Weapons Breaks New Ground When It Comes to Kids in Horror

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At 2:17 AM in Maybrook, Penn., the parents of Justine Gandy’s first-grade class are unaware of where their children have gone. Neither the police nor the Ring cameras mounted on several houses in the neighborhood can locate them, although footage does show kids running through front doors and into the early morning darkness. No further evidence or hints about the children’s whereabouts or intentions remain behind. In a heartbeat, they were sound asleep in their beds; the next moment, they had vanished without a trace or explanation.

In the second film by director Zach Cregger, known for his work on “Barbarian,” titled “Weapons,” we find the story set in the aftermath of a mysterious mass vanishing. The community’s reaction is intense and emotional, with grief-stricken parents becoming fearful and accusatory towards Justine, who is indirectly a victim herself. Their anger clouds their judgment, allowing a real danger to persist unchecked within their midst. Throughout the movie’s duration, Cregger cleverly reveals the truth bit by bit, offering viewers an all-seeing perspective of events as they unfold, similar to contestants on a game show reaching into a mystery box: one moment it might be a harmless mouse, the next a frightened chinchilla, and then a terrifying tarantula. This metaphor illustrates how uncertain and unpredictable the situation is for each character in the story.

Instead of what we usually anticipate, the monster created by Cregger bears a resemblance to Pennywise the Dancing Clown from Stephen King’s It, as adapted by Andy Muschietti in his two-part series, but its methods of operation are significantly different. This monster is central to a story that falls squarely within the child-focused horror genre, where children either punish their parents or are manipulated to do so, or serve as victims for an otherworldly predator that adults struggle to control.

These films, such as “It”, “Kids vs. Aliens”, “The Innocents”, “Skinamarink”, “Speak No Evil”, the 2024 remake of “James Watkins'”, “Cobweb”, “There’s Something Wrong with the Children”, “Everyone Will Burn”, and “When Evil Lurks”, tap into a common theme: the fear and concern about the safety and well-being of children, often arising from perceived failings in parental protection. In today’s world, it seems we’ve struggled to keep our young ones safe from harm, and these horror movies exploit this sensitive nerve.

Among these, only a few conclude with what could be perceived as optimistic tones; stories about young ones triumphing over their tormentors often come with warnings or qualifications. Similarly, the movie “Weapons” follows suit in this genre, refraining from providing immediate relief after causing audience distress through its blend of dark humor, deep sorrow, and expertly executed jump scares.

In his second stint as a solo director, Cregger has carved out a unique niche for himself by using established norms as comic relief. To clarify, his initial directing venture was the comedic sex film “Miss March,” a collaboration with the late Trevor Moore, both being members of the New York City comedy group The Whitest Kids U’Know.

“Weapons” showcases Cregger’s dualistic approach: it is simultaneously bleak, nihilistic, confusing, and terrifying, yet also humorously, empathetically, and ultimately optimistically engaging. While optimism in horror often feels meager, we appreciate what we get. In comparison to “Skinamarink” and particularly “When Evil Lurks,” the top representation of the “kids punishing parents” genre from the past decade, “Weapons” offers a banquet; there’s enough light in the climax to dispel some darkness, although Cregger slightly dims the lights to keep the entire picture shrouded.

Even after the movie ends, it remains unclear what the fate of Gladys (Amy Madigan, chilling with her overpowering sweetness), the villain who orchestrated the children’s abduction and subsequent violence, will be. It is uncertain how they will fare once freed from her control, despite the reassuring voiceover from Cregger’s unnamed narrator (Scarlett Sher) suggesting that some of the kids manage to recover from the catatonia inflicted upon them by Gladys. We don’t know where or how she learned her dark arts, or why she did what she did, or if anyone might search for her. In other words, we are not entirely convinced that the children will truly be okay. The film, Weapons, does not leave room for speculation about potential future events when the credits finish rolling. Cregger ensures the movie’s standalone nature, so there won’t be a sequel like Weapons 2. (Let’s hope there isn’t; if there is, they could title it Weapon$.)

In this narrative, I find myself distancing from the typical movie endings, such as “When Evil Lurks,” which could as well be titled “When Evil Prevails.” As the story unfolds and nears its conclusion, it’s brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodríguez) and Jimi (Demián Salomon) who are miraculously spared by the very entity they’ve been pursuing throughout the film. Their survival serves as a testament to both the entity’s emergence and their own regrettable mistakes-mistakes born from a lack of swift action, disregard for common sense, and failure to heed advice, particularly that of experts.

In this fictional world crafted by Rugna, where demons exist and possession is considered a public safety concern similar to house fires or burglaries, it’s understood that slaying a host possessed by an evil spirit could potentially spread the spirit’s influence like a contagion. However, in the heat of the moment, Pedro and Jimi seem oblivious to this common understanding.

The destructive chaos they create through their lack of wisdom serves as a symbol for the next generation’s assessment of the current one, and that can be summarized as “When Evil Lurks“.

Fear, in a more comfortable way of phrasing, can be seen as a fluctuating factor on an emotional spectrum. The things we fear, the intensity, and the timing can change daily, hourly even. It could be as simple as realizing you’ve left the swim goggles at home when packing for a day at the pool, or as overwhelming as imagining worst-case scenarios like a bus accident, heat stroke, or an unexpected violent incident at your child’s daycare. In essence, fear is that constant “what if” that lingers in our minds.

The inherent uncertainty that comes with parenthood is reversed in the film “Weapons.” Maybrook’s children have experienced something, but instead of questioning ‘if’ something happened, there’s an immediate focus on ‘what.’ Archer Graf (Josh Brolin) knows his son left home along with his classmates, as depicted in the movie’s opening scene, a pre-dawn escapade that, without context, seems liberating and almost joyful. However, the film is far from joyous, though we do revisit a sense of that freedom in the finale when Gladys’ spell is lifted and Justine’s class chases her, wild and screaming, like an enraged pack of hyenas demolishing lawns, breaking through windows, and tearing down fences in their pursuit.

Before these children encounter Gladys, it’s evident that she has employed dark sorcery to prolong her life, as she is terminally ill and kidnapping the children alleviates her illness. The specifics of how this works are left unexplained, and rightfully so – it’s magic.

Unlike other films such as When Evil Lurks, which entrust adults with resolving the problem, only for them to bungle things up, Weapons assigns this responsibility to young individuals, or at least one – Alex (Cary Christopher), Gladys’ nephew and the sole student in Justine’s class who wasn’t taken. He has been unwillingly serving Gladys, who holds his parents captive with her magic, using their lives as leverage if he disobeys.

In the chaotic finale of Weapons, Alex employs Gladys’ magic against her, reclaiming what she had taken from him – his mother, his father, and his friends – in a just retribution.

In simpler terms, Catharsis refers to experiencing a sense of relief or purification when witnessing a powerful, corrupt individual like a wealthy businessman or influential politician face justice for their wrongdoings, as symbolized in the movie “Weapons”. Unlike other horror films where evil often triumphs, “Weapons” offers a somewhat ambiguous victory, considering the loss of lives involved, even that of Gladys. However, the way Cregger’s characters manage to overcome adversity in this film sets it apart from similar movies with a dark and unique twist.

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2025-08-09 05:06