At 2.17am in Maybrook, Pennsylvania, seventeen children from the same class simultaneously wake up and run away from home. Only their teacher Justine Gandy (Julia Garner) and a boy named Alex Lilly (Cary Christopher) arrive at school the next day. After thirty days of the school being closed as investigations take place and no closer to understanding what happened or where the children are the community must move forward with the school reopening.

Weapons is the sophomore film from writer/director Zach Cregger who made the superb Barbarian and as with that film he has created another horror movie that keeps you guessing for quite some time before laying its cards on the table. This time though his film is far more of a mystery than an out and out horror. Despite a few moments of gore and a couple of jump scares this film’s enjoyment is about how it unfolds its brilliant central mystery.

After opening with its central mystery and a community meeting where angry parent Archer Graff (Josh Brolin) confronts head teacher Andrew Marcus (Benedict Wong) about what exactly went on in Justine’s classroom the film switches to vignettes from specific characters viewpoints. It is this storytelling device that makes its mystery so satisfying and engaging.

We begin by seeing Justine’s perspective. A teacher who loved her children, now under fire from the community, receiving death threats and sliding back into alcoholism whilst trying to try and find out what happened. Then we have Archer Graff, a father whose life is slipping away from him as he struggles with the grief of losing his son. Sleeping in his child’s room, not able to communicate with his wife and making mistakes at work. He despises Justine for what he thinks she may have done, but still has the same objective as her. Police Officer Paul Morgan (Alden Ehrenreich), also a recovering alcoholic and friend of Justine has a run in with a local junkie named James (Austin Abrams) who lives in a local park. Both of whom find themselves privy to information that is unwittingly important and connected to the wider mystery. Head Teacher Andrew Marcus who is desperate to just keep his school from being raked through the muck has to make the difficult decision to suspend Justine and also investigate her claims about the welfare of the singular child who did not run away from home. Which of course leaves us with Alex, a once happy boy who finds himself the centre of an investigation into what happened to his classmates.

Ultimately it is the weaving together of these characters storylines that creates a hugely satisfying and absorbing mystery. All of the characters feel incredibly well drawn with small touches that tell you lots about them, my particular favourite being the Head Teacher’s matching Mickey and Minnie t-shirts that he shared with his partner.

Personally the only drawbacks that I have for this psychological horror are that firstly it is not really scary in any visceral way. Yes the story is dark and downbeat, but there is nothing here that will have you on the edge of your seat and holding your breath from a horror standpoint. So make sure you refocus to the idea that this is more of a mystery story with an undercurrent of horror. And secondly, that the explanation to what happened, whilst satisfying struggles to live up to the fascination of the interlocking vignette stories that lead to it. You can search for deeper meaning here and there are options to discuss, but ultimately there is a straightforward A to B story fully told and explained.

Weapons is a good follow up feature to Barbarian, although I think it is a very different beast that cements Cregger as a horror writer/director to keep your eyes on. His next film is another reboot of the Resident Evil franchise, something that seems like it might fit quite well.