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McCoy on Movies: Weapons

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Weapons delivers imaginative, twisty suspense in market lacking such

“Hello, I’m a creepy child with a smile to match … What could go wrong?!” Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher) in a scene from writer/director Zach Creeger’s WEAPONS. © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:

 

CAST: 

Julia Garner (Justine Gandy)

Josh Brolin (Archer)

Alden Ehrenreich (Paul)

Benedict Wong (Andrew)

Amy Madigan (Gladys)

Austin Abrams (James)

Cary Christopher (Alex Lilly)

Toby Huss (The Captain)

 

WRITER /DIRECTOR: Zach Cregger

THE PLOT: WEAPONS introduces us to Justine Gandy (Julia Garner), a third grade teacher in the suburbs of Pennsylvania (or at least, one can assume that based on the colors on the license plate on her Toyota RAV4). Justine is not having a good day … And neither are the parents of the 17 children in her classroom that all have suddenly gone missing after running out of the front doors of their homes at exactly 2:17 a.m. Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher), however, seems to be just fine since he was the only one that showed up to her room the next day. 

 

While parents such as Archer (Josh Brolin) are calling for Justine’s head as he is convinced she knows more than what she’s telling, her principal Andrew (Benedict Wong) and her police officer ex-flame Paul (Alden Enrenreich) believe she’s telling the truth. But given the fact that Justine (A) has what could be perceived as a problem with alcohol and (B) was let go from her previous school, you can (C) see why more people in town are not convinced she’s as innocent as she says. 

 

But as all their stories begin to intersect, it becomes clear something evil is afoot … And this small town may never be the same ever again. 

THE REVIEW: “Well … that was … different.”

If you’ve seen one and/or both of the trailers for WEAPONS, you already know that seeing scores of people running in a trance-like state at full speed would be cause for concern in the real world … So it might come as a bit of a surprise that the film is a MUCH slower burn than you might originally believe. Likewise, whereas there is some definite gore and violence, WEAPONS is much more story driven than it is by the former, so those coming a typical hack-and-slash might need to pump the brakes on that expectation.

 

There are some issues with WEAPONS that keep it from being as great as it could be. There’s some foreshadowing that can be hard to ignore, the characters – Garner’s in particular – utilize logic that at times seems to show the absence of any and the ending may leave some desiring a bit more answers since some open-ended questions definitely remain. What the film has going for it, however, is a bit of unexpectedness to it that makes up for it that, for the average person, is enough to keep them intrigued until the film’s final act pieces everything together as to why what is happening is happening (for the most part).

In an era where most horror movies are really just psychological thrillers with a lot of cursing and jump scare scenes, WEAPONS manages to come armed with enough tension and surprise to make most moviegoers not wanting to draw one demanding a refund. Just know that whatever you think you’re getting, you likely are not … Even if you jump ahead and start to figure things out before Justine and Archer do.

OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):

 

 

Toronto – Day #2 – 2013

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Hello Everyone.

On my second day, I set out to see 4 films…but I really only saw 3.  I sat down for my first film, and I simply couldn’t take it.  After 5 minutes, I thought I might leave.  After 10 minutes, I couldn’t stand it…but I thought I needed to give it more time.  After 30 minutes, I simply couldn’t tolerate seeing one of my favorite actresses in such a terrible film.  So I left.

A couple hours later, I made my way to LABOR DAY – the new film by Jason Reitman starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.  This is the story of a mother and son who live alone in  a small town in the late 1980’s.  Winslet’s character is extremely lonely and depressed, and her son (a nice performance by Gattlin Griffith) tries to keep her afloat.  An escaped convict works his way into their home, and rather unlikely relationships ensue – new lover for mom and a father figure for her son.  The movie is shot beautifully, and the performances are really wonderful – Winslet’s melancholy is palpable.  I really loved a lot about this film, but it sadly has a few big annoyances…a couple bad situations and a couple moments of laugh-out-loud bad screenwriting.  A slight recut could fix a lot…but I don’t think that will happen before its release.

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Next up was the world premiere of the first animated feature by Chomet (director of THE TRIPLETS OF BELLVILLE) – ATTILA MARCEL.  As a big fan of PARIS JE T’AIME, I was already familiar with the fact that he can direct live material with great success – he did the short about the little boy with mime parents.  This film is highly stylized with lots of charm and a lot of great music.  It’s the story of a mute piano player who is raised by his overbearing aunts.  After meeting an herbalist who lives on a secret floor in his building, he begins to explore hidden memories of his deceased parents.  Though a bit clunky (a couple devises just don’t work) and a bit long, it’s got enough magic to keep you invested…and you’ll root for the protagonist all the way through. (Sorry…there’s no trailer with subtitles.)

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxYhMGHKZzo’]

My last film of the day was BAD HAIR from Venezuela.  This is the story of a curly-haired boy who lives in the projects with his mother and her newborn.  It’s a gritty existence – surrounded by gunfire, violence and rough terrain.  More than anything in the world, the little boy wants straight hair so he can be “like a singer.”  The mother fears that her son is gay, and her lack of education and fear for his well-being makes her take strides to eventually “heal” her son.  This is a grim film – but not without moments of sheer joy.  The performances are incredible from everyone, and the material is transportive.  Though I wish the film had been 10-15 minutes shorter (not a whole lot happens…it would be stronger if it was tighter), I think it’s my favorite film of the festival so far (it brings to mind two other films – the great performances of childhood in TOMBOY and the gritty style of FISH TANK).

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW0o1jz5d9Y’]

After screening 3 films, I met up with Glenn Kiser – director of SABBATICAL (which won the Audience Award at last year’s Dayton LGBT Film Festival).  We had a great time catching up, and he mentioned that Dayton was one of his favorite festival experiences during his travels with SABBATICAL.  I don’t think he was just feeing me a line – he mentioned the great sense of community, the friends he made, and his overall experience.  I think we can be proud of that!

I’m currently in line for tickets…then off to 3 films today and a big party tonight.  More soon. Thanks for reading!

Jonathan