Plot: What’s it about?
A few months ago I was doing some endless scrolling on YouTube. You know, that thing where you feel the urge to see buildings destroyed or how to make that perfect camera strap out of scrap leather? Yep, that one. It just so happened that I stumbled across a trailer for, you guessed it, Weapons. I’d seen Zach Cregger’s previous film, Barbarian and was disturbed for a brief period afterwards. Naturally I gravitated towards the trailer despite the fact that I try to avoid such things as it might taint my forthcoming review on disc. Make sense? At any rate, the window between a trailer dropping and me getting a disc in my hand is pretty fast these days, so here we are. I’ve tried to go into this film having only seen the trailer and if it matters, I don’t have a clock next to my bedside table. I imagine if I did, I’d wake up at 2:17 every night.
Taking place in a small Pennsylvania town, the kind where you “don’t feel like you need to lock your doors at night” we meet Justine (Julia Garner). Her classroom of students have an odd habit of running away from home at 2:17 AM…with the exception of one. This is unsettling to the townsfolk, notably Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), who thinks that Justine is up to something. She’s as distraught as the parents, but from there the mystery unfolds from different perspectives of the different characters. We also meet a local cop (Alden Ehrenreich), principal Andrew (Benedict Wong), a homeless junkie (Austin Abrams) and Alex (Cary Christopher) – the only child who didn’t run away. To tell much, if any, more would be a disservice to anyone who’s not seen the film. Suffice it to say that the stage is set with a very unique plot and the pieces are set so that the finale pulls out the stops in all the right places. You’ve been warned.
I’ve always been amazed at the different ways in which people can be scared. There’s the “shock” factor which a lot of horror movies utilize, science-fiction, etc. One thing for me is a certain image. Take, for instance, that scene in The Ring with the girl in the closet. Remember that? Or in The Shining with the a man in a dog costume. Scared the hell out of me. Psychological horror, I guess, is what I’m saying does it for me. I get that others might not feel the same way. But any good movie will evoke some sort of emotion and if it doesn’t, likely its failed in what it was attempting to do. Cregger seems to understand what makes people scared and makes movies that capitalize on it. Hey, more power to him. I won’t say that Weapons is the scariest film I’ve ever seen, but it’s enough to make you look over your shoulder every now and then, you know…at 2:17 in the morning.
Video: How’s it look?
This one’s a bit tricky. As we might expect, this is a new movie and as such – we’d expect nothing but the “best.” We get that…sort of. This isn’t a crystal-clear looking image. In fact, it’s got some scenes in it that had me scratching my head about how, uh…”ho hum” they looked. But once it sunk in that that’s how the movie was supposed to look, it made more sense. It’s a dark film, to be sure. The 2.39:1 HEVC 4K encode amply presents the film as it was intended. Just don’t expect a lot of rainbows and bright blue skies, OK? Having said all that, the detail is, by and large, gives a clear image for most of the scenes. The dark sequences, of which there are many, look pretty good though I found a few blips here and there.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The Dolby Atmos mix serves its purpose. We’ve got all the obligatory caveats here with some atmospheric sounds, ample use of surrounds and things that (literally) go bump in the night. Vocals are pure and sharp, no complaints at all. I found that the surrounds were a lot more active than I’d have thought, though considering the subject matter I don’t know why I was at all surprised. It’s a good, solid mix that’s sure to please. I had no complaints.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Director Zach Cregger: Making Horror Personal – Zach Cregger unravels the intricate origins of Weapons. In this insightful exclusive, he details the initial sparks of inspiration that ignited the project, revealing how elements of his own life experiences found their way into the film’s core.
- Weaponized: The Cast of Weapons – An ensemble piece showcasing the stark personalities and combative dynamic between the different characters, as well as the motivations that lead them down the path of mystery, conflict, and death.
- Weapons: Texture of Terror – Maybrook, a seemingly perfect town, harbors a darkness that runs deeper than its charming façade. Tom Hammock, along with key cast and crew, delves into the intricacies of designing the terror that grips this unsuspecting community.
The Bottom Line
I think Weapons is a bit more than the sum of its parts. There are some genuinely disturbing/unsettling scenes in the movie that made me squirm. I got over it, though. The underlying message is that Cregger clearly has a knack for this sort of thing and people love him for it. Warner’s disc is a bit light on supplements, but otherwise fits the bill nicely.
