'Weapons' Had A Great Premise, But Something Was Missing
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Note: Contains Spoilers
When the trailer was released, Weapons promised to be a horror film delving into the “weird and wicked” side of the horror genre. A plot centering on a classroom of missing children, Weapons had the potential to dive into the trending true crime sub-genre with its use of security footage of the children running away to an unknown location, interviews of the children’s parents, and news stations covering who the parents believe to be the primary suspect: the class’s teacher, Justine. Given that much of the film focuses on the adults turning on Justine, writer-director Zach Cregger does an amazing job at depicting the fear and helplessness of the adults. However, once it’s clear how and why the children disappeared the original premise of the film becomes lost.
When the missing children are discovered by James, a transient addict previously released by police officer Paul, the audience’s expectation is that James (and later Paul) will provide answers to such an unusual premise that occurred in their town. Unfortunately, both succumb to the “supernatural” influence afflicting the school children. Yes, there was still more screen time for the movie, and the lack of knowing what fate will befall the newly discovered children lead filmgoer’s minds to freely “make whatever associations might arise.” According to Variety, “the community’s reaction suggested the painful aftermath…as parents look for answers, consolation and someone to blame, in roughly that order.” Without any clear answers, parents of the children form their own answers, valid or otherwise, bringing the audience with them. It’s a real-life dive down a rabbit hole. A rabbit hole turned real-world conspiracy coming together because of a “Mary Poppins’ satanic stand-in”.
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Image Source: The Direct
Aunt Gladys’s appearance in the second half of the film added to the already growing unease and tension of the film. As such, her being brought into the latter part of the film had to be memorable and tie the events of the film together. The way she moves and talks makes Gladys a memorable and distinct character. According to The Direct, Gladys’s use of witchcraft to possess Alex’s classmates and his parents “rejuvenates” her. Previously on the verge of death, the life force of the possessed children and catatonic state Alex’s parents are in allow Gladys’s power to go unchallenged. Had this been the primary focus parallel to the disappearing children, Weapons could have more run time to explore Gladys’s background in witchcraft. Thus, the introduction of witchcraft in a film based in true-crime-style reality creates a confusing atmosphere.
Children running down the street with eerily outstretched arms is an unsettling image bound to remain in viewers’ minds long after the film’s end. In an NPR film review, Cragger “shows how horror manifests not just in dark hallways and creaky basements, but out in public, in the bright light of day.” Turning “the quintessential American Anytown” from a “pretty and idyllic” town into a future crime scene makes the events of the film consistent. The teacher whom the parents assume to be the perpetrator only makes their suspicions valid the harder she tries to prove her innocence. Just as the children are trapped by Gladys, Justine is trapped by the town’s people, attacking her both physically and psychologically. People by nature are confined only by societal niceties; when confronted with a situation where there are no answers but “close enough”, “close enough” becomes easier than “actually is”.
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The sinking feeling of being trapped in a world where the adults are too busy playing the blame game with the one person trying to give them answers at the expense of her own safety is a common and reliable premise for horror movies. Weapons is so rooted in reality to the point where it had the unique opportunity to make just the people the monsters without falling into the realm of witchcraft and supernatural forces. It’s only when Justine’s life is in real danger (with no one coming to her rescue when she’s attacked by school principal Marcus while under Gladys’s spell) when the most vocal of the parents of the missing children, Archer Graff (portrayed by Josh Brolin), takes her pleas seriously and assists in her investigation. The attention is back on the children, but the film took too long to bring that back into focus. The time spent on James and officer Paul teased viewers into them being the answer to solving the mystery only to pull the rug out from under them.
A great addition to the horror genre, Weapons was regarded by Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent as a film with an “atmospheric” feeling where its dive into the realm of witchcraft made its audience feel “misled” as to what the film entailed. Based on the film trailer, Weapons was a promising mystery and suspense. No “big, scary monster” reveals or jump scares and the addition of a child narrator framing this as a “true story” reveals just enough to entice without spoilers. Ironically, a spoiler might have been needed to prepare the audience for the “big, scary monsters” that were Aunt Gladys and the parents of the missing children. Not to mention, the identity of the child narrating the events taking place was never identified. All the viewer knows for sure is that it is not Alex. Many questions have yet to be answered. Perhaps Zach Cregger intended to leave it up to film goers to draw their own conclusions—Aunt Gladys could be a witch just as much as a random nobody just messing around with dark magic for fun, Justine’s class was targeted for a reason or no reason, the children were weapons meant for some greater purpose or mere life forces for someone else. Different endings for different viewers.
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Sources: The Independent, Variety, NPR, The Direct, YouTube
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