Weapons [Spoiler-Free] Review: Josh Brolin & Julia Garner In Creepy, Bonkers Missing Children Mystery

Weapons (M18)

Starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong, Amy Madigan

Directed by Zach Cregger

Zach Cregger’s follow-up to Barbarian, his nail-biting 2023 home-sharing cautionary tale, shifts the chills to a small town reeling from a bizarre phenomenon: 17 children from the same class mysteriously vanish one night.

The only clue left behind is video footage of them dashing out of their homes at 2.17am, flapping their arms and pretending to be planes. Who would’ve thought such an innocent image could feel this sinister?

Is there a Pied Piper luring them out? Clearly, there’s something supernatural at work (not a spoiler — the trailer hinted at it).

The publicity campaign does a good job keeping the mystery intact, which itself is a blast of fresh air. Any attempt to dissect the plot risks ruining the surprises, so let’s leave it at that. (I’ll let the folks at Geek Culture spill the beans — they love to over-write. Kidding. Not really.)

Jean-Luc Godard said a story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order, and Weapons is proof of that maxim.

It is one jigsaw puzzle of a movie; each piece told from the perspective of seven characters. Every segment pulls the curtain back a little further — and each one delivers its own shock and awe, slyly feeding the bigger mystery. And you don’t have to wait until the end for the big reveal — it shows up halfway through.

One nerve-shredding moment involves a shadowy figure breaking into a car, while another unfolds in a basement (and yes, if you’ve seen Barbarian, you know Cregger really loves his basements.)

The impeccable cast does a bang-up job of selling the trauma and confusion. Julia Garner — criminally wasted in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, buried under SPFX as the Silver Surfer (and is it just me, or did she look miserable during the press tour?) — finally gets something meatier to sink her teeth into as the alcoholic teacher struggling to process the tragedy.

Josh Brolin, as the father of one of the missing children, is a potential loose cannon who demands answers at all costs — ends up playing amateur detective. The bit about a cop — played by Alden Ehrenreich, fast becoming my favourite actor — is scary too but for a different reason.

The ending is bonkers and bloody, capped with a foot chase straight out of Point Break (the original, not the toothless remake). It’s one of those finishers that leaves you thinking, “What the hell did I just watch?” (3.5/5 stars) out in cinemas

Photos: Warner Bros Pictures

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Photos: Paramount Pictures

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Starring Eddie Murphy, Pete Davidson, Keke Palmer, Andrew Dice Clay

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Photo: Prime Video