One of the most engrossing and entertaining films of the year, Weapons (directed by Zach Cregger) deftly blends small-town horror with fairytale charm, weaving intersecting narratives towards a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.
Set in the quaint town of Maybrook, the story kicks off with the disappearance of seventeen children—all of whom suddenly run away from home at 2:17 am in the night.
As the authorities struggle to unravel the mystery, community tensions rise—and Cregger’s choice of framing the plot through multiple viewpoints lets the audience slowly piece together the clues and come to their conclusions about the townspeople.
While used to great effect in the horror/thriller genres, Weapons isn’t the first film to utilize interconnected storylines to create a compelling narrative.
1950 saw the release of Rashomon, a magnificent movie directed by Akira Kurosawa that narrated the tale of a murder from four viewpoints, thereby emphasizing the unreliability of witnesses.
Widely considered a classic, the film’s storytelling device was christened the “Rashomon Effect”. From unreliable narratives and intersecting plotlines to psychological thrillers that mess with the mind, we bring you some more engaging films that you’ll definitely enjoy if you loved Weapons.
Monster
Like Rashomon, Monster is also a Japanese film and easily a modern classic. And like Weapons, it also centers on a disturbed child and explores societal norms and attitudes in an extremely engaging fashion.
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, the film is framed via three crucial flashbacks—from the points-of-view of the mother, the school teacher and the child, respectively.
Engaging, poignant and ending on a note of heartbreaking ambiguity, Monster is a movie that is best enjoyed when you know as little as possible about its story or themes.
Pulp Fiction
A cult classic, Pulp Fiction is a crime extravaganza that’s mesmerizing not just for its violent, action-packed sequences and dynamic banter between characters, but also for its non-linear narrative.
Just as Weapons focuses on key interactions between interrelated characters and switches points-of-view effortlessly, Pulp Fiction goes a step further and narrates the story out of sequence, thereby encouraging the audience to put the pieces together.
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, and starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman in lead roles, the entire film is one heck of a rollicking ride.
The Last Duel
A majestic historical epic, The Last Duel (directed by Ridley Scott) follows the knight Jean de Carrouges who challenges a former friend and squire to a duel to the death over allegations that he’d raped the knight’s wife.
Like Rashomon and Monster, the film is told from the perspectives of the three main characters—all of whom provide slightly different accounts of what exactly had happened.
Extremely compelling and thrilling, The Last Duel is gruesome and gorgeous in equal measure, with a vividly realized medieval setting, and featuring Ben Affleck, Adam Driver, and Jodie Comer in lead roles.
The Handmaiden
You know that moment when you’re watching a pretty good film and you seem to have a pretty good idea on how it’s going to end—and then, there’s a twist you didn’t see coming that completely flips the film on its head?
Well, the Korean film, The Handmaiden, is one such film that will keep you guessing till the end—and leave you feeling completely satisfied.
Adapted from the novel Fingersmith by Sarah Waters and directed by Park Chan-Wook, the film transposes the book’s original Victorian settings to Korea under Japanese rule, and explores a tale of deception, forbidden romance and trauma recovery in a deeply engaging fashion.
Gripping from beginning to the end, The Handmaiden bristles with queer eroticism and political tensions.
Magnolia
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Magnolia is a charming mosaic film that follows a set of characters in San Fernando Valley, navigating relationships, familial ties and the search for happiness.
Brilliantly constructed, deeply moving and with a particularly memorable performance by Tom Cruise, Magnolia is the perfect choice if you’re looking for an enthralling and thought-provoking watch.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
The initial aspect of what makes Weapons so compelling is, of course, the baffling mystery of its premise. How can seventeen children, all seemingly healthy, suddenly get up and run away at the same time?
Picnic at Hanging Rock, directed by Peter Weir and based on the book by Joan Lindsey, also deals with a baffling disappearance and unlike Weapons, doesn’t try to give any clear answers.
It follows a group of schoolgirls and their teacher who go on a picnic to Hanging Rock on Valentine’s Day—and some of them inexplicably disappear, never to return. Sensual and suffused with sapphic undercurrents, Picnic at Hanging Rock promises to be a rather haunting watch.
