PREMISE
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
THE GOOD STUFF
GARNER – If you’re even remotely familiar with the show Ozark, you may have already come to understand that her performance as Ruth Langmore is borderline iconic. The kind of icon that you usually can’t shake when you make your transition into film. She won three Emmys for that role, has endless quotable moments, and was the best part of an absolutely all-time classic show. Not to mention that the show didn’t end too long ago, she’s still maybe known as Ruth to most people. That may be changing soon enough. Quite literally, every leading movie role she has had since that show ended has turned out to look like the performances of a leading lady. Almost as if OZARK was the farm system to a star that is going to be much greater down the road.
This is a film told in chapters, so although this is clearly a leading performance, she doesn’t need to carry the movie. However, that doesn’t diminish how easily she carries the film when she’s present. One can see the two horror movies she was in this year (the other being THE WOLFMAN, released in January) and think that there’s some aspiring to be a scream queen. And that is so not what’s happening in either of her performances. She brings profound depth to this, making this a character we root for rather than someone we expect to die.
THE INTRICACY – Unexpectedly, this is a very multi-layered film with numerous moving parts. Many films that employ this kind of storytelling often end up with plot holes that even casual filmgoers will notice, but not this one. I’m not saying that there aren’t any plot holes, but this film is diligent in its efforts to explain everything you see. Nothing feels rushed; everything that has a payoff feels like it also had a decent buildup. It’s a plausible explanation for the longer-than-expected running time.
AMY F******MADIGAN– What an incredible performance this is. A performance so incredible that immediately upon leaving the theater, I had to hit Wikipedia to see what the hell else she’s been in. In my search, I came to realize that during the 1980s, she apparently was one of the more venerable character actors of that decade, even receiving an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actress in 1985 for a movie called TWICE IN A LIFETIME. She’s been doing TV and stage for the past umpteen years, flying WAY under the radar. I couldn’t even say that I hope she does more things, because she’s really active out here, just not in films like this, unfortunately.
Not to say that this film didn’t give off a sense of menace before her character shows up at the end of the second act, but the thing about really special film villains is that they change the course of everything. No matter how dark this film is until her arrival, when she arrives, things instantly become a lot more grim and stay that way throughout. This is not only the best performance in the film, but it is undoubtedly the best cinematic villain in 2025 thus far.
THE BAD STUFF
ALDEN EHRENREICH– Ehrenreich is not a bad actor by any means; he’s just not doing anything dynamic in a film with plenty of dynamic things going on. Ehrenreich, as a performer, has always had this problem. He does have the tastemaker, appearing in really good projects all of the time. It’s getting to the point where, if I see his name above the title of something, I kind of trust that the something has weight to it. However, when I see that just the same, I can guess with a fair share of accuracy that he’s going to be the most mundane and tedious part of the thing that he’s in. This isn’t the ” hit the restroom when he’s on screen type of energy, but it’s close.
THE EXTRA STUFF– As mentioned before, this is a movie told in five intricately laid out chapters. As impressive as the storytelling is in these chapters…. A lot of it didn’t need to be here. This is a 2-hour and 10-minute movie that could have been 1 hour and 40 minutes shorter. Of those five chapters, there are two that do not need to exist. Well, 2.8 chapters, if we’re being honest. There’s a kitchen scene that leads to a gas station scene that is essential for the story to be told. Still, otherwise, you can throw that whole chapter in the garbage. The characters that the unnecessary chapters focus on are introduced in the first chapter of the film, and their motives and backstories are briefly yet plentifully displayed in that first chapter. Also worth mentioning is that the last chapter is a whole movie unto itself, separate from anything else that’s going on, and in itself, a three-act short film.
I know I’m being harsh when I say this, but I’ll say it anyway. I admire this movie for getting away with what is quite possibly one of the cardinal sins of screenwriting. If you’ve ever really gone through a screenwriting class of any sort, you’ll hand in a copy of a draft of something that you feel very impassioned about. The teacher will review it and essentially tell you that if you don’t meet a specific page count or certain plot points aren’t fully realized by page 13 or whatever, then your script is absolutely subpar. This is a movie that proves that those theories are wrong.
I couldn’t help but notice how much extra material there is here that doesn’t advance the plot at all. And I couldn’t help but think as I watched this that if this script had been written by literally anybody teaching someone about screenwriting, the main notes back would be that there’s too much story, therefore it’s horrible, and cut 30 pages of it.
THE UGLY STUFF
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Although there are messy parts to it, this still belongs among the top 10 movies of the year so far. It’s entertaining on all levels, has a high rewatchability factor because there are so many layers to it, the performances are remarkable, no matter how unnecessary they may be, and this is the type of movie that proves that 2025 is, in fact, a year where mainstream horror films are having quite the moment.
It is movies like this that will likely spawn numerous mediocre spin-offs and sequels. When that happens, we will come to appreciate this one for what it is —a breakout hit worthy of the hype it is receiving.
WEAPONS is in theaters now
