Zach Cregger has done it yet again! The director returns with his latest horror epic Weapons. Barbarian was the splash that brought Cregger and his demented visions to the mainstream. I believe Weapons is going to be the film that cements him as a visionary here to stay. The film is led by an all star cast featuring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Benedict Wong, Alden Ehrenreich, and Austin Abrams.

Cregger showcases the fear a community feels when something unexplainable and out of their control happens. This is all heigtened more with the fact that it happens to young children. How does a community begin to even begin to heal when they just want to understand and get answers? The shared grief and shock that Weapons presents in its first hour are truly its strongest part. You really feel for everyone involved here.

The film is beautifully lit and with some very peculiar set designs as well. A character in particular stands out so much and of course is done so intentionally. Theres something eerie and off which is portrayed by the flash and bright colors in contrast with the gloom surrounding the town. The scares are also built off pure atmosphere and dread especially in the first half of the film. There’s just so much that can be done with quiet and each of the characters have their sort of realm in which they reside that just fits their personality. It’s small details like this which help bring a full picture and idea of who these characters are. You’re able to build a case and find out how you feel about them and not come up with preconceived notions. I was so transfixed as well by the way Cregger is able to give these characters a true human feel. All of them could have fallen to the pitfall of stock characters but instead feel whole.

Weapons has a simple premise but is presented in an epic and elaborated manner. What happened to 17 kids from the same class that all went missing at 2:17 AM? You’re asked this question right at the beginning of the film and a wild ride takes you to the answer. We don’t follow one specific person throughout the film but rather multiple people across a couple of days. Weapons is one of those movies that decides to give you multiple roads that all lead to the same conclusion. This presents the film in a fragmented way with each piece giving us a clearer picture of what’s going on. It makes for a fun adventure at the beginning but can feel a bit too cyclical towards the end. We’ve seen this be done with other films and it works but to me it was the weaker part of this film.

Weapons will continue to cement Cregger as a true visionary and voice that is needed in film. However, I wasn’t as blown away or convinced as I was with Barbarian which was truly exhilarating. Cregger takes big swings and tries something that is nothing short of epic here. The multiple storylines all weaving together to bring us the answer was brilliant. I’m just not convinced the payoff was as strong or will remain engrained as it did with Barbarian. All in all, I do believe Weapons is one of the best films of the year and probably a definitive film for the decade. I’ll continue to be excited to see what Cregger decides to do next.