Weapons Review: an extraordinary fusion of horror and humor

Weapons, directed by Zach Cregger, is a horror film destined to make cinema history, just like The Exorcist, It, and The Substance did. A few days ago, this incredible story achieved a perfect score of 100% on the influential website Rotten Tomatoes, and it truly deserves it.

Weapons tells the story of a group of children who all disappear at the same time, 2:17 AM, on the same night. Only one child escapes this collective disappearance, and their teacher is suspected of being involved in the tragedy. From that moment on, the community of Maybrook works to uncover this terrible mystery.

The film stars Julia Garner, Josh Brolin and Alden Ehrenreich. They are some of the ones in charge of transmitting to us every emotion that occurs in the story.

With a running time of 2 hours and 8 minutes, this horror film provides an immersive experience that masterfully blends fear, humor, and drama.

A gripping horror story

The community in Maybrook, shaken and filled with uncertainty, begins searching for the missing children. However, what initially appears to be an isolated mystery quickly unfolds into a series of intertwined stories that reveal the suffering, guilt, secrets, and traumas of an entire community.

Justine Gandy, the children's teacher, played by Julia Garner, is not as perfect as she appears, but it is clear how much she cares about what has happened to her students, being the first to want to investigate it. This will lead to a series of shocking discoveries that bring her story into conflict with those of Archer, one of the grieving parents in the class (Josh Brolin); Paul, a local police officer with whom she shares a past (Alden Ehrenreich); James, a drug-addicted thief; Marcus, the school principal; and Alex, the only child in her class who has not disappeared.

Through various characters and narrative threads, the film creates an emotional and supernatural puzzle that reveals the darkest aspects of human nature. In this way, each character acts as a piece of the puzzle, generating continuous psychological tension that tests the audience.

Weapons presents a story of mounting tension that fragments as it progresses. The film begins with a strong impression, establishing an unsettling atmosphere and a vague threat that deliberately confuses.

Dark humor emerges in the most surprising moments: a line, a change of scene, or a narrative choice that seems inappropriate but turns out to be just right. Cregger not only knows how to create tension, but also how to release it at just the right moment so that the audience feels both fear and laughter. Sometimes it is difficult to know which of the two emotions comes first.

The ending, which is at once absurd, brilliant, and disturbing, transforms the climax into a delicate balance between the grotesque and the sublime. It is a daring maneuver that does not clear up all the mysteries, but in this case, it is completely justifiable. This is because black humor is what gives it its special personality. These touches of cynicism, rather than breaking the tension, intensify it, as if the film encourages us to laugh in the face of emptiness while dragging us toward it. Furthermore, with its audacity to occupy its own space, the film does not settle for simple scares, which can provoke laughter on their own, but creates a world that challenges the viewer to interpret its intentions while immersing themselves in its atmosphere.

The director enjoys interacting with his audience thanks to a script designed in such a way that it always makes you question new things and think about how certain moments will be resolved, keeping you interested at every moment as you wait for the answers you so desire. It all culminates in a shocking ending that includes one of the most memorable scenes filmed in an American neighborhood in recent times, being as funny as it is terrifying.

Conclusion

The narrative structure of Weapons takes a remarkable and bold step forward that proves effective. Throughout the plot, this extends widely to all the characters, each having their own moment to reflect the film's perspective.

The most fascinating aspect of this concept is how each character—the pupil, the father, the police officer, the teacher, and the principal—faces the terror of the unknown with their own tools, knowledge, and circumstances. This allows for an extensive and detailed representation of the individuals who appear on screen, without shying away from the violence, madness, and scares typical of the horror genre in any of the stories.

In conclusion, it can be said that Weapons has two superpowerful keys to success: the insane humor manifested in derisive situations and an impressive ending sealed by originality.