After a blip last month in which one of us missed, the Delmar Dads Movie Club was back last night with a full roster of our three founding members. It was Paul’s turn to choose, and this guy is on a winning streak. We saw Weapons, the kind of horror/mystery/thriller type film I would never choose, but am glad that he did.
Weapons has one of those far-out concepts: what happens to a community when all but one child from the same elementary school class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time?
The film is cleverly structured in a nonlinear format and tells the story through segments that overlap and feature a key character. The teacher, Justine, played by Julia Garner (Ozark), is first up, and she’s a suspect because all the missing kids are from her class. We cycle through the other point of view characters: one of the vanished children’s father, Archer, played by Josh Brolin; Paul, a local cop and former romantic partner of Justine; the school principal, Marcus; a local homeless fella and drug addict, James, who insists he saw the missing children; and Alex, the only child from the class who didn’t disappear, and whose home becomes the center of attention when his elderly and eccentric aunt appears on the scene.
The pace is brisk., the camera work exceptional, and the acting first rate. I especially appreciated how crisp scenes of realistic drama—for instance, a bar scene where Justine meets her old lover Paul again; or a community meeting where anguished parents plea for answers—are woven seamlessly with the supernatural. The effect is convincing.
Since this film is grounded in horror, there are a few requisite jump cuts and some minor gore.
Two quibbles. The runtime is 2:08, which is neither long nor short, but the film felt a little long. I think this is less a reflection of my attention span and more due to the writer and director not making every scene count. A little clipping in the editing room might have helped. Also, the title. I have no idea why it’s called Weapons. It’s a turn-off title that makes no sense at all.
Overall, I recommend. 4/5 Stars!
