One Worth Seeing

When I think of the newer movies that I’ve screened in the basement lately, one stands out…
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I’ll admit that a lot of contemporary horror flicks don’t thrill me.   The most recent installments of some of the classic franchises (Texas Chainsaw and Halloween come to mind) have turned into gore-by-the-numbers dumbfests.   Newer concepts that generate a lot of hype (Black Phone, The Monkey) have fallen flat for me, and even good movies (X and Pearl) lead ultimately to disappointment (Maxxxine, a good movie but with a stunningly poor ending).  Every once in while, though, someone will pop out with one that really hits the spot for me, and Weapons by  Zach Cregger certainly did that.

For fear of spoiling some of the fun, I won’t talk a lot about the movie’s plot.  Suffice to say that the story is fairly complicated and it kept me guessing—generally incorrectly—as to what was going on and where the action was headed.   The story scores lots of points for originality.  It was refreshing, too, that Cregger clearly does not work from a “happy ending” checklist.  Some characters I expected to survive didn’t, some I thought would die didn’t, and although major problems do get resolved in the end there is not that forced closure bullshit some directors have tried to feed us lately (looking at you Guillermo del Toro for that over-tidy ending to your otherwise interesting Frankenstein).
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In addition to the strong plotting, some of the acting here is really wonderful.  Particularly nice are Julia Garner’s jittery school teacher and Amy Madigan’s oddball visiting aunt.  Their dynamic performances are crucial because they are playing well-drawn, complicated characters whose embodiment call for some real chops. 
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Most refreshingly of all, these all feel like real people.  The protagonists present a refreshing mix of flaws and failures while the villains themselves face nasty challenges that make their actions all too plausible.   If you like a mix of weird action and believable characters,  don’t miss this one. 
 

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