The beauty of Zach Cregger’s Weapons is that by the time it’s all over, you no longer have any idea what it’s about. That may not sound like a virtue, but in a world where horror comes either overloaded with metaphor or reduced to bloody piffle, Cregger valiantly navigates an unnerving middle way. He feints at all sorts of greater meanings — and maybe even indulges them a little bit — before sending things in a charmingly ridiculous direction. Is Weapons scary? It certainly has its moments, and the oblique structure enhances the gathering dread. But more than anything, it’s a twisty-turny hoot.

The premise comes preloaded with allegoric potential. One quiet Wednesday morning, every student in a single class at Maybrook Elementary fails to show up at school. Surveillance footage and ho

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