Children in horror can often feel overused, but the way this film uses the trope is both innovative and unsettling, with many moments of uncanniness that were very effective in creating a sense of dread.
One of Weapons’ standout elements is its nonlinear, multi-perspective storytelling. The film is set over a few days from overlapping viewpoints, and I particularly liked how these perspectives interconnected, revealing different facets of the same events and emphasising ripple effects throughout.
Although Cregger’s Barbarian (2022) attempts some social commentary, Weapons, on the other hand, effectively examines some key themes, although its true meaning remains ambiguous. In my opinion, Weapons explores how systemic failures across society create tragedy, and we instinctively scapegoat individuals when this happens.
Justine, the class’s teacher, becomes the town’s scapegoat after the education and police system fails to protect her, and is branded as a witch and blamed for the chaos. This mirrors real-world tendencies to target individuals rather than confront systemic dysfunction.
Paul, the policeman, represents institutional complicity; his struggles with alcoholism and violence highlight a corrupt system that excuses wrongdoing to maintain its own appearance of control.
Archer, a father confronting the consequences of his own parenting, embodies generational cycles of violence and guilt. In this way, he is not just a flawed man but someone whose failure reflects the inability for families to break free from masculinity and control.
Gladys, the witch, is both the literal antagonist and metaphorical representation of these parasitic and flawed systems, draining vitality from her victims. The children, particularly Alex, symbolise the next generation – the only ones capable of recognising and confronting systemic failure.
Although I liked the character of Gladys, my only critique of Weapons is that once she was revealed, the central mystery in the plot lost a lot of intrigue, and the remainder of the film was executed in quite a straightforward and flat way.
That said, I appreciate the originality of Weapons and feel it successfully critiques topics relevant in society today, suggesting that adults often ignore systemic failure, while children are left to dismantle the very structures that have endangered them. The film’s ending, in which the children actively confront and destroy Gladys, embodies the necessity of the youth in confronting the failures of others. In the end, Weapons reminds us that the most terrifying forces are not just supernatural, but the systems we rely on and the neglect that we choose to ignore.