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<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to Real Reviews, where we break down the

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<v Speaker 1>latest in film, one frame at a time. Today's feature

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<v Speaker 1>is an unsettling, atmospheric mystery horror entry from writer director

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<v Speaker 1>Zat Craiger, who made waves a few years ago with

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<v Speaker 1>his breakout genre hit Barbarian. Now with Weapons, he ups

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<v Speaker 1>the ante, taking us deeper into psychological horror and emotional

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<v Speaker 1>trauma while crafting a genuinely compelling story that leads more

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<v Speaker 1>questions than answers in all the right ways. Let me

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<v Speaker 1>set the scene. One night in a quiet suburban neighborhood,

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<v Speaker 1>Seventeen children, all but one from the same classroom, suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>rise from their beds, walk out of their homes, and

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<v Speaker 1>vanish into the night, no warning, no sound. They all

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<v Speaker 1>move with eerie synchronicity, their arms extended like airplane wings,

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<v Speaker 1>spreading towards something or away from something, and just like that,

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<v Speaker 1>they're gone. The next morning, the town is in shock,

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<v Speaker 1>parents are frantic, the media is circling, and at the

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<v Speaker 1>center of the mystery is Justine Gandhy, played with raw

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<v Speaker 1>vulnerability by Julia Gardner. She's the children's teacher and the

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<v Speaker 1>only adult closely tied to all of them, who didn't

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<v Speaker 1>lose a child. Immediately the suspicion falls on her. She

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<v Speaker 1>becomes the emotional lightning ride for a community in grief,

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<v Speaker 1>and she begins to unraveled under the weight of guilt, confusion,

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<v Speaker 1>and paranoia. But Justine's not the only one searching for answers.

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<v Speaker 1>Archer Graft played by Josh Brolin, is a grieving father

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<v Speaker 1>whose son is among the missing. He's not just mourning,

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<v Speaker 1>he's on a mission, and as the film progresses, his

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<v Speaker 1>obsession with uncovering the truth brings him face to face

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<v Speaker 1>with Justine in ways that neither of them could have predicted.

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<v Speaker 1>Now here's where weapons really impresses. Craiger just doesn't really

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<v Speaker 1>rely on gore or cheap thrills. Instead, he crafts an

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<v Speaker 1>elegant horror mystery that plays like a slow motion panic attack.

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<v Speaker 1>Think The Leftovers meets Magnolia with a Rashaman style storytelling

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<v Speaker 1>instructure that shift's perspective, allowing each character to peel back

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<v Speaker 1>another layer of the truth, or at least what they

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<v Speaker 1>believe is the truth. It's a narrative ructure that demands

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<v Speaker 1>your attention and rewards it. We get haunting performances from

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<v Speaker 1>the ensemble cast that includes Alden Einrich, Benedigu Wong, Amy Madigan,

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<v Speaker 1>and June Diane Raphel, each of them playing characters that

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<v Speaker 1>walk the line between vulnerability and suspicion. But as Carrie Christopher,

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<v Speaker 1>the young actor playing the lone child left behind, who

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<v Speaker 1>delivers one of the film's most surprising performances for a

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<v Speaker 1>child actor. With only a handful of credits, he showed

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<v Speaker 1>us much of the emotional weight in the second and

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<v Speaker 1>third act, and he does so with haunting stillness and

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<v Speaker 1>heartbreaking clarity. Weapons is also noteworthy for the absence of

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<v Speaker 1>the usual horror movie cliches. Characters don't make stupid decisions

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<v Speaker 1>for the sake of plot advancement. They act out of grief, guilt,

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<v Speaker 1>and fear, all of which organic, and when the film

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<v Speaker 1>leans into more surreal and supernatural moments, it does so

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<v Speaker 1>without breaking the emotional reality it's built. This is a

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<v Speaker 1>film about more than just missing children. It's about how

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<v Speaker 1>grief distorts reality, how guilt fractures identity, and how sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>the scariest moments are the thoughts we try to outrun.

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<v Speaker 1>And here's a bit of backstory. Weapons reportedly ignited a

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<v Speaker 1>bidding war across Hollywood before it was even produced, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's easy to see why. Craiger, flushed from the success

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<v Speaker 1>of Barbarians, wrote a script that was described as both

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<v Speaker 1>a horror epic and a personal film. New Line Cinema

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<v Speaker 1>shelled out a reported thirty eight million for it, with

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<v Speaker 1>Craiger earning final cut, privileges a rare deal in today's

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<v Speaker 1>studio system. You can feel the creative freedom in the

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<v Speaker 1>film's It's bold, thoughtful, and most importantly, it's not afraid

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<v Speaker 1>to be ambiguous, to let horror them from what we

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<v Speaker 1>don't know, what we can't understand. So if you're looking

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<v Speaker 1>for something that lingers after the credits roll, a horror

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<v Speaker 1>film that doesn't just try to scare you, but wants

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<v Speaker 1>you to sit with the discomfort, Weapons should be on

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<v Speaker 1>your radar. It's a chilling, intelligent, and emotionally grounded mystery

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<v Speaker 1>that confirms that Kraiger is one of the most interesting

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<v Speaker 1>horror filmmakers working today. I gave this film an A minus.

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<v Speaker 1>Weapons opens in theaters this week. Don't sleep on this one.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Tim Gordon and until next week peace. I'll see

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<v Speaker 1>you guys next week. Up