Beware of Darkness
Film
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
You remember, Barbarian, right? It's the one where a woman books an Airbnb, only to show up at night and find a random guy (who is creepy, but also kind of attractive, and definitely still creepy) already staying there. And – rather than rage-messaging the host while leaving in her car – she shrugs and thinks, "Sure, why not stay anyway?" Turns out, the real problem isn't the double-booking turned meet-cute, nor is it the unfinished basement – it's that you're finished if you go down into that basement! Beyond some hidden corridor downstairs is a subterranean tunnel (it's a property with a ton of potential!) that leads you to the lady of the house and star of the show; ahh yes, the gigantic, naked woman – everyone just refers to her as "The Mother" – who, like any good host, insists on murdering some of her guests and/or breastfeeding the others. And yes, those seem to be the only two options. Barbarian was a blast to watch and a no-brainer recommendation for horror fans, especially those looking for something fresh. It was a mid-tier hit at the box office, but more importantly, a true word-of-mouth phenomenon that quickly became the most-watched film of that Halloween season. Its success launched writer/director Zach Cregger into the "I Cannot Wait to See What He Does Next" zone. His highly anticipated follow-up feature film, Weapons, premiered last week, and in case you're wondering or worried, yes, it is a fucking wild ride.
SPOILERS APLENTY
Much like Barbarian, Weapons is built around an undeniable premise. In the opening moments of the film, it is revealed that Justin Gandy's (Julia Garner) entire third-grade class mysteriously disappeared one night after they all ran away from their homes at precisely 2:17 AM without warning and without cause. None of the seventeen students have been seen or heard from since, well, except for one, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher), who is the only student who did not disappear that night. And that's all you really need to know going in (this is your final spoiler warning, seriously stop reading if you plan on seeing this for the surprises). Seeing the kids running out into the street in their pajamas with their airplane arms outstretched is eerily innocent. Or maybe innocently eerie. Either way, the imagery is utterly inexplicable – so disorienting, so unsettling, and yet, so beguiling. If this sequence was shot in black and white, I might've expected a pan to Rod Serling teeing up an eloquent opening line to an episode of the Twilight Zone. He might've said something like, "Maybrook, Pennsylvania – a town where children should be fast asleep in their beds, not vanishing without a trace. Seventeen disappearances, one survivor, and no one knows how or why. In these once quiet suburbs, innocence fades while paranoia grows, and a dark secret is soon to be discovered, the answer to which is lurking just around the corner. Tonight, we explore the shadows that reach beyond our understanding... in the Twilight Zone." Holy shit, now tell me that wouldn't have been awesome! What we ultimately get instead is as close to a perfect needle drop as one could ask for, which is queuing up "Beware of Darkness" by George Harrison. That's some textbook tone-setting if you ask me.
Slyly, Weapons sets the table for one meal while quietly preparing another. We've seen Cregger do this before, and because his act of misdirection is now something of an expectation, he has to operate with even more precision. Sub out the slow-burning tension of an Airbnb horror-romance and sub in the fallout from the children's disappearance, which is pulling the community apart by its seams. There are despondent parents, like Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), who are becoming increasingly frustrated with the police's lack of progress in the investigation and resort to blaming the students' teacher, Justine, despite not having a scrap of evidence. We learn that she's something of an easy target for this defamation based on her spotty reputation around town; the school's principal, Marcus (Benedict Wong), places Justine on temporary leave to get her away from the school and out of the public eye. There might be a deeper thematic subtext you could delve into here if you really wanted to, but digging too deeply sometimes leads to diminishing returns. It doesn't always pay to excavate through every inch of a filmmaker's intentions – creative choices are often better to be felt rather than spoken.
And because Cregger has a knack for serving up something that isn't on your typical menu, he builds suspense around the audience's fear of one thing while slowly but surely revealing the darker truths of what is actually happening. Rather than making this a more traditional character study that relies on Justine's point of view, the film is a series of vignettes carefully strung together. Everyone gets their own chapter, including the aforementioned Justine, Archer, Alex, and Marcus; but the audience also spends a lot of time with Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich), a troubled police officer who is entangled with Justine, and James, (Austin Abrams), a homeless drug addict and burglar who, unfortunately, finds himself in the middle of the action. This brand of nonlinear, serialized ensemble storytelling is ambitious (some might even say Magnolia-esque) and allows for a wider breadth of suspense, where specific occurrences are cleverly repeated and juxtaposed against the shifting perspectives of each character. These convergences, some silly and some scary, represent the strongest argument for why Weapons works extremely well from start to finish – for the most part.
By the way, I'm done getting into any of the plot mechanics – okay, well, almost done. At the risk of saying too much, I want to simply point note that Amy Madigan is in this film. That's it, that's all I'm going to say. Shit, that might've even been too much. Let's just say her performance is transcendent – talk to me offline if you want to discuss this topic further. Moreover, the cinematography is strong, courtesy of Larkin Seiple, best known for his work on Everything Everywhere All at Once; editor Joe Murphy, who also worked on Barbarian and is clearly a key collaborator for Cregger, does a fantastic job converging storylines and maintaining complete control over each scene's vibe and tempo; and the score, courtesy of Ryan and Hays Holladay, as well as Cregger (the balls on this guy... who does he think he is, John Carpenter?!) is deftly understated and atmospheric.
Now, if I'm being finicky, there were a few minor things that didn't totally click into place for me. While I found the shape of the screenplay ingenious, I can't say I was blown over by some of the almost prosaic storytelling twists. Maybe it was some clunky exposition or just a bit too much play time with the toys, I can't be sure. The shadow is almost always scarier than what's making the shadow, so once the pieces started to fall into place, I did feel my heartbeat subdue a half a step. Don't get me wrong, the literal ending is brilliantly executed, and I'm glad Cregger took the opportunity to tie up the loose ends by using them to strangle his audience until they're laughing and squirming in their seats. As you can feel the film coming to its close, I did appreciate how Cregger did not feel compelled to linger around any longer than necessary. Don't over-explain things; let the audience do the work as the credits roll. Keep it lean and mean and get out of your own way.
And like I mentioned earlier, most creative choices are better left undisturbed, if only to preserve them. What's personal to the artist about their art might translate into something different for their audience. As many of the characters abuse drugs and alcohol throughout the film, should we be surprised that Alex's completely inanimate parents might reflect the hardships Cregger experienced growing up? Based on some of his interviews, I don't think this is meant to be all that subtle. Do we need to know why a giant AK-47 floats above Archer's house and is never addressed? I think in many ways, we very well know what that image is meant to imply. Lastly, is it a coincidence that this film was released on the fourth anniversary of Trevor Moore's tragic death, Cregger's friend and collaborator, one of the founding members of the comedy troupe, The Whitest Kids U' Know? In my opinion, it would actually be weird if it were just a coincidence. Weapons is a great film, not because it isn't full of big ideas, but because it is careful not to overexplain them. Cregger not only has the instincts of a true auteur, someone with sharp wit and top-notch filmmaking chops, but he also knows how to show and not tell. Why pre-chew the food for the the audience when they're eating right out of your hands? Alright, I think I'm fresh out of food-related quips. Why are you still reading this?! Go see this on the big screen with a raucous crowd and try to forget all the spoilers I just spilled. And enjoy the nightmares.
Froth
You know what always plays? A weeknight horror movie. Seriously. Few things can power me through the doldrums of a 9-5 than having a pre-planned, midweek panic attack in the controlled and safe haven of a movie theater. How does this set up which beer I'm going to talk about? Your guess is as good as mine. You know what else always plays?? The Vienna lager from Dovetail Brewery is truly one of the best flagship beers in all of greater Chicago. With its solid malty and bready base (I think I've used bready in my last Froth section, too), this has a light sweetness with a delightfully dry finish. Despite it going down easy, the Vienna has character. If you haven't tried this already, you are clearly missing out.
