Weapons

this is why we come to this movies. delicately plotted, masterfully directed, and ridiculously tense throughout. i found myself literally grabbing my armrest frequently throughout the film. cregger is so shifty as a writer, and it’s impressive how deftly he keeps you as a viewer off of his trail. never once did i fully know where this movie was going, but i was completely enthralled every step of the way. this is maybe the most jam-packed 2 hour and 9 minutes long movie i have ever seen in my life. i’m still remembering things that happened that i briefly forgot about. the narrative rollercoaster is well complemented by a cast who are all excellent in their roles (including actors/characters who i had no idea where in this film from the trailers). much will be made of how this movie pays off its central mystery, and i think that it’ll be this summer’s longlegs where people are disappointed by the seeming simplicity of the answer. i feel as though the third act as a whole is going to be a topic of scrutiny, as it takes maybe the biggest detour in narrative direction and momentum imaginable in a film full of detours in narrative direction and momentum. however, i feel as though what cregger rolls out in the film’s closing act is so integral to the film as well as important to a large part of american culture, specifically the fears we have both for our children and as children. the conclusions he ultimately comes to really moved me, especially for a film as unsettling and bizarre as this one. while this is more complicated than “horror,” this is the modern epic that it’s being billed as, and truly proclaims cregger as a filmmaker whose films cannot be missed on the big screen.