I do love a good, proper horror film that puts a bony, creepy hand of unease on your shoulder. With a strange mystery and growing sense of distrust at its heart, Weapons appears to be just that – and going by the trailer, it will scare the bejasus out of us too.
Critics are claiming director Zach Creggers is paying homage to Stephen King with his latest horror. It certainly feels very Stephen King-y. An ordinary teacher (the brilliant Julia Garner) comes to school one day to find her classroom completely empty and her pupils vanished. The distressed parents and assorted angry townsfolk immediately get all suspicious – why just her class? But the truth is altogether more strange and terrifying as we find out what happened to these children.
Psychology researcher Edward White describes the film as a psychological nightmare that serves a twisted exploration of human behaviour. White points to the concept of Social Identity Theory that posits the human brain is wired to divide the world into “us” (good people) and “them” (threats), and things tend to escalate when humans are afraid.
