There was a lot of positive buzz earlier this year when Weapons made its way to cinemas. I sadly missed it, but the film recently dropped on HBO, just in time for Halloween. I’m a bit iffy when movies are very hyped up, especially in the horror genre, as I find they rarely live up to the hype. Did Weapons deliver or let me down? Let’s find out.

Written, directed, co-produced, and co-scored by Zach Cregger (Barbarian), Weapons is more of a mystery thriller than it is a traditional horror. There are horror elements present here, but I wouldn’t say watch this movie expecting a full-blown horror picture. But if you’re into urban legend-style stories, then I think this will be up your alley, as it was mine. Weapons opens up with the mysterious disappearance of seventeen children from the same elementary school classroom, who all vanished at 2:17am on the same night. They all awoke and ran out into the night, with their arms behind their back (somewhere between an airplane run and a Naruto run). What follows is a non-linear story, with various chapters presenting the mystery and setup of events, all told from different points of view. The movie is presented almost like an onion, so to speak, peeling back the layers bit by bit as we learn more about the characters and the larger mystery by gaining information from each of the protagonists. It’s this presentation that really makes the movie, as we’re slowly given nuggets of information that slowly reveals the main plot. The various POV characters are also never redundant to one another, so even when we see some scenes again, most of the movie is fresh information that reinforces and complements what came before. That said, by nature of the “onion” being peeled away, I do wonder how this movie will fare on rewatch, as most of the appeal is watching it unravel for the first time. Once you know the mystery, I’m not sure the movie will be as impactful.

Helping bring that story to life is an ensemble cast, including Josh Brolin as Archer, father of one of the missing children, Julia Garner as Justine, the teacher of the missing classroom and the natural chief suspect among the community, Alden Erenreich as Paul, Justine’s ex and a police officer, Benedict Wong as Marcus, the school’s principal, Austin Abrams as James, a homeless drug addict, Cary Christopher as Alex, the only child from Justine’s class to not go missing, and Amy Madigan as Gladys, Alex’s aunt. Everyone does a really great job, but in particular, I’d say Garner and Madigan shine the most.

The cinematography and editing in Weapons are fantastic. The camera is almost always moving within the space; there’s very rarely a static shot. We’re always creeping through this world via tracking shots, slow zooms, and pans that all feel clever and well-placed. There’s good thematic elements too on display, chiefly from the trauma, grief, and distrust that plague a town, resulting in people quickly latching onto scapegoats to fit the narrative that best serves them at that given moment. Many of the characters in the movie are deeply flawed too, which only contributes to the complexity of the narrative. Weapons is also oddly funny at times, delivering some unexpected laughs which, shockingly, never compromise the rather dark story of missing children. Abrams, as James in particular, is quite funny, despite his situation as a homeless junkie being anything but.

So on this first watch, I really liked Weapons. It pulled me into its suburban mystery efficiently and topped it off with some unexpected humour and a sprinkle of horror to round it all out. I would recommend it for fans of suspense thrillers, urban legend stories, and character-driven stories about grief. Give it a watch if you have the means to, especially if you meant to watch it in cinemas but didn’t, as I did. It’s definitely worth it.