature wig and messy makeup for Halloween for years to come.