WEAPONS : Tuesday 12th August 2025

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'WEAPONS' earlier this week, and this American mystery horror film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Scored by Zach Cregger, whose prior feature film making output are 'Miss March' in 2009, 'The Civil War on Drugs' in 2011 and the critically and commercially successful horror thriller 'Barbarian' in 2022. The film was released in the US and here in Australia last week, cost US$38M to produce, has so far grossed US$101M and has garnered universal critical acclaim.

The film opens with a young child narrating the story of how seventeen children from Justine Gandy's (Julia Garner) third grade elementary school class all run from their homes in Maybrook, Pennsylvania and disappear into the night at exactly 2:17 AM. Though only one child, Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher) from the class didn't vanish, Justine herself counts as one of two people from the classroom who didn't, and so a months long Police investigation begins, but to no avail. It is from this point on, that the story gets interesting as the narrator (Scarlett Sher) says. 

Approaching a month after the disappearance of the children, and following a very heated meeting with the school community with all relevant stakeholders including Justine, Principal Marcus Miller (Benedict Wong), and the local law enforcement, Marcus places Justine on compulsory leave, as the local townsfolk and parents of the missing children suspects her involvement in the children's disappearance. 

Depressed and anxious, she turns to vodka and seeks comfort from her ex-boyfriend, local Police Officer Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich). Meanwhile, Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), a local property developer and the father of one of the missing children Matthew (Luke Speakman), struggles with his sons disappearance and, frustrated by the Police's seemingly ineffective investigation and glacial progress, commences his own. 

Concerned about Alex's well-being, Justine seeks authority from Principal Marcus to visit Alex just to check up on him, as a friendly familiar face that he might confide in. Marcus flatly denies her request and tells her to keep well away. However, she follows him home and observes that all of the windows of the house are covered in newspaper. Banging on the door and making her presence known, she creeps around the back of the house, and through a small opening between the sheets of newspaper, sees Alex's parents sitting completely motionless on the couch. She tells Marcus and insists he perform a wellness check. 

Later that night Justine and Archer have separate dreams about the missing children and a strange woman with clown-like make-up. Justine revisits Alex's house to stake it out, but as night time comes falls asleep in her car. Alex’s mother (Callie Schuttera), walking in a stilted manner and carrying a large pair of scissors, exits the house and enters the car through an open back door and cuts off a lock of Justine's hair, and then disappears back inside the house.

James (Austin Abrams), a local homeless drug addict who supports himself by pawning stolen items, breaks into Alex's house in the pouring rain seeking shelter, thinking it is abandoned, where he finds Alex's parents sat on the couch and the missing children in the basement, all in a catatonic state. After spotting a poster for the missing children promising a US$50K cash reward at his local pawn shop, he goes to the Police station to report his findings. However, Paul, who threatened James following an earlier altercation, in which the Police Officer pricked his finger on the needle of a syringe concealed in James's pocket fearing AIDS, hepatitis or some other nefarious virus, spots and chases him. James runs into the woods, where he becomes disoriented and sees the woman from Justine and Archer's nightmares. Paul catches James, who in attempt to gain favour with Paul says he knows where the missing children are located and offers to split the US$50K reward with him. Paul drives to Alex's house to investigate, leaving James handcuffed in the patrol car. Hours later undercover of darkness, Paul returns to the car and drags James into the house kicking and screaming.

Marcus is visited at school by a mysterious heavily made up woman wearing gaudy clothes - Alex's eccentric aunt, Gladys (Amy Madigan), who claims to be the family's caretaker after Alex's parents have fallen ill. Marcus insists he must meet with Alex's parents. The next day, being a Saturday, Gladys appears at Marcus and his husband Terry's (Clayton Farris) home claiming she missed the bus and had to walk all the way to their home and that she is distressed, exhausted and needs to talk to Marcus. She performs a ritual with a stick from a potted tree that she carries around with her, and a lock of hair she cut from Terry's head, and with a small bell hypnotises Marcus into violently killing Terry by head butting him multiple times until his skull caves in. 

She then orders Marcus to kill Justine. Marcus attacks Justine at a petrol station, interrupting an argument between her and Archer, who does what he can to defend Justine. She narrowly escapes in her car, with Marcus frantically running after her. Archer giving chase in his pick-up truck sees Marcus being fatally struck by a car travelling at speed through an intersection killing him outright with his brains spilled out all over the road. That night, Justine and Archer reconcile their differences after coming to the conclusion that the children were running toward Alex's house.

It is subsequently revealed that Gladys is in fact a dying witch posing as Alex's aunt, who can subdue people and weaponise them against others, using personal items from her subjects and a lock of hair from any target of her choice. After entrancing his parents, Gladys ordered Alex to keep her secret and threatened to murder his parents if he disobeyed her, saying that she can turn them against each other, and even make them eat one another if she so chooses. Gladys instructed Alex to gather one item from each of his classmates, and a desperate Alex complied after she promised she would leave once recovered. Using the personalised name tags Alex stole from his classmates' individual storage boxes, Gladys cast a spell on the children, drawing them to Alex's house at 2:17 AM and keeping them in the basement in order to feed off their life-force and extend her own longevity.

After maintaining a kerb side vigil outside Alex's house to see if there are any movements or developments Paul appears at the front door and motions for them to enter. Upon entering to investigate, Justine and Archer are attacked by Paul and James, both now hypnotised. James relentlessly attacks Archer, and Paul has Justine pinned up against a kitchen cupboard with both his hands around her neck. Justine is able to wrest Paul's gun and first shoots him through the throat and then cleanly through the temple killing him outright. James by now has the upper hand over Archer, as Justin appears from behind and unloads a single bullet straight into the back of James head. Searching for Matthew in the basement, Archer encounters Gladys, who enchants him into attacking Justine. 

Chased by his parents, Alex enters Gladys' room and copies her spell using hair from Gladys' wig. The possessed children suddenly chase Gladys out of the house and through the neighbourhood, smashing through windows, doors, fences and upending furniture as they go until they catch, dismember, and decapitate her, breaking the curse and snapping all of her living victims out of their trance. Justine searches through the house for Alex finding him cradling his parents in his arms and Archer follows the trail of destruction left by the rampaging children until he comes to a house, and in the front garden are the children looking down on the blood stained grass and what remains of Gladys. Archer reunites with a seemingly catatonic Matthew. 

The narrator explains that Alex moved out of town to live with a kinder aunt after his parents were institutionalised. The children were all reunited with their parents, though only some have started to speak again.

With 'Weapons' Writer and Director Zach Cregger  has crafted a taught and tight horror offering that proves that he is no one trick pony after the critical and commercial success of 'Barbarian', and at the same time has delivered us one of the best original and inventive films of the genre this year. The film masterfully blends dark humour, with a few jump scares, psychological horror, mystery and a chilling and interesting premise that will keep you fully engaged for its 128 minute running time. And the performances by the principle cast are all top notch, but particularly from Garner, Brolin and young Cary Christopher who all bring a sense of angst and immediacy to their roles. Told in perhaps for the genre, a non-linear fashion, this film sets the standard by which others will be judged, and if you have to see one horror movie this year, make it this one.

'Weapons' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

THE FANTASTIC FOUR : FIRST STEPS - Tuesday 29th July 2025

I saw the PG Rated 'THE FANTASTIC FOUR : FIRST STEPS' this week at my local multiplex, and this American action adventure Superhero film is based on the Marvel Comics Superhero team The Fantastic Four. It is the 37th film in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and is the first film in Phase Six of the MCU. This is the second reboot of the 'Fantastic Four' franchise, with the first two films coming in 2005 with 'Fantastic Four' and its sequel in 2007 'Fantastic Four : Rise of the Silver Surfer' both Directed by Tim Story, with the first reboot coming in 2015 with 'Fantastic Four' this time Directed by Josh Trank. Those first three films in the series grossed a total of US$803M at the global Box Office from combined production budgets of about US$350M, although the 2015 offering tanked both commercially and critically, resulting in a planned 2017 sequel being removed from the production schedule. This film is Directed by Matt Shakman in only his second feature film offering following 'Cut Bank' in 2014, although he has Directed numerous episodes of TV series since 2002 right up until 2023. The film was released in the US last week too, has grossed so far US$250M from a US$200M production budget, has generated largely positive critical reviews, and a sequel is already in the works.

We learn early on that this film is set on Earth 828 and it is 1960 when Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), his wife Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), his best friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Sue's younger brother Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) begin a mission into outer space, during which they are all exposed to cosmic rays. Upon returning to Earth, they all have new found superpowers with Reed assuming the mantle of Mr. Fantastic and can stretch any part of his body to great lengths. Sue becomes the Invisible Woman and can generate force fields and turn invisible. Ben, as The Thing, whose skin has been transformed into a layer of orange rock, granting him superhuman strength and durability, and Johnny as the Human Torch can control fire and fly. 

Collectively they become the Superhero team known as 'The Fantastic Four'. Four years later, the team have become celebrities and are highly regarded as the world’s protectors, engaging in philanthropic and diplomatic efforts through the Future Foundation, which was established by Sue Storm and which has achieved global demilitarisation and peace. One evening over a family dinner, Reed and Sue reveal to Ben and Johnny that they are expecting a child.

The Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives on Earth and declares that the planet has been marked for destruction by Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a gigantic planet-destroying God-like cosmic being - the sole survivor of a dead universe that existed before the creation of Earth-828. Reed studies the disappearance of other planets to verify this claim, and the team decides to find Galactus before he comes to Earth. 

They track the Silver Surfer's energy signature and use faster-than-light (FTL) travel to reach a new planet. As they arrive, the planet is destroyed by Galactus's ship from the inside out, and the team is captured. Galactus reveals to them that he has a voracious hunger which has driven him to consume planets for millennia. He senses that Reed and Sue's unborn child has enormous cosmic power and would be able to take on Galactus's hunger, which he has grown tired of and wants to be free. Galactus offers to spare Earth in exchange for the child. The very thought of this induces Sue to go into labour. The team naturally refuses and escapes from the ship. They are followed by the Silver Surfer, who destroys their FTL system. They use the gravity from a black hole to delay the Silver Surfer in hot pursuit, and slingshot themselves back to Earth. Sue gives birth to a boy whom she names Franklin, on the way. 

The Four (sorry, now five) return to Earth a month later. Reed speaks of their encounter during a press conference. Their decision to save one child over the billions of other people on Earth leads to a public outcry, with many calling for Franklin to be sacrificed to Galactus. Johnny begins to decipher the Silver Surfer's native language, using his interactions with her, and some deep space transmissions Reed intercepted from her planet, and others that Galactus destroyed. 

As Galactus approaches and protests against the Fantastic Four escalate, Sue takes Franklin to meet with a large crowd of protesters outside their HQ - the Baxter Building. She explains that they will not sacrifice their child, but they will also not give up on the rest of humanity. Using a teleportation system that he has been working on, Reed devises a plan to build large teleportation bridges across Earth so they can transport the entire planet to another solar system where Galactus cannot reach them. Through the Future Foundation, Sue rallies the world's nations into building the bridges in every major city, and in rapid time, while conserving the energy ultimately needed to power them up.

With Galactus arrival imminent, Reed activates the bridges across the globe. As they are almost fully activated, the Silver Surfer returns and begins destroying them. Johnny and Ben stop her from destroying the last bridge in Times Square. He uses her native language to identify her as Shalla-Bal which catches her off-guard. She explains that she chose to become Galactus's herald in exchange for his sparing her world, Zenn-La. Johnny plays transmissions from the planets she helped Galactus destroy, and Shalla-Bal flees. 

Using Franklin as bait, the team plans to lure Galactus to the last bridge and teleport him away instead to a galaxy far far away. But, they only have 37 seconds to do so from when the portal first opens up to when it closes. Sue negotiates with Harvey Elder aka Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), a former enemy turned ally of the Fantastic Four, to evacuate the citizens of New York City to his underground city of Subterranea. Galactus makes his way through the city and captures Franklin, avoiding the team's bridge trap. 

Sue uses all of her power to push him towards the portal with a force field while Reed rescues Franklin. Johnny attempts to sacrifice himself to give Galactus a final push into the portal, but is stopped by Shalla-Bal. She pushes Galactus in herself, and the portal closes behind them. Sue dies from her supreme efforts, and is grieved over by Reed where she fell. Reed places Franklin on her chest, and she is revived. As she holds Franklin close, Sue comments to Reed that their son is more powerful than the two of them. The world celebrates their victory. 

Remain in your seat for a mid-credits scene set four years later, which sets the tone for the next time we'll see the Fantastic Four in 'Avengers : Doomsday' set for release in December 2026.

I have to say that I went into 'The Fantastic Four : First Steps' with fairly low expectations given the previous instalments, but came out having been pleasantly surprised. Positively, the fact that Marvel have decided to not go for the traditional origin story but instead have cast this Superhero team as fully formed and globally accepted heroes from the get go is a plus, as is the departure by Marvel to set this film in a futuristic retro 60's style aesthetic. And to this end the costume design, the set design elements, the production values and the music score all compliment each other. This film also has an underlying message of parental love, the ties that bind a family together, the sense of teamwork that exists between the four and the larger global community, and an unwavering feeling of hope and optimism that will conquer even the darkest of days. The principle cast have all been well chosen for what they individually and collectively bring to their roles, and they all seem to bond well as Marvel's 'first family of Superheroes' with each given their own time to shine and contribute to a package that is greater than the sum of its parts. Whilst the plot follows fairly traditional beats, the ending where good thwarts evil against the odds is all too predictable and our team of Superheroes live to fight another day, here Kevin Feige and the guys at Marvel Studios have delivered us probably the best entry in the MCU in recent years, and that's a reassuring turns of events from a studio that had appeared to have lost its way.

'Fantastic Four : First Steps' merits four claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-