"Weapons" begins with an anonymous voice-over from a young girl, presumably a third-grader, who recounts the story of 17 third-graders who ran from their homes at 2:17 am right out into the streets. Nobody knows why and the kids all had their arms outstretched while running. Where did they run to and why did these students leave from only one specific class? Aspersions are cast on the teacher, Justine (Julia Garner), and many of the concerned, angry parents are certain she had something to do with it. Unable to teach, Justine starts drinking again and calls her ex-boyfriend to meet her (someone also vandalizes her vehicle with the word "WITCH"). One angry parent who wants answers, Archer (Josh Brolin), discovers odd details in ring camera footage and gets a town map where clearly the kids all ran to the same destination. The questions linger. And what about the one solitary student, Alex (Cary Christopher), who attends Justine's class - why didn't he run from his house?
The beauty of "Weapons" is that it is so damn intriguing, so uniquely strange and so damn entertaining and spooky. I have seen enough movies to show someone alone in their house hearing knocks on their doors. It is easy to scare the audience with intricate sound design where the knocks sound louder than they would in real life. When it happens to Justine, we fear that the parents are coming after her and that would be a real potential threat. Her nightmares of some clownish face appearing on her ceiling (don't expect the mad clown from "It" - this is not that kind of movie) are indicative of something but we don't know what that is. Archer has similar nightmares so we think there's a kinship but what does it entail?
There are many surprises in "Weapons" and one of the neatest is the rare casting of Amy Madigan in a horror film (apparently she's appeared in two horror films in the past) - she plays the sickly great aunt of Alex. I cannot reveal much of her role but she is completely unrecognizable, wearing colorfully garish wardrobes, smeared red lipstick and fiery red hair. The underrated Alden Ehrenreich appears as a married cop who used to date Justine and is trying to stay sober. His attitude towards his job seems to be nonchalant until he runs into a young homeless drug addict. And we cannot leave out a brief solid turn by Benedict Wong as the principal of the school who needs to talk to Alex's parents - the cheerful great aunt will not do. And major kudos to Josh Brolin, an increasingly fantastic and subtle actor, who brings true urgency to his role and to the proceedings. Julia Garner should not go unnoticed as the defamed teacher who tries to remain calm amidst wrongful accusations. She also does her own investigating of Alex and his home. Garner's Justine never begs for sympathy, only for understanding of her present uncontrollable situation.
"Weapons" is disturbing and scarily prescient, focusing on family trauma and possible tragedy in a small Pennsylvanian town as it relates to current problematic ills in our own times. I can't say too much without spoiling it so, suffice to say, protect your own kids at all costs.
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