Movie Review: Weapons

4 stars out of 5

Three years ago, I was quite taken with Zach Cregger’s off-kilter horror flick Barbarian. This summer, Zach is back with Weapons, and he’s once again playing with the horror formula. He sets things up with a strong conceit: Julia Garner (who I last saw in Wolf Man) is a third-grade teacher in a sleepy suburban town. One night, every kid in her class — except one — vanishes. Distraught parents want to know, where are they? Why just Julia’s class? And what’s up with this one kid?

I won’t reveal Cregger’s twist but it absolutely keeps things interesting. Meanwhile, we also get Josh Brolin whose single focus becomes retrieving his son, including getting those big town-planner maps. Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story; Hail, Caesar!) is amusing as a police officer who keeps shooting himself in the foot — not literally, but almost. Doctor Strange’s pal Wong is the school principal. Austin Abrams (Brad’s Status) is very funny as a burnout. Justin Long from Barbarian has a cameo. And Amy Madigan is good and creepy in a villainous role.

Scare-wise, this doesn’t reach the heights of Barbarian. But Weapons is continuously compelling, often quite humorous, and has a delightful climax. Bonus points for Cregger co-composing the score, and for whoever hired indie harpist of the moment Mary Lattimore to play on it. Weapons is fully loaded.