Film Review- "Weapons"

This film, brought to you by Zach Creggar, who made the 2022 film "Barbarian," goes with a different shade of creepy for this one, that is still dark enough to kick off the Halloween season. The promotion of the film kept things vague, you know, kids go missing.  Bigger-name actors flourish in this film to create an interesting character study that is woven together in a fashion not unlike something  M Night Shyamalan might do, but it was not saved for the twist at the end. 

The occult nature of the antagonist is very effective, with the villain falling somewhere between "Longlegs" and "Heredity" in scope of creepiness. The title in some ways fakes you out.  The violence is well-paced, and don't go in the basement moments while plentiful are done in a manner that makes sense. The characters, even when supernatural flavors surface, are all very real-feeling. There is frame framework to magic which I can appreciate rather than just a magic can do anything plot hole. 

The writing is the real star, the characters are a well-balanced mix of straights rather than 2-d stereotypes. None of the casting or personality of said characters seems forced; everything flows naturally. When shit hits the fan and gets chaotic, well, suspension of disbelief has already been established enough for it to not be a jarring left turn. So far it's one of the year's best horror movies, perhaps not the scariest but one of the most engaging stories to escape into. 

the Top 10 Horror Movies of 2022

The key to horror is it has to somehow make me feel uneasy. Just gore is not enough, though there is one movie that made this year's list that really pushed gore to an absurd level. With streaming services, now providing original content it shakes things up and most of these movies are from overseas.  I think you can tell a great deal by society when it comes to the type of horror being consumed. After the pandemic I think we see people are afraid of everything, including old people, men, clowns, and things that are just not there. Surprised not more diseased based, though two did make the list. 

These might not be the movies that got the best Rotten Tomatoes score, though they all did pretty decent, nor are the most popular as the most mass marketed movies tend to be for the lower common denominator. If your favorite movie is not on the list, it is not because I did not see it as a saw most horror movies that graced small screen and the inner webs this year, it because in some cases your favorite movie was unimpressive or trying too hard, in other's well it was not that scary. So, these are movies that proved to engaged me in some way more than the other horror movies not on this list. Here are the top ten horror movies of 2022.

10-the Invitation

Being hungry for vampire movies I was eager for anything of any quality. This movie delivered it until the rather absurd ending, which is why did is receiving the bottom spot that is more of an honorable mention, but even with it's terrible ending it is better than the rancid Halloween Ends or the tedious boredom of Nope!. 

9-Terrifier 2

The reason this movie did not rank higher is while it fixed some of the issue of the first film, the first film might be better as the mood is more unhinged as it takes itself more seriously where this movie found the franchise beginning to conform to the horror tropes.  

8-Moloch

This Dutch film follows the folk lore of the peat bogs in another darker take on the folk horror genre. Very well made and possessed by a creepy atmosphere it relies less on formula and unwraps the character in the unveiling of its mythology. 

7-X

This TI West movie played off many of the slasher tropes we have seen before but given an enough of a new slant to feel refreshed. Old people killing off the young, is not a novel concept this year and maybe a guilty perspective for those who were calling Covid Boomer Doomer. Naked old ladies were the most disturbing part of this film. 

6- the Sadness 

Anytime I read someone on Facebook say that a movie is triggering, then I know it is for me. This was hyped as being extreme and over the top in it's shock value, but I found it to be just what horror movies should be.

5-Mandrake

This could fall under folk horror as witchcraft play a big part along with pagan belief systems, but it is darker and uglier than most of the movies that get that label. A witch gets out of prison to prove the town that was afraid of her right. Some urban legends turn out to be true. No one is safe in this movie which I appreciated immensely. 

4-Old People 

Netflix movies continue to prove themselves to be as legit as anything else coming from the major studios. This German film is surprisingly well done, the fact a virus made these old people go violent is understated and it comes across more like they were pulling a Twisted Sister and just not gonna take it anymore. Where this movie wins aside from the spectacular camera work is the build to pay ratio. Age is something that is given a terrifying new twist in this one.

3-Incantation

This movie from Taiwan is especially disturbing to me as a child is in peril for the bulk of the movie. The mother makes terrible decisions. Her past haunts her in the present as much as the ghosts and it's the emotional strings this movie manages to pull that make it unsettling. Anytime the story defies the normal Hollywood expectations it's a win in my book a well.  

2- Barbarian

This movie was very well written and fakes you out with the twist and turns it takes before conforming to good fun horror at the end. Not the most original concept as it works in themes from movies ranging from "the People Under the Stairs', "the Hills Have Eyes" and "8MM" into something that becomes its own. 

 1-MEN

The most original film took the top spot. Sure, you can lump it into the 'folk horror" sub-genre and while it does involve remote country sides and pagan rituals, those things are not what pumps the blood into this bizarre unfolding of what you think is going to be socially driven message that is mocked while turned inside out, which is what horror should do. Rory Kinnear delivers the Oscar worth performance that feels like only he could have filled the role. It is beautifully shot and captures the right amount of atmosphere while staying about from tired horror tropes.     

Film Review: "Barbarian"

 

Zach Cregger has done a fine job establishing himself as a horror director with this film. Though a great deal of credit goes to the writers. The whole movie hinges on the "don't go into the basement" trope of horror but takes it a step further. The acting is also really great, which was needed in order to create the misdirection this movie thrives upon. There are story arcs that split off and come back together which enrich the story telling. The mood also gives you a sense of unease, which is more effective than blood and guts or jump scares.

In Hollywood these days, you have to know some of their politics are going to get involved and I think there is pressure to give in a go with the narrative that forms their identity and makes them feel like a vital part of their perceived culture. It is like reading the room through rose tinted glasses. The film does stay relevant to that, but in a manner that does not take side and shows other perspectives to topics like cancel culture, though they influence the story it is not what it all hinges upon but motivating factors to the characters. The unique voice to the story telling assimilates all of this.

In some ways it owes a great deal to 'the People Under the Stairs" , it is what they do not tell you and the direction you think this movie is going that helps seal the deal. The themes in play might not be new to horror, underground inbreeds, feels very Hills Have Eyes, but it is all in the telling and how this movie has an ending that happens fast, but brings with it the kind of bleak ness I want, as I hate happy ending, and prefer that people do not survive my horror movies. If you want practical effects, and an old school production feel to a new movie, then they have you covered here. One of the better horror films so far.