Tag Archives: Amy Madigan

2025 Films, Alden Ehrenreich, Amy Madigan, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Cary Christopher, Horror, Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, June Diane Raphael, Justin Long, Toby Huss, Zach Cregger

Weapons-2025

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Weapons-2025

Director Zach Cregger

Starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Amy Madigan

Scott’s Review #1,495

Reviewed October 5, 2025

Grade: A

Zach Cregger, who made his directorial debut with Barbarian in 2022, may have made his way to the big leagues with Weapons (2025), a highly original film rumored to have a follow-up prequel in the works.

One of his characters, the wicked Aunt Gladys (Amy Madiagan), is already becoming a household name and a potential Halloween costume idea.

The fabulous combination of tone, mystery, and genuinely frightening moments makes Weapons an edge-of-your-seat experience.

And who doesn’t find the disappearance of children a perfect horror premise?

Furthermore, the inclusion of chapters dedicated to each central character does wonders to retain the intrigue. Each character has a connection to others, making each subsequent chapter enthralling as viewers realize the connections.

Weapons is one of the best horror films I’ve seen in recent years.

Cregger masterfully gets the film off to a suspenseful and foreboding start with a quiet narration by a child. The youngster explains how one night at exactly 2:17 am, seventeen children left the safety of their suburban Pennsylvania homes and fled into the night, missing without a trace.

All but one child from the same class is included.

Alex (Cary Christopher), who has a strange connection to Aunt Gladys, is mercifully spared.

The rest of the town is left wondering what is behind their disappearance as fingers start to point towards suspects, most notably Justine (Julia Garner), the classroom teacher with a troubled past.

The ensuing witch hunt involving Justine is terrific. We tag along with the haggard teacher to the liquor store as she buys vodka in preparation for a boozy night alone in her small house, hoping to escape her troubles.

Alone, in the dark, and in a small town is frightening enough, but when a mysterious person knocks on her door and vandalizes her car, we feel vulnerable along with the character.

But is Justine as innocent as she appears?

When her chapter ends, and other characters like cop Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), James (Austin Abrams), a homeless drug addict and burglar, and Archer (Josh Brolin), a construction contractor and the father of Matthew, one of the missing children, get their backstories, the dots start to connect.

Aunt Gladys doesn’t appear for quite a while except in sudden, eerie background shots, but when she does, she immediately takes over the film.

As Alex’s elderly aunt (or is she only posing?), she quickly becomes the main antagonist of the film. Recently arrived in town, she is clad in a short, curly, ginger wig, large amounts of red lipstick, blue eyeshadow, fake eyelashes, and fake eyebrows, all behind thick-framed, tinted sunglasses.

On the surface, she appears to be an odd, old eccentric woman, but jovial and good-natured.

I wonder if Cregger patterned her after Minnie, played by Ruth Gordon, the eccentric woman revealed to be a witch in the 1968 masterpiece Rosemary’s Baby?

In one terrific scene, we almost see a sympathetic side to Aunt Gladys. She explains to Alex that neither a hospital nor water will help her recover from her terminal illness. There is a glimpse of kindness and humanity in her eyes before we recall her intentions.

There are also periodic jumps that come out of nowhere. When kindly principal Marcus (Benedict Wong) suddenly behaves out of character, we are startled. An odd woman brandishing a knife stumbles out of a doorway and lumbers to a car, cutting the hair of Justine.

Why, we wonder?

Many scenes are shot from a long-view angle without dialogue, which adds to the tension.

The finale combines a chase scene to end all chase scenes, blending horror and comedy in a way that oddly works similarly to what The Substance did in 2024. This might be the new trend in modern horror films.

Solidly infusing classic horror elements with mystery and intrigue, Cregger provides an unsettling experience that feels fresh and original.

He served as director, producer, writer, and co-musical scorer, proving that having only one chef in the kitchen often works wonders for creativity and structure.

Weapons (2025) has deservedly received critical acclaim while enjoying box office success, solidifying Cregger’s name on the cinematic map.

2021 Films, Amy Madigan, Graham Greene, Guillermo del Toro, Horror, Jesse Plemons, Keri Russell, Rory Cochrane, Scott Cooper

Antlers-2021

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Antlers-2021

Director Scott Cooper

Starring Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons

Scott’s Review #1,255

Reviewed May 13, 2022

Grade: B+

Antlers (2021) is a film co-produced by Guillermo del Toro, who is famous for dark, humanistic treasures like Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water (2017).

His name attached to the project conjures images of supernatural and otherworldly creations, along with some murky elements. While the film does contain his influence, if looked at carefully, it’s in a tepid way, and I wouldn’t call it a del Toro-type film.

But it’s not as if he directed it either; he only helped fund it. Scott Cooper, known for films like Crazy Heart (2009) and Black Mass (2015), which are both very good, does a fantastic job of incorporating horror elements and impressive cinematography to create a bleak and grey atmosphere that is perfect for horror.

The plot is the weak point in an otherwise exceptional offering. The story has a standard setup and unsatisfying ending, except for an attempt to set the stage for a potential sequel.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Antler’s release date was postponed twice and flew under the radar, as many films did in the early 2020s.

Plus, star Jesse Plemons received an Oscar nomination for The Power of the Dog (2021) by the time the film hit the screens, so it’s doubtful he’d make a return appearance.

I’m not sure the film is good enough to warrant a follow-up, but I did thoroughly enjoy the perfect trimmings and quality acting, even though the story didn’t completely satisfy me.

The film is based on the short story The Quiet Boy by Nick Antosca.

The action is set in a rural, isolated Oregon town where a middle-school teacher (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother (Plemons) become entangled with her taciturn student Lucas (Jeremy T. Thomas), whose dark family secrets lead to terrifying encounters with a legendary ancestral creature known for creating debauchery.

The dazzling cinematography by Florian Hoffmeister perfectly encapsulates the setting of the Pacific Northwest, making it appear grim and constantly cloudy. The foreboding presence is only enhanced by incorporating a dark mine as the main set, where the dire events unfold.

Russell does a fine job carrying the film, and Cooper and the team provide a character-driven approach to the story. Julia has returned to her hometown after the suicide of her father, who we quickly learn was abusing her as a little girl.

She bonds with Lucas, who is also abused, and this portion of the story works well. We get the bond, and they connect well. He’s got a different set of daddy issues, though, since his wolf-like papa salivates at the sight of him and is diseased from an incident in the mine.

But the Julia/Lucas relationship ultimately has very little to do with a wild creature running around killing a student and a principal. A quick scene involving a local townsperson explaining an ancient curse is uninspired, even if Graham Greene plays him from Dances With Wolves fame (1990).

I was more invested in the Julia and Paul raising Lucas angle and what comes next over the silly folklore curse that we’ve seen countless times in films.

The texture of Antlers easily earns it a solid B+ rating because it’s spooky and scary in some sequences. When Julia and Principal Ellen (Amy Madigan) separately approach the run-down Weaver house, the camera follows the characters, making the audience feel like they are the ones entering the house.

We know bad things will soon happen, and that makes it fun.

Because of the excellent camera work and use of lighting, I’d never want to set foot in Cispus Falls.

As an aside for every film writer out there, it’s time to discard the anti-LBGTQ slurs once and for all. Aren’t we beyond this? Can’t we write one character calling another a ‘loser’ and leave it at that?

The visceral style of Antlers (2021) is more than enough reason to recommend it. A straight-ahead supernatural horror film with a grim veneer is the reason to see it.

The ho-hum story is somewhat secondary.

2020 Films, Amy Madigan, Betty Gilpin, Craig Zobel, Emma Roberts, Ethan Suplee, Hilary Swank, Horror, Ike Barinholtz, Satire, Wayne Duvall

The Hunt-2020

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The Hunt-2020

Director Craig Zobel

Starring Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank

Scott’s Review #1,117

Reviewed February 26, 2021

Grade: B

A disturbing satirical effort presumably produced because of the volatile United States political climate circa the 2016-2020 time period, The Hunt (2020) is timely and thought-provoking.

The premise is admittedly intriguing and relevant.

Unfortunately, the film doesn’t always come together and has little character development. It is cartoon-like and mired in B-movie appeal.

I wanted more background from the characters to understand what made them tick. It’s not always clear if the film intends to provide dark comedy, provoke horror, or mock stereotypes.

Perhaps a bit of each?

The Hunt is quite violent and bloody, like a horror film should be, but has tinges of cerebralism. Your political affiliation will dictate which characters you root for. Unclear is whether the message evoked is a liberal slant or a conservative one, and which side the filmmaker leans.

Who is the target audience, liberals or conservatives?

While the effort is praiseworthy and will undoubtedly leave the viewer pondering many details, some confusing elements aren’t worked through. There is also ridiculousness that doesn’t work.

On the plus side, The Hunt includes two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, one of my favorite modern actresses! She doesn’t appear until the finale, but it was the high point for me.

Twelve strangers wake up in a forest clearing. They have no idea where they are, how they got there, or even what country they’re in.

A large box is in the middle of the field. When they pry it open, a pig emerges along with a plethora of guns and ammunition. Confused, rapid gunfire erupts from the forest, and the group realizes they have been kidnapped and are being hunted for their conservative beliefs.

With most of the group dead, Crystal (Betty Gilpin) and Don (Wayne Duvall) traverse the nearby locale, which includes an Arkansas service station and other booby traps. To make matters worse, it is uncertain whether the people they encounter are enemies or allies.

Finally, they realize they are really in Croatia.

It’s quickly revealed that a group of liberal corporate executives led by Athena Stone (Swank) anticipates an upcoming hunt of “deplorable” people at a manor through a group text. Done as a joke, they are caught, fired, and decide to set out to perform the hunt as revenge for their dismissals.

Let’s mention how each side is portrayed because it’s essential. The liberals are portrayed as elitist, martini-sipping, kale-eating, judgmental “libtards” who mock conservatives at every turn. They are overly politically correct, live in a bubble, and are essentially pricks.

The conservatives are written as racist, dumb, simple-minded, poorly dressed people who love their guns and believe in conspiracy theories. Crystal is written to be a bad-ass tomboy from Mississippi who can shoot guns, blow things up, and fight.

Her character is overdone and not my favorite, although the twist at the end and the references to George Orwell’s Animal Farm (1945) are pleasing.

The opening sequence and the final sequence are the best parts of The Hunt. As the liberals fly in luxury, sipping champagne and munching on caviar, a conservative wanders to the front of the plane and is killed.

At this point, the premise isn’t yet revealed, so the audience has no idea what is going on. This immediately made me engaged and intrigued.

I loved the final fight sequence between Crystal and Athena. Craig Zobel, who directed The Hunt, borrows heavily from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill (2003-2004) during this scene, and the result is a marvelous battle involving kitchen knives, glasses, blood, and bruises.

The Hunt (2020) is a brave and clever effort. I only wish the mechanics of the characters were better explored. My takeaway is that the intent is not to take the film too seriously.

But I wanted to.