"WEAPONS" strikes the perfect balance between visceral horror and psychological discomfort. The deeply unsettling premise stems from the simultaneous disappearance of nearly all the students in a class (except one) in a single night, without explanation, creating a constant tension in the narrative. Zach Cregger, in his dual role as director and screenwriter, creates a web of parallel narratives that intertwine with precision, proving emotionally powerful and insidious in its construction of mystery. The cast - especially Julia Garner as teacher Justine, Josh Brolin in a tormented fatherly role, and Amy Madigan as a sinister, mythical figure - infuses the characters with depth and dramatic intensity. The technical quality is on par with the performances: Larkin Seiple's cinematography imbues the most disturbing scenes with an almost supernatural light, while the editing pace maintains suspense without resorting to easy solutions. The film doesn't just scare; it makes us think, reflect, and feel the growing panic in the community it portrays. Overall, "WEAPONS" stands out as a sophisticated and ambitious thriller that goes far beyond conventional horror. Its approach, anchored in symbolic realism and imbued with metaphorical violence, stands as a social and psychological commentary on the contemporary climate of paranoia, evoking, without explicitly stating, echoes of real school tragedies. The tension builds organically and culminates in a brutal climax, yet consistent with the entire preceding development. It's a remarkable cinematic experience, one of those films that crush your mind and continue to resonate even after you leave the theater.

It’s a bit like a wheel with lots of spokes, this mystery. It starts with a scenario in which seventeen kids all get out of bed at precisely 2.17 am, leave their well-appointed homes, only to never been seen again. The cops are baffled and the parents are suspicious. Of what? Well, they were all from the same class of “Justine” (Julia Garner) and the only other pupil to turn up next day: “Alex” (Cary Christopher). What has she done with them all? What does she know? We start with a telling of events from her point of view, then next it’s the perspective of angry parent “Archer” (Josh Brolin) to weave his part of the web; then policemen “Paul” (Alden Ehrenreich); her boss “Marcus” (Benedict Wong) and then, finally, we get the perspective of the only “surviving” pupil who has recently welcomed his eccentric aunt “Gladys” (Amy Madigan) who is apparently on death’s door, and who seems somewhat distracted as he comes to school. Is that because his classmates have all gone awol or maybe he knows more than we think? To be honest, there’s not so much mystery here, but there are some solidly entertaining performances and for the first hour or so, quite a bit of intriguing menace too. The overlaying of each story takes us from similar timelines of the puzzle but never repetitively. Each one of these people has a demon of their own, they are connected to some of the others and not to others, and the whole unravelling process becomes more of a study of small time communities, attitudes and superstitions as it sort of shakes off it’s horror cloak and becomes something altogether more rushed and predictable. Garner, Christopher and Madigan deliver quite well, but Brolin is about as charismatic as a tent pole and as he starts to feature more in the denouement he does rather encourage you to hope that he goes the way of the missing kids. It’s very much at the better end of the genre from 2025 so far, but it still can’t sustain the mysterious “Pied Piper” sense of peril through to an ending that is hardly original.