Embedded Files
By: Ava Marino
Via: Letterboxd
What would you do if your whole class disappeared overnight, leaving only one kid left with no explanation?
The movie “Weapons,” directed by Zach Creggor and released early August, starts with 17 children in third grade from Justine Gandy’s class disappearing at exactly 2:17 a.m., running with their arms out into the night. The only people from that classroom who didn’t disappear were the teacher and one student named Alex Lilly. Alex is a quiet kid who does not say much. Justine tries to talk with Alex to get behind the disappearance of the children, but he doesn’t budge; therefore, Justine does some snooping to soon find something disturbing going on that she will investigate with a parent of one of the missing children.
The third-grade teacher, Justine, is getting blamed for all of this happening. Viewers soon see her getting heckled by the children's parents, who want an explanation of why, out of the whole school, only students in her class have disappeared. They think she is behind it; the town turned with chaos towards her.
During this 2-hour and 8-minute movie, Creggor uses long silences and disturbing scenes to keep viewers engaged . This film alternates between many overlapping perspectives, so viewers can understand how they put together the mystery of the 17 disappearing children. There is fear, paranoia, and secrets that make people wonder what happened to this chaotic town.
The running children pose at 2:17 a.m. was when the 17 children bursted out of there house running into the night with there arms stretched out kinda making a “T” stance. This was based on the “Napalm Girl” photograph from the Vietnam War; Creggor liked the unsettling image to make you wonder why they are running like that. Where are they running to? How long will they run like that for?
Via: Wherever I Look
The movie title “Weapons” came about because they are using the weaponization of people; instead of using knives or anything like that, they are using rituals to “weaponize” people. According to “The Hollylwood Reporter,” Creggor’s inspiration to write this screenplay was the sudden passing of his friend and collaborator, Trevor Moore. This film is Creggor’s own experiences with loss,personal grief andalcoholism.
I went to the Macedonia movie theater and spent quite a lot of money on beverages and snacks. My ticket was $10, which is pricey for a movie ticket, but the movie was enjoyable. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the movie earned a score of 94%Similarly, according to the Google User Rating, it earned 7.8/10.. My personal rating for this rated R movie is 9.5/10 I loved how we really got to see everyones story, it really shaped it all together. I felt like I had some sort of connection towards Alex that suprised me in a way. There is nothing that I didn’t really like about this movie I just felt as if something was missing, I needed an explanation towards the ending about the characters motivations and that the story didn’t seem fully developed; I need more answers about certain things.
In the end, “Weapons” is more than just a thriller/mystery; it also shows emotional relationships between the children and their parents. The uneasy setting of the neighborhood, layered storytelling, and perspectives leave the audience with questions that have not been answered. The main idea of this movie is that weapons aren’t the guns or knives; they are found within us.
Overall, it was worth the price and a very good movie experience. I would watch it again; I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good thriller and mystery.
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